The Future is Digital

24TH MARCH 2009 - THE CIRCLE CLUB - MANCHESTER

Chaired by BYRON EVANS, presenter, writer and broadcaster.

COLIN MC CAFFERY - Head of Products and Marketing at 2ergo
SARAH HARTLEY - Journalist for MEN
DAVID BIRD - Course Leader MSc Digital Marketing Communications Manchester Metropolitan University Business School
ROB BROWN, Managing Director Staniforth (part of the TBWA advertising group) Before joining Staniforth, Rob set up the PR operation for McCann Erickson


THE TALK
Today only about 5% of global advertising is online, yet according to statistics 20% of media is consumed online. Does this suggest that design companies and clients are failing to take advantage of the new digital era?


There is a growing opportunity for full service agencies to use the large amount of media choice and advances in technology to their advantage. Companies now have a daunting range of new technological options available to improve their business. This has inevitably raised the problem of which ones to choose, or indeed whether they need to create their own.

The all-conquering social networking site Facebook now has 150 million members, yet its sustainability as a business whose revenues come from advertising is under scrutiny. The internet can be seen as a rapidly changing environment full of technological advances that can be crucial one day and disposable the next. So, in the new digital age, how do we know which business strategies can be effectively applied in line with the whims of the newly-empowered consumers?

THE TOPICS
How are agencies reacting to new media advances?
Which methods really work?
Should businesses opt for the cheapest strategies or is it risk v reward?
Are clients allowing agencies to try new things?
How are consumers reacting to this?
Is the future really digital?
Does traditional media still have a future?
What is the future?