The Heritage Motor Centre, in conjunction with local design agency Box Clever Marketing, has been shortlisted for a prestigious national award for its conference brochure and e-brochure.

The Centre is among the final four for the Best Brochure – Venues/Destinations category in the Meetings Industry Marketing Awards (MIMA) 2011. The HMC has been shortlisted alongside the Hong Kong Tourism Board, Jersey Conference Bureau and Victory Services Club in London. All the award winners will be announced at the Park Plaza Riverbank London on Monday 17 October.

The HMC and Box Clever Marketing have successfully developed an integrated campaign with the tagline ‘an ideal blank canvas for conferences, meetings and events’. The campaign focuses on the Centre’s unique selling points including the expert and personable team, the large amount of conference space, the central location, positive quotes from clients and that delegates can look round the Museum for free. The project was so successful it even expanded into the reception area to improve communication, increase bookings and occupancy and maintain the day delegate rate during the economic downturn. The success of the campaign is reflected by occupancy rising by 7%, confirmed bookings from new customers increasing by 25% and the e-brochure on the website receiving 100's of views per month.  8% of confirmed bookings so far this year have come via online sources compared to 5% for the entire 2010.

Penny Tyler, Marketing Officer at the Heritage Motor Centre stated “We are thrilled to have been shortlisted for a national award. We hold conferences for blue-chip clients ranging from O2 and Hewlett Packard to Tesco and Virgin but we are still relatively unknown for the fantastic and diverse range of conference facilities that we have. We are competing against key global destinations for this award but the fact we have been shortlisted proves the calibre of the creative talent that there is here in Warwickshire”.

Justin Woodman, Managing Director of Box Clever Marketing, said he was proud to have been involved in a campaign which has received national recognition. “Our ethos is to dig deeper than any other agency to deliver commercial return on investment to our clients. We carried out significant research before we developed the creative concepts and ideas to hit the conference targets and grow the conference business”

The HMC is a dedicated conference and exhibition centre conveniently located off junction 12 of the M40 in Warwickshire. The Centre offers over 20 stylish meeting rooms for 6 - 600 delegates with internal and external exhibition space and outdoor event space licensed for 5000 people. Set in 65 acres, the Centre also boasts a meadow for team building, two 4x4 off-road tracks, 2000 free car parking spaces, and external hard standing (9700sqm), ideal for marquees and outdoor events.

www.heritage-motor-centre.co.uk

The museum at Barber Motorsports Parkway in Birmingham, Alabama is a "must see" for enthusiasts.  Its collection of over 1200 vintage and modern motorcycles and race cars is world renowned, and its annual Vintage Festival draws huge crowds excited to honour the motorcycle and its associated legends.  

At this year's Festival, Ace Cafe London is unveiling to America the recently published book Ace Times - Speed Thrills and Tea Spills, a Cafe and a Culture.  This beautiful, copiously illustrated 312-page hardback, packed with personal recollections, is the definitive history of the cafe from its opening in 1938 to the present day, and includes the story of other venues and cafes, like the 59 Club, the Busy Bee, as well as featuring the fastest motorycles, the loudest music, the iconic movies and the distinctive clothing and styles of the Ton-Up era.  Burn ups, press hysteria, rock n' roll riots, police baiting, Mods and Rockers, pirate radio, and loads more besides, all unambiguously revealed. Author Mick Duckworth, along with Mark Wilsmore, will be present signing copies of the book and undertaking special Q&A sessions.

The Ace is also hosting a number of other special programmes and activities during the Festival including a display of vintage bikes, the fastest of which being the legendary "Hogslayer" with its extraordinary powerplant of two Norton engines! Live music will be performed by the "Cigar Store Indian's" and Velocity Channel's "Cafe Racer TV" will be there to capture every moment!

The 7th Annual Barber Vintage Festival, Birmingham, Alabama, 7th - 9th October 2011 October.

www.acecafeusa.com

www.ace-cafe-london.com

www.barbervintagefestival.org

Viva Valencia! is the name given to the charity motorcycle ride being undertaken by Danny John-Jules (Red Dwarf's The Cat), Matt Roberts (BBC MotoGP presenter) and Steve Keys (owner of the first UK Yamaha dealership) in order to raise money for Riders for Health, an organisation that provides and maintains reliable motorcycles so that health workers can reach people in remote parts of Africa to treat diseases that needlessly kill millions.

Clad in pink helmets and leathers to match the pink Yamaha R1 bikes, the distinctive Viva Valencia! team will be present at various events, shows and races throughout the year to help raise awareness for the charity and for their 1200 mile trip, leaving on October 30 from the Ace Cafe, London, to Valencia, Spain, for the final round of the MotoGP championship.

The entire team will also be present at the final British Superbike round this Sunday (October 9, 2011) at Brands Hatch, where they will conduct a parade lap of the circuit and be part of the Pit Lane Walk.

Following the success of online motorcycle site Bike Channel, it’s now being launched on Sky TV Channel 203 as from Monday 10th October at 7.30pm.  
 
The Bike Channel was first launched on the internet in 2006 by Alan Rawlings, who after working in TV for many years realised there was a gap in the market for an interesting motorcycle programme covering Sportbikes, MX and Stunt Riding.
 
Five years on and the Bike Channel now produces bike reviews for Auto Trader, the Independent, Fast Bikes Magazine, Ace Café, Motorcycle Dealers & Tyre Companies to name a few.
 
The Bike Channel show will have an up-to-date approach into the Motorcycle World appealing to viewers of all ages and interests. We’ll be reviewing the latest bikes & gear, motorcycle events, interviewing riders, attending race & stunt schools, etc.  Presenters will be set challenges and famous riders will also be joining them to make the programme as informative and interesting as possible.
 
Presenter Suzy Taylor, herself an MX rider, will be fronting the Bike Channel show along with Luke Wilkins, an ex-Kerrang radio DJ who gained a following through his enthusiastic motorcycle diaries on the web.

A fantastic new Harley-Davidson motorbike has been added to the Customizing, Culture & Harley-Davidson exhibition at MOSI (Museum of Science & Industry, Manchester) to mark the extension of the exhibition, which now runs until 30 October 2011.

The 2006 FLSTCI Heritage Softail, has been made by Shaw Speed and Custom and includes a beautifully designed vintage gas tank and rear fender by Roland Sands Design.

The Heritage Softail motorcycle was one of Sussex-based Shaw Speed and Custom’s launch bikes in 2007 and is a fantastic example of British skills in customisation. The design features striking red candy paint by Image Design Custom, including light smoking with skulls and finished with pinstripes and flames.

Customising, Culture and Harley-Davidson spans early Harley-Davidsons to the very latest in customised motorcycles, many of which have never been displayed to the public before. The exhibition is created by the Claridon Group and MOSI. It is the first time ever that an exhibition has showcased the historic and radical customs of Harley-Davidson® motorcycles, and the culture surrounding them.

Exhibition organiser Chris Scott of Claridon said: “I’m delighted to showcase this fantastic example of a Harley-Davidson motorcycle, to celebrate the extension of the Customising Culture & Harley-Davidson exhibition. We’ve had a fantastic response to the exhibition and visitors love the combination of these beautiful machines set against a backdrop of American culture and history, as well as the modern customisation scene in the UK and Europe. I’m pleased to announce the extension of the exhibition until the end of October, so don’t miss your chance to see it!”

Over 30 motorcycles are featured in the exhibition, including models from the UK, Germany, Japan and the US. Each bike has its own story, from a rare 1909 model built in the first decade of Harley-Davidson’s production heritage, to the 1956 KH motorcycle like the one Elvis Presley rode, to the 1948 Ice Road Panhead, which defied motorcycle capabilities in conditions of minus 53 degrees, to complete an expedition to the Arctic.

The exhibition includes a section on the tradition of radically customised Harley-Davidson® motorcycles, two of which have been created especially for the exhibition. There is also a rolling programme of guest motorcycles in the exhibition, courtesy of Sussex-based authorised dealership Shaw Harley-Davidson.

The exhibition also looks at the bike builders, owners and enthusiasts who have embraced the customisation culture to create a unique machine that truly reflects their individual personality and sense of style, as well as the groups that enjoy the freedom that the Harley-Davidson lifestyle has to offer.

All Harley-Davidson bikes are manufactured in Milwaukee, USA, but the almost endless array of available aftermarket parts and accessories worldwide provides radical customisation opportunities and enables owners to realise their own personal dream machine. A full list of all motorcycles in the exhibition is available.

Customising, Culture and Harley-Davidson now runs until 30 October.

Adults £8, Concessions £6.50, HOG Members £6.50, Children (5-16) £2; Under 5s Free; Family £20 (2 adults, 3 children). Tickets can be bought from the MOSI Information Desk in the Great Western Warehouse or at www.ticketmaster.co.uk or by calling 0844 847 2261 (24 hours)*

*order processing fee applies to telephone or online sales

For more information on MOSI look up www.mosi.org.uk