Phew - my journalism is nearing an end, the Serenata review is done and i've typed up the interview with TBS, and all that remains is to tell you my personal thoughts and findings from the trip. 🙂

Firstly, i was immensely proud to be able to represent such a great and knowledgable bunch of people - but i admit to personally feeling a bit out of my depth amongst the worlds leading tech journalists. Here was little old me from BeoWorld - a site that used to be an old thorn in the side of B&O, who wasn't sure if he was invited to Berlin because hunting season had started, and he was first on the menul! 😂

How wrong i was!  Every single person from Bang & Olufsen was absolutely thrilled to meet someone from BeoWorld. They all freely admitted to frequently visiting the site, especially for our thoughts and views on new products, and reassured me our comments were all extremely well balanced, sensible and above all valuable. They really do take what we say seriously, and just to back that up - Lars Flyvholm, the Senior Manager for Global Products & Business Management actually asked to be introduced to me so he could go on-record as saying that we were a true asset to Bang & Olufsen. How touching that a Senior member of B&O management wanted to thank us personally!

I was treated wonderfully whilst i was there, and both Jette, who organised the launch at the Grand Hyatt, and Lotte were so kind to me - making sure i was looked after completely. 🙂

Every single person that i met from B&O seemed to be loving their job too, which is rare these days. They were all proud to work for the company, and although they work very hard it was as exciting for them launching a new product as it was us receiving it. It comes from the top too, as Torben never stops smiling!  His employees and colleagues have a genuine affection for him, and he was always fussing and asking if they were ok. Lovely to see, and a kind of a Jose Mourinho vibe ensued!

I won't bore you all by going on, but safe to say that we are now building some extremely strong and long-lasting relationships with Bang & Olufsen - and more important they no longer see us as 'the enemy'.  It is the start of a dialogue and relationship that can only lead to positive things happening, both for Bang & Olufsen and BeoWorld - and i am very excited about the future.  There are some very good people joining B&O and also climbing up the career ladder who really value and respect the passion we have for the brand, and the loyalty and support we show to the company they are so dedicated to themselves.

Finally - Torben Ballegaard Sorensen stopped by at the bar after the whole launch had ended, and we had yet another little chat!  I asked him if, being on the board at Electrolux, there was any chance of the fabled Bang & Olufsen Toaster ever making it into production? I explained about the mocked up one we did for ebay, and also the barrage of interest but he just laughed and said "no"..

I take it that it was either a great idea he's going to claim credit for, or it's not quite the route he chooses for B&O.. 😂

Anyway - the last thing i am going to post is an image of TBS and myself, with him saying "Cheers" (well, "Skol" actually) to BeoWorld. All this in such a short space of time, and all of it down to the moderating team and the members that make BeoWorld. As i have mentioned - i was proud to represent us all, and i would like to thank each and every one of you for making the site what it is today - the best.

Lee

🙂