Digital Media is truly international, there is a reason why the internet is classed as the world wide web! But what geographical areas are adding the value, and where are the real innovators based?

In the UK most will go for London, understandably. The big media agencies and niche digital businesses can all be found here with the vast majority of the talent right on the doorstep. London is a great place for digital too, the culture, environment and passion for digital media fits the modern day profile of the big city.

Outside of London it becomes less clear.

In my own experience I started to recruit for digital media companies in Bristol. I recall an agency based right in the middle of the city that was particularly involved in early formats of football club websites – no interaction with fans or on demand videos in those days! There was a real buzz about Bristol and I quickly established relationships with similar agencies who were really embracing digital technologies and looking for new ways to gain greater exposure for brands online. For this reason I have always had an affection for the region when it comes to business, but I get a sense that progress has slowed in recent years.

Having recruited out of Birmingham for most of my career you would expect the “second city” to also be a favourite. Although I appreciate there are some good brands and real innovators that work in and around the West Midlands, for real presence within the online community it has always been left behind by its biggest rival, Manchester! Without mentioning any names directly there are some big players in Manchester and also some key branches of some of the larger businesses operating from London. Creative, technical and strategic skills are often sought and the population around the North West generally delivers with innovative and entrepreneurial skills. Birmingham could be on the verge of challenging though as I am personally working with companies that have relocated from the South East with a preference for repopulating their business in this area.

A mention should also go to Leeds, an area that has seen real improvement over recent years and can now support a modern industry such as digital media. Further north we have Edinburgh, also a fundamental player within the UK digital market and home to some key online marketing talent. This is a cultural city that attracts some great conceptual design but strategic online marketing also has a place in this region.

Honourable mentions also to Cambridge, particularly strong in technical development and smaller towns in the Home Counties that tend to attract the smaller digital agencies that offer a less corporate appeal.

Internationally the States is an obvious one, just look at all the activity generated within Social Media for proof, and Asia from a development perspective. European countries are getting onboard the digital bandwagon, with my favourite being the Netherlands at the moment.

Do you agree with any of the locations I’ve mentioned or feel there should be another area deserving of praise? I would be interested in hearing from people who can be a real advocate for their region and so offer an insiders view.

Ashley Seddon

ashley.seddon@digitalpersonnel.co.uk

This entry was posted on Friday, August 7th, 2009 at 2:03 pm and is filed under Digital Media News & Views. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.