Creative Director & Technical Director BSOCIAL, and directors of Brit Corp Hardware & Industrial Distributors

What are your enduring memories of Kingston?

Horace: The low gas prices.

Howard: The gas riots of the late 1990s where I walked from Wolmer’s Boys’ School to my parents’ business place in Pembroke Hall.

What are the most memorable meals that you have enjoyed in Kingston?

Horace: The shrimp tempura sushi at Roe Japanese Cuisine.

Howard: I love the chicken alfredo at TGIFridays.

What would you do if you were mayors of Kingston for a day?

Horace: If I were mayor I would create a free facility for youth to learn a skill. We have a lot of talented youth in need of direction and an opportunity to utilise their skills.

Howard: My first order of business would be to get budget approval for the following: A clean-up of the Corporate Area’s coastline, in conjunction with the environmental campaign, Nuh Dutty Up Jamaica; implement a programme to educate Kingstonians on renewal energy development, and most importantly, install a second water dam or reservoir.

What would be your recommendations to a first-time visitor to Kingston?

Horace: Gloria’s in Port Royal for the fried fish.

Howard: Hellshire or Fort Clarence beach for the escoveitched fish.

What are your beverages of choice?

Horace: A cold lager.

Howard: A Long Island Iced Tea.

What was the last bit of music you listened to that you enjoyed?

Horace: Soca. All day every day.

Howard: Soca.

How can social media be better incorporated into the marketing and public relations strategies of many of the Rock’s big corporate brands?

Horace: A lot of corporate brands use social media to take pictures and then upload to their online profiles, to say to the public “Hey, we had a party so you can know we’re here” or “Hey, we have something selling, so go buy it.” No! Use social media to hear the voices of your customers. Build creative programmes that are fun and easy but at the same time, are collecting the information you need to take your brand to the next level.

Howard: From the first stage of planning any campaign, the platforms should be used to engage fans on a more emotional level. Gone are the days when brands would launch on mainstream television without immediately knowing what consumers were thinking or how they were reacting. By bringing social media into their marketing mix, corporate brands can use their online profiles to inform consumers of their products and services through radio, print and online re-targeting.

What components contribute to the success or popularity of an app?

Horace: Incentives and a public relations campaign go a long way in attracting users.

Howard: There should be a proper public relations launch of the app as well as online Google and Facebook ads targeting potential users of the app.

There has been a marked improvement in the production values of events held in Jamaica. What has changed about those who hold the purse strings and the event planners out to fulfil the former’s vision?

Horace: The purse string holders, these days, are more open to out-of-box ideas that are cost-effective, and event designers are definitely tapping more into their creative reserves.

Howard: That may be true but a new problem has developed where clients are paying for, and event designers are delivering – the same concept at different venues.

You have recently acquired your parents’ 30-plus-old business H&S Hardware with plans to introduce an e-commerce platform, in order to attract a predominantly international consumer base. Why was the acquisition of the soon-to-be rebranded Brit Corp Hardware & Industrial Distributors an important move for a joint career defined by event-plannning, media, and advertising interests?

Horace: The acquisition was strategic in more ways than one. BSOCIAL will be able to show the world we can build e-commerce platforms. We will also be able to construct billboards from the hardware materials we own, which is a part of some future plans we have for the BSOCIAL. We could name of few more, but of course, we can’t let all the cats out of the bag.

Howard: We will be able to give Brit Corp the much needed attention to reach the grassroots consumers right back to corporate clients across the globe through offline and online marketing as well as relationship building with key stakeholders to ensure the success of the company.

On-site promotions campaign or public nuisance. What’s the crucial distinction?

Horace: The packaging of the message which includes the proper application of the right communication tools to persuade the right audience.

Howard: The target audience should readily see the possible benefits.

If you two were to run off and join the circus, what would be your famous double act?

Horace: Lion taming. Five lions at a time!

Howard: The Flying Brittons! We would be trapeze artists.

What colognes are you splashing?

Horace: Versace Pour Homme.

Howard: Usher for Men

Share some places in your travel black books.

Horace: I’ve been to Trinidad & Tobago, time and time again. There are a couple stops of Europe, though, that I’d like to make.

Howard: I have been to Bocas del Toro, Panama; Boston, Massachusetts; and Trinidad & Tobago. I plan to travel to Jerusalem and Egypt in the future.

What do you consider your best and worst traits?

Horace: At my best, I’m sociable and at my worst, I tend to act weirdly around people I perceive to be of questionable character.

Howard: My best trait is empowering others to take charge. I have bit of OCD when it comes to getting work for my business done. So my worst is, I stretch myself a bit thin, even when I know the work is in capable hands.

What were your last major splurges?

Horace: The recent purchase of a Yamaha jet ski. I need to use it more, though, as right now, I’m treating it very much like a trophy.

Howard: My trip — back in February — to Trinidad & Tobago for Carnival.

What are your philosophies?

Horace: Work in silence and the progress will speak for itself.

Howard: “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.” I live by this quote.