Until the last few weeks, we have kept our plans under wraps so that we could develop without distraction the web platform that would reflect our best hopes.
It has therefore been an exciting week now that we have met with the first three suppliers who registered interest in understanding more about http://www.shareandcompareplay.com/ and the ways in which it can benefit their business.
The feedback has been extremely positive about the potential of the shareandcompareplay.com community to revolutionise the indoor soft play market and thus far, each supplier met has committed to becoming active contributors to the community.
All of the suppliers offered to write blogs and guides regarding their specialist areas and they will also be listing their companies so that users will be able to easily contact them using www.shareandcompareplay.com if they so choose.
Many more supplier meetings are scheduled but we are on our way, will keep you informed.
Sunday, 15 February 2009
Wednesday, 11 February 2009
It finally caught up with us...snow stops filming!
After my earlier posting about our lucky escape when visiting Edinburgh, this week’s filming has been postponed until the 23rd February due to snow.
Reluctantly, we were forced to postpone filming because of the forecasts for severe weather that would have affected the play centre where we were filming and the knock-on affect on staff and our meeting with the owner.
We cannot wait for the next recording session, please feel free to use this time to let us know of any questions you are interested in hearing the answers too.
Reluctantly, we were forced to postpone filming because of the forecasts for severe weather that would have affected the play centre where we were filming and the knock-on affect on staff and our meeting with the owner.
We cannot wait for the next recording session, please feel free to use this time to let us know of any questions you are interested in hearing the answers too.
A welcome addition to our growing team...
We are delighted to announce that Paul Smith has joined the www.shareandcompareplay.com team.
Paul has joined as Business Development Director and he brings with him many years of experience in the Soft Play industry, he was previously the Managing Director of Play Revolution and prior to that, of SuccessPlay Ireland.
Paul’s role is to work with suppliers and industry authorities to develop and promote the website with the aim of building the largest community of soft play related users in the World.
We will keep you updated of his progress and wish him well.
Paul has joined as Business Development Director and he brings with him many years of experience in the Soft Play industry, he was previously the Managing Director of Play Revolution and prior to that, of SuccessPlay Ireland.
Paul’s role is to work with suppliers and industry authorities to develop and promote the website with the aim of building the largest community of soft play related users in the World.
We will keep you updated of his progress and wish him well.
Friday, 6 February 2009
Your opinion matters...2 hours with a successful play operator, what would you like to know?
Next week, filming moves to the North West of England where we meet a successful operator of two indoor soft play areas. An entrepreneur with a corporate background who opened one site from scratch and then acquired and transformed a second play centre, this should be another valuable interview for current and prospective indoor play operators.
We would like you to participate and therefore invite you to let us know via any means you choose what questions you would like us to ask.
Thus far, we have divided / edited approximately two hours of footage into the following categories / episodes:
Inspiration (available here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tP9CJyOzRao)
Business planning (scheduled for release w/c 9th February 2009)
Supplier Management / Choosing suppliers and feedback on performance
Design
Finding a Building and Planning Permission
Marketing
Operations
If you feel as though there is information missing from these categories or you would like to be sure we ask a question related to these or any other topics, please let us know and we will incorporate into our filming and share the results to the benefit of all.
We value your feedback and opinions so that we can develop the best possible platform and content for the soft play market, please comment and rate our videos and blogs so that we can prepare and publish information that is valuable to you...we promise to listen, thanks.
Edinburgh escapades…a camera box does not make a good seat!
This week, we packed our car to the rafters and steadfastly ignored the gloomy weather forecast as we intrepidly started our journey up the M6. Scotland was our destination and it seemed the best place to be judging by the warnings on the Chris Evans show of impeding white doom down South; how the Scottish newspapers loved the fact that England was brought to a standstill by snow!
This week, we were filming in Edinburgh at Tumblezone (http://www.tumblezone.com/); at 25,000 sq/ft, Tumblezone is likely one of the largest Soft Play centres in the UK, it opened in 2005 so our interviewees had plenty of experience and stories to Share.
On this occasion, we did not have Matt (our usual Director) with us but we tried to use the benefit of our thus far limited experience to create interviews that will be of interest and value to our growing community of soft play operators.
The cameras, the lighting, all of the cables, microphones, the massive boxes …there is much to think about and so much that can go pear-shaped but it must be all of this that makes it so exciting. At the end of it all, we just tried to focus on what the play operators had to say, I hope you will forgive us our (hopefully short) technical learning curve given the value of what successful operators are willing to share.
The editing process has begun and we will release further episodes of our Edinburgh escapades in the next few weeks to complement further releases from Parents Paradise (available now at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tP9CJyOzRao).
All videos will be available on our You Tube channel and http://www.shareandcompareplay.com/; we may also release the whole footage at the end of each series.
This week, we were filming in Edinburgh at Tumblezone (http://www.tumblezone.com/); at 25,000 sq/ft, Tumblezone is likely one of the largest Soft Play centres in the UK, it opened in 2005 so our interviewees had plenty of experience and stories to Share.
On this occasion, we did not have Matt (our usual Director) with us but we tried to use the benefit of our thus far limited experience to create interviews that will be of interest and value to our growing community of soft play operators.
The cameras, the lighting, all of the cables, microphones, the massive boxes …there is much to think about and so much that can go pear-shaped but it must be all of this that makes it so exciting. At the end of it all, we just tried to focus on what the play operators had to say, I hope you will forgive us our (hopefully short) technical learning curve given the value of what successful operators are willing to share.
The editing process has begun and we will release further episodes of our Edinburgh escapades in the next few weeks to complement further releases from Parents Paradise (available now at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tP9CJyOzRao).
All videos will be available on our You Tube channel and http://www.shareandcompareplay.com/; we may also release the whole footage at the end of each series.
Monday, 2 February 2009
Shareandcompareplay.com launches youtube.com channel
We are pleased to announce the launch of Share and Compare Play on You Tube.
As advocates of providing valuable information in formats that reflect the preferences and requirements of our audience, we have started to produce our own video content that is independent and free to watch, again and again.
The first series is entitled “Entrepreneurs in Play” and involves interviews with successful operators of children’s indoor adventure play centres. In this series, we share stories of success and perhaps more importantly, what these operators wish they had known when they started; this information is invaluable to new or existing play operators alike.
Episode one is an excerpt of interview with Wendy Attwood of Parents Paradise, it is available now at http://www.youtube.com/user/shareandcompareplay. Please subscribe to keep updated, several more episodes are scheduled for release in the coming weeks and we continue to film at sites throughout the country.
Also, slated for development is further programming including a possible documentary regarding the Soft Play industry and exciting plans that may revolutionise how indoor play areas are designed
As advocates of providing valuable information in formats that reflect the preferences and requirements of our audience, we have started to produce our own video content that is independent and free to watch, again and again.
The first series is entitled “Entrepreneurs in Play” and involves interviews with successful operators of children’s indoor adventure play centres. In this series, we share stories of success and perhaps more importantly, what these operators wish they had known when they started; this information is invaluable to new or existing play operators alike.
Episode one is an excerpt of interview with Wendy Attwood of Parents Paradise, it is available now at http://www.youtube.com/user/shareandcompareplay. Please subscribe to keep updated, several more episodes are scheduled for release in the coming weeks and we continue to film at sites throughout the country.
Also, slated for development is further programming including a possible documentary regarding the Soft Play industry and exciting plans that may revolutionise how indoor play areas are designed
All suppliers start equal…its then up to their customers!
In the next few days (we are just uploading additional content and conducting additional testing), shareandcompareplay.com will launch. In the first week, only suppliers of Soft Play equipment will be listed (other non-play equipment suppliers will rollout in the next few weeks) and the first method of rating suppliers of indoor play equipment will be live.
In addition to user ratings / reviews, we also provide an expert overview and provide suppliers with the opportunity to describe their organisations without charge. All of the significant play suppliers have been invited to participate and the door will always be open for them in the future, they will be listed and reviewed by their customers regardless.
The invitations to participate were sent by letter / e-mail (excerpt of communication below) to the Managing Directors of play suppliers around the world on or around the 16th January 2009. Thus far, we have received a description from one supplier which means that this supplier will be listed at the top of the page until users rate their own play supplier. At this point, the star system will take over and the position of each supplier will be calculated by the system; from that point on, nothing except user feedback will change the position of suppliers.
Will be back soon to let you know when we are live.
Excerpt of letter sent to all suppliers
Dear (Managing Director)
Re: Your listing, description and star rating / The World’s First Comparison website for indoor play suppliers
In January 2009, we are launching the world’s first comparison website specialising in supply to the indoor play market…
…As part of our commitment to providing users with impartial and corroborated reviews, we wanted to write to you in advance to advise that our experts have written the following about your organisation for inclusion on www.shareandcompareplay.com:...
…We trust that you feel that this is a fair and accurate representation of your organisation. However, if you believe any of the above information to be misleading or inaccurate, please refer to the enclosed ‘Activation Sheet’.
In addition, we provide suppliers with the opportunity to write a summary of their organisation and to add their logo to the company profile, without charge. If you wish to add your own profile for listing alongside the expert review and those of your customers, please refer to the enclosed ‘Activation Sheet’.
Of course, you are under no obligation to write and publish your own profile or to forward us your logo for listing. However, if you choose not to do so, this may affect your star rating and consequently your position in the listings…
…Please Note: If your opinion is different to that above and can be verified, please refer to the enclosed ‘Activation Sheet’ and we will investigate further before publishing amendments. We may ask that you provide additional information so that we can present only the most accurate information.
The site will also evolve to provide many additional features for both suppliers and (prospective) operators; we believe that it will significantly assist organisations such as yours in the following ways…
…If you are interested in understanding more about our site and potentially partnering with us during its early development stages, (during the Beta Test release, we will be restricting access to certain features to a small number of organisations on a first-come-first served basis), please email us at enquiries@shareandcompareplay.com.
Kind regards
Gareth Lymer
In addition to user ratings / reviews, we also provide an expert overview and provide suppliers with the opportunity to describe their organisations without charge. All of the significant play suppliers have been invited to participate and the door will always be open for them in the future, they will be listed and reviewed by their customers regardless.
The invitations to participate were sent by letter / e-mail (excerpt of communication below) to the Managing Directors of play suppliers around the world on or around the 16th January 2009. Thus far, we have received a description from one supplier which means that this supplier will be listed at the top of the page until users rate their own play supplier. At this point, the star system will take over and the position of each supplier will be calculated by the system; from that point on, nothing except user feedback will change the position of suppliers.
Will be back soon to let you know when we are live.
Excerpt of letter sent to all suppliers
Dear (Managing Director)
Re: Your listing, description and star rating / The World’s First Comparison website for indoor play suppliers
In January 2009, we are launching the world’s first comparison website specialising in supply to the indoor play market…
…As part of our commitment to providing users with impartial and corroborated reviews, we wanted to write to you in advance to advise that our experts have written the following about your organisation for inclusion on www.shareandcompareplay.com:...
…We trust that you feel that this is a fair and accurate representation of your organisation. However, if you believe any of the above information to be misleading or inaccurate, please refer to the enclosed ‘Activation Sheet’.
In addition, we provide suppliers with the opportunity to write a summary of their organisation and to add their logo to the company profile, without charge. If you wish to add your own profile for listing alongside the expert review and those of your customers, please refer to the enclosed ‘Activation Sheet’.
Of course, you are under no obligation to write and publish your own profile or to forward us your logo for listing. However, if you choose not to do so, this may affect your star rating and consequently your position in the listings…
…Please Note: If your opinion is different to that above and can be verified, please refer to the enclosed ‘Activation Sheet’ and we will investigate further before publishing amendments. We may ask that you provide additional information so that we can present only the most accurate information.
The site will also evolve to provide many additional features for both suppliers and (prospective) operators; we believe that it will significantly assist organisations such as yours in the following ways…
…If you are interested in understanding more about our site and potentially partnering with us during its early development stages, (during the Beta Test release, we will be restricting access to certain features to a small number of organisations on a first-come-first served basis), please email us at enquiries@shareandcompareplay.com.
Kind regards
Gareth Lymer
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