Making light of hotel power cut

The lights went out, quite literally, at last month’s DRTV conference, organised by Marketing Week parent Centaur.

Phil Andrews chief executive of Tomahawk Communications was in the middle of proving that responsive ads could build brands, when a power cut hit the St James Court Hotel, the conference’s venue, and the surrounding area of London.

Libby Child, managing director of Centaur Conferences, was struck with the ingenuity of the presenters as they used vigorous hand signals to act out some ads, in what is normally a technology-rich affair.

“It was a candle-lit conference, it looked gorgeous. Everyone was extremely stoical,” says Child.