COMPANY PROFILE STL takes podium position
To say that Oxfordshire-based STL Communications is on track for continued growth would be to greatly understate the nature of its ambition and drive following the company’s contract win to supply the comms for London’s Olympic and Paralympic Games. STL’s very own Olympian, Managing Director Brendon Cross, gave us the inside story hot on the heels of collecting a brace of well deserved Comms Dealer Sales Awards.
U
p against industry heavyweights STL pitched its Olympic case superbly
and with the support of Samsung won the deal to supply telephony for 380 users across two sites – the main Olympic Stadium plus an east London disaster recovery site. “London 2012 Ceremonies (L2012C) needed the right telephony solution
Just a minute with Brendon Cross...
Name one thing you could not do without in your job: Great people. Get the people right and the rest will happen
Name three ideal dinner guests (past or present) and why you’d invite them: Matt Riley, David Pollock and Alastair Mills because I might learn a lot
What possession could you not live without? My boat in Vilamoura but I’ve just sold it to a German guy called Herman! Probably my Adizero running shoes now!
What do you fear the most? Failure and dogs!
to coordinate four world class shows, 350 employees and over 750 contractors and a cast of 15,000 volunteers,” explained Cross. “There were 284 rehearsals at two east London sites as well as two full dress rehearsals in the Olympic stadium watched by 60,000 people who were sworn to secrecy. From its HQ in Three Mills Studio, the L2012C team arranged, designed and managed the most complex, one off shows that the UK has ever produced for a global stage.”
L2012C was charged with producing the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympic Games and the Paralympics Games on behalf of LOCOG. But despite strong temptations to beat the drum about STL’s contract win Cross was forced by the organisers to remain tight lipped about the deal, a restriction that proved too much to take sitting down. And early this year Cross was instrumental in the removal of the gagging order that prevented businesses from promoting their involvement in the
London 2012 Olympics. He successfully argued the case for lifting the ban to Prime Minister and local MP David Cameron who then set the conditions for its removal, enabling companies such as STL to promote the part they played in staging the Games.
“Winning the contract to supply the telephony for L2012C at the Olympic Stadium was one of the most prestigious projects that we have ever won,” said Cross. “Removing the ban was great news for all of the businesses that played a part in the delivery of both the Olympic and Paralympic Games, and being able to talk openly about our involvement can only help STL to win other private and public sector contracts both at home and abroad. Winning these contracts also ensures that we continue to expand which means recruiting and training new staff to fuel the growth.”
Securing the contract had an almost immediate impact on the fortunes of the organisation, enabling
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it to grow, attract high calibre recruits and boost staff morale. “The key differentiator that helped STL to win the Olympics contract was a marketing initiative that we created four years ago called GreenMinutes,” explained Cross. “This initiative sums up our company ethos and helped us to win the Reseller Best Marketing Campaign at this year’s Comms Dealer Sales Awards.”
GreenMinutes began as a marketing idea that would enable STL to offer carbon neutral minutes and telephone calls to its customers. The initiative has evolved since its inception and according to Cross the scheme is now in its third phase, promoting
a broader view of how communications is changing the way people work in a more environmentally friendly manner. “As well as helping us win the contract for L2012C, GreenMinutes has enabled us to experience growth particularly in local government contracts. It was also an important element in our success in gaining ISO9001 and ISO14001 accreditation in 2012.”
STL works closely with Gamma as well as Samsung. “The more we sell of their products and services the more we can leverage out of the relationship,” commented Cross. “We value their cooperation in delivering seminars at F1 teams or, more specifically with Samsung, at Chelsea
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