We were treated to great views of New York as we went to Brooklyn – specifically to the Galapagos Art Space – to meet with Havas.

Havas Worldwide CEO, David Jones gave us an update on the branding exercise Havas have just completed – to have all of their agencies branded the same and as many as possible in the same buildings.

Inspirational work and news on One Young World plus a team quiz. Then on off to R/GA – one of AdForum’s most popular agencies as they really are in a league of their own and continue to excite us with brilliant work and innovation in products for clients – an agency for the new digital age. A whisper that they may well open in Cape Town due to the level of talent in the Mother City – could be very exciting!

Late afternoon we headed to Sapient/Nitro – an agency that has grown from nothing to 7 500 people worldwide in less than seven years. Remarkable people and again – highly innovative and creative.

An excellent dinner cooked by Martha Stewart’s chef left us full and happy after a very long day indeed.

It is fascinating to see how these agencies have grown and developed over the years as the needs for their businesses have grown. Wunderman and Proximity both have impressive track records.

The afternoon was spent with the four agencies from Group M – Maxus (not yet in South Africa), MediaCom, Mindshare and MEC.

All four agencies, all very different with very clear positionings. An excellent afternoon with lots of healthy debate and the first time in a few years that we have had a media focus at AdForum.

The evening saw the introduction of a new type of agency – details still under wraps – but more of that in a few weeks time.

A light supper and drinks and a relatively early night for the busy consultants at AdForum.

All of the international consultants are staying at the Dream Hotel Downtown – it is an extraordinary place with portholes everywhere and the circular theme replicated throughout the interior design – some of which is not entirely functional, but hey, it’s all got great style.

Am fully recovered from the flight and by Tuesday I will be in the time zone, so the first couple of nights might be a little tiring but then we get into it. Day one is predictably packed.

Starting at Ogilvy – on 11th Avenue with a view of the Hudson river – we are meeting the worldwide team to update on all things new over breakfast. As we have not seen them for two years, this will be very informative. After that we head off to Publicis on 10th Avenue for their update and lunch, followed by an introduction to Branded Content and Entertainment agency.

We then have three agency showcases – Uncle Lefty, Big Fuel and NSG/SWAT – all of whom sound really interesting and new. There might (or might not) be time for a quick freshen up before dinner with Ogilvy at the very smart Angel Orensanz Foundation, and we might be back in our hotel by 10pm. As always we will be filling in our evaluation forms on the bus after every agency visit.

A full day ahead, but first, meeting this evening with all of the consultants at Zampa Winebar and Kitchen in the Meatpacking District of NYC – let’s hope it’s an early one!