Date: Tue 22nd September, 2009
Venue:
Number of Guests Attended: 130
Leading figures from the digital, creative and media sectors gathered for Insider’s inaugural Business of Media Conference at The Lowry, Salford Quays.
Insider’s first dedicated conference to the media sector included a keynote speech from Sinead Greenaway, the new chief executive of MediaCity, who made her first public appearance since agreeing to take the role. In a room overlooking the rapidly emerging Peel Media development, the former Virgin Media Television operations director described the scheme as the “most exciting project in media this century”, but added the challenge now is to deliver and ensure it realises its ambitions.
“We all know the facts - it's the biggest media community in Europe - and we've spent more than £500m getting it to this stage,” she said. “But we now have to put some meat on the bones. We aim to attract and support a rich media economy, but it has to have creativity flowing through its veins. We have to foster that creativity in the region.”
The event also heard from Alex Connock, the chief executive of multimedia production company Ten Alps, who called for the Northwest Regional Development Agency to clarify how the delayed £140m Venture Capital & Loan Fund will be used to help media businesses in the region. He said the fund’s managers need to be “put on the spot”.
“We've just started a new venture called Accountancy TV and approached the authorities in the North West and Singapore with the idea,” he said. “The response from the Singapore authorities was astonishing compared to what we received here. The North West just hasn't got its act together when it comes to investing in media considering it's a key sector for the region.”
The BBC’s business development lead Liz Molyneux announced that Saul Nassé will be the new controller of BBC Learning at MediaCity and revealed more details of the corporation’s recruitment drive over the next 12 months. Michael Nutley, editor-in-chief of New Media Age, also gave an insightful account of new developments in the new media industry.
Nutley was one of more than 15 speakers during the day, which also featured presentations and panel debates on how to access funding, approach new markets and compete on a global scale. Vimto’s senior brand manager Emma Hunt, in charge of the company’s £5m marketing strategy this year, revealed what it looks for when agencies pitch for work, while Andrew Baker, the managing director of consultancy Rights, outlined how businesses can better protect their ideas and IP.
The conference finished with a panel debate looking at how creative businesses can secure new finance and approach private equity investors. Business angel Paul Carroll, who sold his PR agency Communique to Burson Marsteller, had this advice: “Businesses looking for investment should be like burglars – have an exit strategy right from the start.”
