As you may have noticed Leeds was a buzz of digital activity last week with the culmination of the Leeds Digital Festival being the DADI’s happening on Friday 12th November. Set in the rather grand Saviles the event was host to the crème de la crème of digital agencies all flexing their digi muscles.
It really was a night of celebration with trophies being handed to an array of different agencies; some new ones on the radar include Young who were crowned with the ultimate honour, taking home the Grand Prix award for Learn Something Every Day Campaign
The Chairman’s award went to Hamptons Associates for their work with Brewdog an unusual Beer company who’s hedonistic range includes Trashy Blonde…with the strap line “you know you shouldn’t” and 5.AM Saint.
Digital Agency of the Year and Creative Team of the Year went to MadeByPi with DADI individual of the Year going to Aidan Cook MD of Former agency Sense Internet, overall MadeByPi swept the board winning a record number of awards.
Entertainment was kindly provided by Phil Nichol a Canadian comedian, singer-songwriter, and actor. His risqué humour certainly made a lasting impression with the audience with his song entitled “Eskimo”…
As the wee hours of the night came upon us their were various people reliving their youth on the dance floor, “spinning around bright young things”…no names mentioned but you know who you are! Needless to say Network Marketing and The Book were there til the lights came on!
Today The Drum published a really insightful feature piece on the importance of location in today’s marketing industry. It raised the question of whether or not new communication technologies and flexible travel make location irrelevant when clients decide on their agencies or visa versa. The article featured discussions between leading agency directors including Gordon Bethall, managing director of Gratterpalm, and Stuart Grainger of The Small Agency, both located here in Yorkshire.
It was interesting to read differing opinions about location and the choices between where agencies choose their base. Gordon Bethall supported Leeds as the most effective location for them to serve their clients, notably their largest client Asda who is also based in the city. Stuart Grainger, on the other hand, felt location was more than being close to clients- they felt their Yorkshire base could deliver the ‘inspiration’ they needed to deliver the best creative campaigns for their clients, which they could not necessarily get from being stuck in a cramped office in Central London. Sarah Halton of Tangerine PR (based in Manchester) also made a great point about the importance of cost, with running costs of agencies generally cheaper outside of London, which is a growing factor many companies bear in mind when choosing a base.
If location is purely down to where clients are based there is a worry that agencies in Yorkshire may suffer to those in London where a majority of Blue Chip clients are located. We are already seeing a number of Northern-based agencies opening satellite offices in the capital to help serve their clients, for example Savvy and Blue Chip Marketing.
Within marketing recruitment (if an analogy can be drawn) , we opened an office in Manchester in 1999 to help service our clients more effectively. It was important for us to be close to candidates and clients to meet them and to have our ear close to the ground on changes in the market. This didn’t preclude us from recruiting candidates from outside the area, in fact about 30% of candidates we place are relocating back to the area.
However. in terms of meeting candidates we are planning on moving in to the 21st century bu using technology to our advantage. We plan to use skype video as a tool for interviewing candidates who cannot make a visit to the office. As an example of where this would have been specifically beneficial, we recently recruited a Head of European E-Commerce for a company based in Leeds. Four of the prospective candidates were based in London so we went down to interview them. After a lengthy train journey, a tube strike and numerous taxis we’d built up quite a bill. Would it have all been more convenient for everyone concerned if we had been able to do this on-line?
How would you respond if we suggested a skype video interview rather than coming in to the office? As always, comments are always appreciated on our blog!
Even though we’re not quite at the end of 2010 it‘s been such an amazing year for the digital market in Yorkshire that we thought we’d share our stats on what’s been happening. As it’s also Leeds Digital Festival this week we thought all of you digital marketers (or wannabes) would be itching to know how your industry has changed compared to last year.Here’s just a few *stats to get your juices flowing:
Digital marketing recruitment volumes are up 40% on the same period across 2009
Digital recruitment, agency side (working within a digital agency), has grown by 10% compared with 2009
Digital recruitment into client side positions has increased by 30%
85% of agencies we deal with now have a credible digital offering as part of their solutions for clients compared to 65% in 2009.
Implementation of social media as a channel (such as Facebook and Twitter)within the job description for digital roles is up 80% compared with 2009
Pure social media recruitment is up 300% from a very low base
A mobile element now features in 35% of briefs (including development/application of apps) compared to less than 5% in 2009
(*All statistics relate to Network Marketing recruitment market insights and compare November 2008- October 2009 with November 2009 to October 2010.) Conclusions
Whilst the digital market is still growing strongly, there are clear signs that the discipline is maturing across the marketing field. Growth in the sector has been predominately within the client side although agencies like twentysix and MadebyPi have grown considerably. The growth client-side demonstrates a greater understanding of the discipline for clients and a greater confidence in creating strategies and implementing them in-house. This could also further demonstrate a real adoption of digital strategies as a core channel for many client side companies.
For agencies, the market has become very fragmented. Where a year or two ago there were a select number of purists delivering digital solutions to clients, now, the majority of traditional ‘off-line’ agencies have a digital offering. Perhaps this is driven from a client requirement where a marketing and creative solution invariably requires a digital angle and they are reticent to pass this on to a 3rd party. Whilst social media has been the buzz-word over the past 12 months many companies appear to be still struggling to see the transparent return on investment of social media. Perhaps this is a misunderstanding of the discipline that has been likened to a bonfire burning away in the background rather than the fireworks of PPC or advertising activity (analogy courtesy of Jono Marcus Lucre Social).
See it more as brand building – not generating immediate sales (contrary to the expectations of most online activity).The Leeds Digital Festival running this week demonstrates without doubt however that Leeds is positioned as an incredibly strong force in digital marketing.Future TrendsDigital is here to stay.
“No kidding” I hear you say. I’ll explain. In a current debate on our Linkedin group Mark Bower from CoolPink made a very important point. The audience has changed. Digital is no longer a bolt on to a marketing strategy, it’s a fundamental part of marketing that needs to be integrated.
Our stats above substantiate this. Clients have embraced digital marketing at a greater rate over the past year and will continue to do so. Marketing spend will still be split across disciplines with, most likely, a proportionately larger percentage being driven online.What digital has got that most other marketing channels don’t have is the ability to be completely innovative. And I for one believe we have some of the most innovative people in the industry based right here in Yorkshire.
For further information regarding this survey please contact Jonathan Hirst
It seems like the social media bug is hitting every company and every person (that can get on to the internet) these days. Long gone are the days when Facebook was just for the younger generation – my mother has 3 accounts due to the fact she keeps forgetting her password and she isn’t technically savvy enough to work out how to request a new one (you would need the patience of a saint to talk her through it – believe me).
We all know that the Queen has been getting more involved in everything that is digitally social. The Royal Family have had Flickr and Twitter accounts for a while where they share all official photos from the past and present giving official updates on Royal visits and events – a great use of social media.
But today the Queen has gone live on Facebook? Really? I like to think she has done this so she can join in with Leeds Digital Festival which you probably know is happening all this week. But what I would really like to know is that in these times of social media growth, do you feel that this is a good move by the Queen? Is this just a publicity stunt where she is just trying to be, dare I say it ‘Down with the Kids’? I can see the point of having Flickr and Twitter accounts but I’m just not sure what what she will get out of Facebook. Am I wrong in my opinion? Can the social media gurus out there see the benefits, and if so, what are they?
So, the big week is nearly upon us. The highlight of the digital marketing calendar and the excitement is mounting.
The Leeds Digital Festival 2010 starts on the 8th November 2010 and the organisers, both official and unofficial have done a great job in building the momentum for this event although initially there was a significant amount of trending on twitter that really wasn’t that positive. There were initially ripples of derision from across the Pennines as the website launch appeared to be delayed and the communication around it was, well, patchy to say the least. This was then echoed defensively by some more influential social media folk in the region that the whole week needed a major kick up the backside if it wasn’t going to be a complete disaster – perhaps a little dramatic but the sentiment was about right.
Well, how wrong could people have been? I sense a real flow of excitement about the week. Agencies not usually involved in these events have really embraced what it’s all about. Take the agency open day on the 8th. Companies opening their doors to the young blood of the industry so they can see what life’s like in the real world. There’s a social media surgery on the 9th and an interactive workshop with the Rising Digital team on the 10th.
The Business of Digital, hosted by David Parkin of TheBusinessdesk.com will bring together thought leaders around the world on the 11th of November to discuss the impact of digital technology on our lives and businesses with some, no doubt lively debate. And finally the week culminates with the DADI’s – the awards ceremony for the digital industry at Savilles in Armouries Square (is the Royal Armouries really not big enough to host all of this digital talent??) Rajvir, Emma and myself will be there – will you?
It’s sure to be a great week for the marketing industry in its widest sense in Yorkshire. There’s masses going on. We’ll be blogging, tweeting and updating on LinkedIn each day about events – make sure you get involved and make it the best Digital Festival so far.
…when other people say positive things about us on open forums and we find out about it – we love to share it.
The Leeds Forum is becoming a great resource for information about – yep, you guessed it, Leeds. We spotted this really great comment about what we do and thought we’d like to it so you can see what people are saying on line about us (not just on our testimonials!).
If you’ve had a similar experience then we’d encourage you to add a comment.
Views from Network Marketing 