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Welcome
to December's Issue of the Newsletter for members of "The
Creative Networks"
'Creative Networks' at *Birmingham City University's Technology
Innovation Centre (tic) is
about bringing together all parties involved in sound
and screen-based media in the West Midlands. 'Creative
Networks' seeks to promote both successful business development
and collaboration. It also seeks to contribute to the establishment
of a strong, long-term, sound and screen-based Creative
Industry in the West Midlands. The tic
achieves this through increasing knowledge sharing and use of innovative
technologies, creative practice and business processes.
Regular monthly networking events are held at tic.
They offer opportunities for individuals and companies
to network, make pitches and identify the resources they
are seeking or support for the projects they are planning.
Visit our online portal www.creativenetworksonline.com
for up-to-date news, funding, business support, training
and tender opportunities.
*Birmingham City University is the new name for the former University of Central England in Birmingham. For further details please visit: www.bcu.ac.uk/namechange
In This Issue:
1. COMING UP -
December's Creative Networks Event *THIS MONTH IS ON WEDNESDAY*
2. Event Reviewed
- November's Creative Networks Event
- Make It With Marketing!
3. The Music Network - Monthly Networking Event held at tic
4. i4 Skills - Courses NOW Available |
...we’d also like to hear from you!
Contact Scarlet Scardanelli, the Creative Networks administrator
with any feedback, case studies, success stories, interesting projects, collaboration opportunities or news:
:: phone
0121 331 5400
:: email
creative.networks@tic.ac.uk
:: or
post to Technology Innovation Centre, Millennium
Point, Curzon Street, Birmingham, B4 7XG
:: or online at www.creativenetworksonline.com |
| 1. COMING UP - December's Creative Networks Event *DONT MISS OUT* |
Wednesday
12th December- From 6.00pm ‘til LATE at tic, Millennium Point
**PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS MONTH'S EVENT IS ON A WEDNESDAY NOT THURSDAY**
The Collaborative Networking Event for Creative Industry Professionals
Train Your Brain For Business Gain!
A Memory Masterclass
Have you ever been to a networking event and couldn't remember someone's name? Have you ever stood up to do a presentation and either missed something out because you forgot it, or worse still, forgot what you were going to say?
If that's you, help is at hand ...introducing the Memory Masterclass!
Memory coach, Dave Turner, will host a light-hearted, yet highly stimulating session at our special end-of-year Creative Networks event this December, please note ON THIS OCCASION ONLY - it's a Wednesday.
Able to memorise and recall Pi to 1,250 decimal places - forwards and backwards - Dave's 'Christmas Crackers' could help you to improve your memory, leading to greater efficiency, professionalism and increased results for you and your business.
PRIZE DRAW - DON'T MISS YOUR CHANCE!
Enter this prize draw by completing a feedback form on the night for your chance to WIN a prize!
1st prize is an iPod Nano
2nd prize is a mono laser printer
3rd prize is a bottle of wine
The draw will be made at the end of the evening, if prize winners are not present, then the draw will continue until a winner is identified.
This event is free, if you would like to join us, please email creative.networks@tic.ac.uk, or phone 07969 226 693. Alternatively, you can register online on the Creative Networks portal www.creativenetworksonline.com.
You’ll be very welcome.
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| 2. Review of November's Creative Networks Event |
Thursday 29th November - From 6.00pm ‘til LATE at tic, Millennium Point
Make It With Marketing!
The theme of the 37th consecutive Creative Networks event was what many see as the tricky subject of marketing.
As usual, the evening provided an opportunity to talk, chat and network with other individuals and companies representing the creative industries across the region. There was also the opportunity for everyone to use our new 'Post-it board' system in order to exchange ideas and contact details for collaborative projects. A live link to the website was provided in the café so that entries could be posted there and then. The 'Post-it-board' can be found on our new and improved website www.creativenetworksonline.com along with a forum where your expertise can be exchanged.
The lecture theatre was again packed with an audience of well over 100 people who came to hear our Speakers - Ian Sterritt from Kirkdale Customer Advocates and Jane Pallister from Boommm.com. Ian and Jane presented an invaluable set of informative and entertaining sales and marketing techniques.
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Opportunities for individuals and companies to pitch and identify the resources they are seeking or support for the projects they are planning. If you wish to pitch at a future event please email creative.networks@tic.ac.uk |
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Music West Midlands is our regional music development group, we come together to lobby on issues that concern our local industry. One of our projects is British Midlands Music.
British Midlands Music is creating a pavilion stand for the second year at MIDEM, which takes place in Cannes in January 2008. Last year 22 companies came on the stand, and this year 35 companies are expected.
This pitch is to make you aware of the opportunity for your company. Any business concerned with Music should be attending MIDEM. MIDEM is in its 45th year and is the music industry equivalent of the Cannes Film festival. The cost of attending the MIDEM through the British Midlands Music stand is £395 + VAT if you book before 10th December. After that £475 + VAT to 21st December. This compares favourably to attending MIDEM at the walk up rate of around £600.
The charge includes admission to MIDEM and use of the stand. The element retained by British Midlands Music as a contribution towards the stand is £140. We will recover no more that £6,500 from companies participating on the stand, the balance of £22,000 is paid by the agencies: Birmingham City Council, The Arts Council and Digital Central.
Registration through BMM closes on the 21st December. All the other pavilion stands have put their prices up to £550 + VAT since October 31st 2007.
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Before setting up Trinity Training 19 years ago, Shân Dobinson was both line manager and training manager in small and large organisations, businesses and charities, in the UK and overseas.
Now Shân offers coaching and training in sales, telesales and customer care. She works alongside companies to identify areas of potential growth and then to devise practical activities to tap into those opportunities, whether new customers for existing products / services or new products / services for existing customers. She also supports managers and staff to develop the confidence and competence to achieve their goals.
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Kinetic makes a tangible difference to organisations using public relations - the discipline of building and protecting reputation.
Kinetic differs from its competition in that it guarantees its work.
Expectations of what clients should expect by the end of the campaign are clarified at the outset. PR techniques weave seamlessly with every other element in the communications mix to help clients achieve their business goals.
Kinetic specialises in the sustainability sector which stretches across many old-fashioned vertical sectors. However all its clients share one thing in common - they take their reputations seriously because they can see and feel the difference it makes to their business. |
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Skillset is the industry body which supports skills and training for people and businesses to ensure the UK audio visual industries maintain their world class position.
Skillset has teamed up with Train to Gain in the West Midlands to provide a free and impartial skills analysis for AV businesses, based on a real understanding of the industry. The service will also provide advice on high quality, flexible training to suit individual needs and will help businesses to access funding.
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NOTE: If you would like to pitch your own company in this way and get you message across to all the attendees at CN (as well as getting a mention in our monthly newsletter) then please contact Scarlet on 07969 226 693 or email creative.networks@tic.ac.uk |
| Guest Speakers - Make It With Marketing! |
Before making their presentation, Ian and Jane very kindly made themselves available for one to one advice sessions. These were well attended by individuals who required assistance with practical ideas for promoting their businesses and selling to customers.
Please see below the feedback that Creative Networks has received:
"The advice session with the Marketing Consultant was absolutely brilliant. She had just completed some research on the topic I raised with her and it worked out very well indeed for me. Also I went along to the networking session afterwards and had a discussion with her colleague Ian. He added another relevant and fantastic dimension. These were two of the most valuable events that I have attended so far. These are outstanding marketing consultants. Please pass on my congratulations and thanks to them."
S Kay Oliver - Glasso Afoofa Publishing
"I am an MSc student at the TIC studying Interactive Media. In addition to this I work for a small company creating websites for their clients and for a school assisting them in creating their corporate identity. As I find myself increasingly needing to understand marketing considerations, I found Thursday's session, with Ian Sterritt, invaluable. As I lack of experience when considering marketing issues, the advice from someone who is obviously very experienced was very helpful."
Rinchen Emma Ridley
"As this was my first time attending these events, I found it very useful, more so from the point of the pitchers but also from the keynote speakers. Having the 1:1 sessions was extremely useful."
Mux Patel - Afterburner UK
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With extensive key account management experience, Chartered Marketer status and a first degree in Engineering Ian’s career has involved him in the UK launch of satellite navigation systems, the start-up of one of the first location-based mobile phone services, geographical information systems and software for emergency services. He has first hand understanding of the creation and building of innovation driven ventures. Kirkdale Customer Advocates assume the role of a customer but, out of the spotlight, help organisations get things right. They help translate technology into commercial reality; helping create and grow business via strategic business planning, market research and sales implementation. www.kirkdale-advocates.co.uk
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Jane Pallister
Company: Boommm.com
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phone 01889 584972
email jane@boommm.com
web www.boommm.com
Jane is an internationally published business academic who works closely with Midlands support organisations and other universities mentoring start-ups and her business background is in advising, researching and training for business.
Jane has also worked with major names including Capital Radio Group and eBay on sales and marketing training and business start-ups and she's advised and mentored well over two thousand new companies during her career.
Jane's presentations are always fun, friendly and entertaining – but drive home serious points for people seeking success. |
Our speakers explained that sales and marketing is really about the art of good communication. They challenged the audience to sum up all that their companies offer in only 15 seconds! A difficult task for anyone to accomplish, however Ian Sterritt emphasized the importance of concentrating on core areas rather than attempting to promote every facet of your business. The main points to establish are 'What you do', 'How you do it' and 'Who for'. Dealt with in this way, your pitch is far more likely to succeed because it will focus only on the points a potential buyer needs to know about your business.
Describing the difference between a 'Buy it Now' bulldozer style of heavy forced sale compared to a more subtle 'Mature Sales Process', Ian explained how important issues such as the cost of a product, an effective proposition and trust are all important factors in the sales process. We, as consumers, in general hate being sold to. He also stated that the best way to sell is not to force products or services on people but by listening to what the customer wants and then providing that to them.
Trying to make your customers happy is incredibly important. Ian described the process of trying to provide what they desire whilst also trying to take the pain away from the purchase process. This goes a long way to building that successful buyer/seller relationship.
However, the skill of sales is not stand alone process. It is also important to find out the background of the person to whom you're selling. You need to know all about them, what are their interests, likes and dislikes. To answer these questions, Jane Pallister explained that in order to find that elusive spending customer, it is necessary for the seller to spend as much time as possible on market research.
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Using the old adage of 'Selling Coals to Newcastle' Jane took tackling the task of selling a stage further by using the example of ‘Selling Ice to Inuits'. The entire audience were presented with Mr Men ice lollies, Jane explained that to sell Ice Cream to Inuits you would first have to find out as much as you possibly could about your target market. What's the main diet of your target market? If you are selling Ice Creams, what flavours and tastes would your potential market want? Whilst we in the UK are used to sweet things, strawberry lollies appealed to the assembled audience – do Inuits even like fruit? |
Do they like sweet things? Do they even have similar tastes to our own? What age and life-stage are they? What influences them? Would a premium or value brand meet their expectations? These are among the things that you would need to find out if you are to sell to a specific market.
To conclude, both Jane and Ian again pressed home the point that when selling, the most important thing to do is to find out what your buyer wants and then provide it for them. |
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You are not the customer, so trying to guess what they want, using your experience and perspective, will not work. For a successful sale you must get into the mind-set of your customer. Listen for triggers; listen to what your potential customer is saying.
Discovering what your customer might want can only be achieved by conducting thorough market research. The more home work you do investigating your market, the better equipped you will be to deliver what a customer desires. Marketing is a learning process and sales is a listening process, combine the two and you will stand much more chance of securing the business.
Our speakers received enthusiastic applause for sharing their valuable insights with us. We must also thank Ian and Jane for being available afterwards for more discussion and networking.
The ice lollies went down a treat! |
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| Event Feedback - Find out what some of our attendees had to say... |
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"This is only my second event, but it has helped re-introduce me into the local scene and I am looking forward to developing this toe-hold in the future."
John Nash - Limelight
"Good networking potential with useful talks/speakers. Raising funding/marketing and PR awareness to the business side of the community. I got a small video commission via a contact at Creative Networks."
Vinod Mahindru - Cinemarx
"An excellent forum for creative minds, I'm glad I was introduced to it. I met with other networkers who were interested in my skills and with who I may collaborate in the future. "
Matthew Osborne - Freelancer
"Very well organised, very pleasant environment."
Cecilia Treaquista
"Very good information - food for thought. Good networking opportunities."
Lorna Hards - Silver Zombie UK Ltd
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The Music Network leads a monthly networking event at the tic for all music related businesses from the West Midlands region.
Running successfully for over five years, their meetings have proved inspirational in the support, development and promotion of thousands of music related activities.
If you have news to report, events to promote, points for discussion or a pitch to make, the Music Network will be useful for you.
They offer access to contacts, opportunities, help, advice and guidance - and even free tea and biscuits.
The Music Network is a voluntary, not for profit, social enterprise organisation seeking charitable status. Meetings take place on the last Thursday of each month, 4-6pm at Birmingham City University's Technology Innovation Centre (tic), Millennium Point, Curzon Street, Birmingham, B4 7XG.
email info@birminghammusicnetwork.com
web www.birminghammusicnetwork.com |
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LOW COST Short Courses Currently Available
i4 Skills courses at Birmingham City University's Technology Innovation Centre (tic) provide a low-cost way to realise the full potential of your creative talents.
| Enterprise Courses |
Course Start Dates |
Days and Times |
Market-Led Diversification for
Media Business |
10th January 08 |
Thursday x 3 (9.30 - 17.00) |
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6th March 08 |
Thursday x 3 (9.30 - 17.00) |
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1st May 08 |
Thursday x 3 (9.30 - 17.00) |
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3rd July 08 |
Thursday x 3 (9.30 - 17.00) |
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Business Essentials for Media
Start-Ups |
7th February 08 |
Thursday x 3 (9.30 - 17.00) |
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3rd April 08 |
Thursday x 3 (9.30 - 17.00) |
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5th June 08 |
Thursday x 3 (9.30 - 17.00) |
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| Technical Courses |
Course Start Dates |
Days and Times |
Introduction to Website Design
and Production |
12th January 08 |
Saturday x 4 (10:15 – 16:00) |
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4th February 08 |
| Monday and Thursday evenings x 4 (18:00 – 21:00) |
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29th March 08 |
Saturday x 4 (10:15 – 16:00) |
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21st April 08 |
Monday and Thursday evenings x 4 (18:00 – 21:00) |
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12th July 08 |
Saturday x 4 (10:15 – 16:00) |
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| Further Website Design and Production |
2nd May 08 |
Friday x 3 (09:30 – 17:00) |
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19th July 08 |
Friday x 3 (09:30 – 17:00) |
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Introduction to Multimedia Authoring |
dates to be confirmed |
Thursday x 4 (09:30 – 17:00) |
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| Graphics for Web & Multimedia |
7th January 08 |
Monday and Thursday evenings x 4 (18:00 – 21:00) |
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26th April 08 |
Saturday x 4 (10:00 – 16:00) |
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20th June 08 |
Friday x 4 (09:30 – 17:00) |
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| Introduction to 3D Modelling |
13th May 08 |
Tuesday x 4 (09:30 – 17:00) |
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8th July 08 |
Tuesday x 4 (09:30 – 17:00) |
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| Multimedia Scripting |
31st January 08 |
Tuesday x 4 (09:30 – 17:00) |
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| Introduction to Computer Animation |
11th January 08 |
Friday x 3 (09:30 – 17:00) |
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11th April 08 |
Friday x 3 (09:30 – 17:00) |
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| Desktop Publishing |
1st April 08 |
Tuesday x 4 (09:30 – 17:00) |
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10th June 08 |
Tuesday x 4 (09:30 – 17:00) |
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| Introduction to Digital Photography and Image Manipulation |
26th February 08 |
Tuesday x 4 (09:30 – 17:00) |
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8th July 08 |
Tuesday x 4 (09:30 – 17:00) |
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Camera, Sounds and Lights |
25th April 08 |
Friday x 3 (09:30 – 17:00) |
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6th June 08 |
Friday x 3 (09:30 – 17:00) |
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Digital Video Editing and Production |
30th April 08 |
Wednesday x 3 (09:30 – 17:00) |
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21st May 08 |
Wednesday x 3 (09:30 – 17:00) |
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11th June 08 |
Wednesday x 3 (09:30 – 17:00) |
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2nd July 08 |
Wednesday x 3 (09:30 – 17:00) |
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Broadcast Editing |
16th May 08 |
Friday x 3 (09:30 – 17:00) |
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27th June 08 |
Friday x 3 (09:30 – 17:00) |
All courses are delivered at Millennium Point in Birmingham City Centre.
For more information or to book a course phone 0121 331 6400 email course.enquiries@tic.ac.uk or visit www.i4skillsonline.com. |
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© Technology Innovation Centre (tic) 2006
Millennium Point, Curzon Street, Birmingham B4 7XG
phone 0121 331 5400 fax 0121 331 5401
email enquiries@tic.ac.uk www.tic.ac.uk
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