17/7: Pin Trading Centre - Day 1

Don't worry, there won't be a report on each day's activity! As it was the first official day of trading at the Hyde Park Centre, just a short summary for those that were not able to make it.

A successful day of trading took place from around 11am this morning until after 3pm. There were lots of Coke staff around to find out more about pin collecting and trading. They were a very friendly bunch and were putting themselves through their paces. These are the teams that will be managing the people through the centres and they were keen to get trading with us.

There were around 9 tables set up for traders and a steady flow of collectors - experienced and new. It was an excellent taste of things to come.

As the day warmed up and the sun came out, the room got a little hot, so make sure you have fluids with you if you are set for a sessions trading.

The designers of the Coke pins came to see the centre and the collections and it was very nice to meet them both.

There were a number of new Coca-Cola retail pins on sale today as well as the newly released 10 day to go pin (issue size 5,000).

Meanwhile in the London 2012 shop next door, there were a range of new pins on sale - 26 boxed sets of 2 venue pins. Each box contains a printed sports mascot pin (subtly different to the existing sports mascot pins) and an enamel 'venue' pin which may be an image of the venue or a 'sign' with the name of the venue and the dates of competition. More on these win another post, but there were 26 sets each at £15!

Venue and mascot pin sets

12/7: Coca-Cola Pin Trading Centre in Hyde Park

The Coca-Cola Pin Trading Centre (PTC) for London 2012 is now open in Hyde Park.

The first official day of pin trading takes place next week on the 17th July, so although there is no pin trading at the moment, the PTC is open for purchases.

This must be the place...

The PTC stocks all the pins that can be found in the online Coke Store and it will be the place where exclusive pins will be available such as the countdown pins and Pin of the Day. There will be pins at both PTCs (the other one is in the Olympic Park) that you cannot buy online.

View of the PTC as you enter

Not only is July 17th the day when official pin trading kicks off, but it's also the day when Coca-Cola's first countdown pin is launched. That day marks 10 days to go to the Opening Ceremony and the 10 day to go pin will be available exclusively at the Hyde Park PTC.

The PTC is part pin trading centre and part retail outlet for Coca-Cola pins and other Coke branded Olympic merchandise such as T-shirts and lanyards. There is a queuing area to access the centre ensuring that it will not get too crowded during the Games. The pins are on display in frames and a simple numbering system allows you to write down the numbers and quantity of the pins you wish to buy, go to the counter and the staff will put your order together.

Choose your pin from the frames or the chart

There is a large 'Coke Bottle' display marked up with the outline of the Pin of the Day shapes and I imagine that each morning as the pins go on sale, that day's pin will be revealed on the bottle to gradually build up the complete picture.

The Coke bottle waiting for Pin of the Day

The PTC is connected to the large London 2012 Shop at Hyde Park. This is a large retail space selling lots of merchandise, some of which we have seen in other locations, but most of it Games Time and Olympic Venue stock which has branding and logos we have not.

The exterior of the London 2012 Shop.
The PTC entrance is through the orange section at the far end

During Games time, the PTC will be open from 10am until 10pm. At the moment, the closing time is a little earlier.

30/4: Pin Trading on the Map

Looking around the revamped London 2012 website tonight, I came across a link to an Olympic Park map.  On the map, the area around the Arcelor Mittal Orbit has been named Orbit Circus and in this area was an icon for the Coca-Cola Pin Trading Centre.

We've known the rough position of the pin trading centre was around the stadium and Orbit as Coca-Cola were able to share this with us at a recent pin meet, however I think this is the first time we've seen anything in print!

Here's a screen print of the map

Click on the image to view full size

The official version is on the London 2012 website at http://www.london2012.com/mm/Document/Documents/Venue/01/24/89/77/olympicparkmap2_Neutral.pdf

11/3: Coca-Cola Pin Trading Centre - Details and Volunteer Form

At the pin meet yesterday, Coca-Cola were able to share a few details about the Coca-Cola pin trading centres for London 2012 and the pin centre volunteer programme.

The main points were

• There will be three centres, one in the Olympic Park situated near the stadium, one in Hyde Park and one in the Athletes' Village.
• Volunteers will be required for all 3 locations.
• The number of shifts allocated and the lengths of those shifts will depend on the number of volunteers that sign-up.
• If you would like to volunteer, you need to complete an application form (link below) and submit it to Coca-Cola.
• Completing an application form does not commit you to volunteering at this stage.
• Application forms must be submitted by midnight on Friday 16th March.
• All volunteers will be asked to attend an informal interview either at the Coca-Cola offices in London or via Skype for those that live outside the UK or cannot get to London.
• Applicants will be informed around Wednesday 21st March whether they are invited to an interview.
• Interviews will take place on Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th March.

Update 18/3: The window for applications has now closed and therefore I have updated this post to remove the application form.

23/2: Coca-Cola Pin Trading Centre Volunteers - Last Call

Regular readers will remember that a while ago, I mentioned that Coca-Cola had asked me to pull together the names of anyone who would like to volunteer to assist in the operation of the Coca-Cola pin trading centres (CCPTC) that will be in the Olympic Park and Hyde Park.

Lots of you responded and I have a list of names already. I will email those people within the next 24 hours to confirm you are on the list. If you haven't heard from me, please contact me again.

This post is really a last call to say that if you would like to sign up as a volunteer, then please let me know as soon as possible. I need to submit the list of names very soon. Please remember that signing up does not guarantee that you will be offered a place as Coca-Cola can only accommodate so many volunteers. I have no idea what that number is.

As mentioned in a previous post, there will be a selection process that involves an interview. Nothing too severe I imagine (hope!).

So if you think you'd like to be involved in helping to staff the centres, please get in touch.

This is not asking you to sign up to actually trade or reserve a place to trade, I'm sure that will be coming later.

Please get in touch at info@londonpins.co.uk

On a related note, at the pin meet on 10th March, a member of the CCPTC team will be attending to share some information with us. For those of you that have expressed an interest in volunteering but cannot make the meeting, don't worry. I'll post the information on the blog as soon as I can after the meeting. You will not be disadvantaged by not being at the meet.

Remember however, and this is only my opinion - not from Coca-Cola, that the interviews are most likely to be in London. Those of you who live outside of London may need to travel in. I could be wrong, so please don't quote me, its just my opinion.

13/12: Coca Cola Update

A brief update from Coca Cola with a few more details about their plans for both the Coca-Cola Pin Trading Centres (CCPTC) and Olympic Torch Relay (OTR) next year.

Pin Trading Centres
The locations for the Olympic Park and Central London venues are almost finalised and they hope to be able to announce details in the New Year. There will also be a pin trading opportunity within the Athletes' Village. This will be a low key area in one of the spaces within the Village with access limited to discrete times of the day for a few pin traders.

Plans for the volunteers are still being finalised by Coca-Cola, but they have confirmed that there will be interviews next year to determine who will be offered a role as a Coca Cola pin ambassador. Successful ambassadors will be provided with a uniform for the times they are in the CCPTC. Initial thoughts are that trading hours will be around 10am to 10pm in the park and 8am to 10pm in London, so there should be plenty of volunteering opportunities. Coca-Cola will be working on more detailed plans for the centres next year and at that time will be talking with representatives from pin collectors in the UK and overseas in order to canvass their opinions on pin trading centres.

Olympic Torch Relay
As for the Olympic Torch Relay, there will not be a Coca-Cola retail pin for every stop on the route, but there will be pins to mark five locations where Coca-Cola are hosting an event on the relay. Merchandising and pin plans are still being discussed within Coca Cola, but the thinking seems to be that collectors will be able to pick up a full set of retail Coca-Cola OTR pins without touring the country. How and where the pins may be purchased is still not confirmed.

The first internal Coca Cola OTR pin has been issued (COC0007) and it is only available to certain employees, it was not distributed company wide.

COC0007

Finally, Coca-Cola hope to attend the pin meet in January to update us on their plans.

31/10: Coca-Cola Pin Trading Centres - Request for Volunteers

As you may be aware, during the Olympic and Paralympic Games, Coca Cola will be hosting the official pin trading centres. These are venues where pin collectors can come together and trade Olympic pins. The centres are manned by volunteers and Coca Cola staff who ensure that everyone has a great experience. They are there to explain the process to new traders and to make sure that everyone has a fair chance to display their trades. At present, the plan is to have two centres, one located inside the Olympic Park and another in a central London location. The Olympic Park venue will be open during the Olympic and Paralympic Games and accessible only to those with tickets which allow entry to the Park itself. The central London venue will be open from approximately a week before the opening of the Olympic Games right through until the end of the Paralympic Games and will be open to all.

If you are interested in volunteering to help staff one of the centres, then Coca Cola would like to hear from you. I have offered to collect the details of people who would like to be considered for a volunteer role in one of the Coca Cola Pin Trading Centres (CCPTC). At this stage, this is just a registration of you interest. There is no commitment and no guarantee that you will be chosen. We would, though, like to find out the numbers of people interested in helping out.

If you have been to one of the pin meets and given me your name, there is no need to email me, you're already on the list!

I appreciate that many readers live outside London and have other commitments, so if you could indicate your approximate availability that would help with assessing your interest.

If you would like to volunteer or know more, please drop me an email with your details to info@londonpins.co.uk.