Digital Mission Blog
The Digital Mission series is run by Chinwag to support UK-based digital companies expand into new markets and attract overseas investment.
Waspit's Digital Mission: The Buzz of the Big Apple
Waspit has just spent the last week in New York for the Digital Mission with Chinwag and UK Trade and Investment (UKTI).
It was one of the busiest weeks I have had, running up and down town for meetings, participating in the Ad:Tech event with over 260 US companies, functions every night and 12 hour days!
The UKTI and Chinwag worked so hard and put in so much effort to make the event an absolute success and more than worthwhile for all the companies involved. The week was packed with invaluable meetings and events.
All of the 19 companies bought something completely different to the table and really showcased the diversity and creativity of the UK technology space.
Whilst there we were introduced to many of the big players in the space, and is it surprising the speed at which they move. One moment you are having a wine and casually telling someone about Waspit, the next you’re in their office discussing strategies. The US operates completely differently, but when you're only around for a week it is better that way.
It was my first business trip of the sort and it was a fantasic experience, especially experiencing the US market.
My week started with a late flight into NY, and the front page of the paper included an article about the bomb scare at Newark Airport (where I flew into...didn’t read the article needless to say!)
From the 9am start on the Monday with the MasterClass in USA business, a morning packed with people from a variety of sectors giving their 2 cents on the current environment. We met people from notable companies like Pepsi, Mashable, and HBO. There were many networking events, which are the best place to make contacts.
Two days of Ad:Tech, networking on the HMS Daring, ABC studios to the final pitch to investors on the last night made the event a memorable one.
Waspit got a lot of positive feedback and general excitement surrounding our product and we met some invaluable people.
With the infrastructure laid out by Chinwag and UKTI it was the perfect environment for Waspit was able to announce the launch of our new product BuzzPay, contactless mobile payments in conjunction with MasterCard.
I highly recommend applying for the next Mission!
Photo (cc) Joisey Showaa & Andrew Fawcett-Wolf.
Win Stand Space at Mobile World Congress 2011 in Barcelona
creativeindustriesktn [dot] org by 26.11.2010.
Mobile World Congress in Barcelona is one of the most important events in the calendar for anyone that dabbles in the mobile sector.
Aside from the thousands of mobilistas, including a large delegation from the UK, what's not to love? Mobile geekery and Barcelona in February. Part of the UK presence at the show includes a UK Pavilion to showcase the best mobile talent from this side of the Channel, backed by Creative Industries KTN and UK Trade & Investment.
They've got together to launch a competition to give a way one place on the UKTI stand for a company to showcase their technology to the leaders of the world mobile industry.
How to Enter
All you have to do is tell Creative Industries KTN, in 250 words or less:
“Why would you be the talk of MWC and how will your offering act as a draw and be demonstrated on and around the UKTI booth?”
Send your entry to ideascreativeindustriesktn [dot] org by 26th November 2010.
The Prize
The winner will receive a place on the UKTI booth which is located at one of the most prominent places in the congress, plus full integration with UKTI’s presence at the event.
Steve Williams of UKTI said: “Our stand is always very busy and we are looking for a company whose product or service has that wow factor that will get everyone at the show talking and bring the key international decision makers flocking to the UKTI stand. This is a great chance to put your business in front of the top people from the world’s mobile sector. We will also promote the winner to relevant companies within our network to increase their exposure even more.”
There are also two runner-up prizes of guaranteed place at Mobile World Congress pre-show press networking event on 17th January at 1 Victoria Street London, with a chance to meet and present your company to more than 20 UK media interested in mobile and technology.
Mobile World Congress 2011
Mobile World Congress 2011 is held in Barcelona Feb 14-17, 2011.
It is the leading event for the mobile industry and is attended by 50,000 senior figures from across the mobile sector from 200 countries.
MWC is:
- A world class thought leadership conference featuring visionary keynotes and action-provoking panel discussions
- An exhibition featuring more than 1,300 companies displaying the cutting-edge products and technology that will define the mobile future
- App Planet, the new Centre of the Apps Universe
- A great chance to network, find business opportunities and make deals.
The winner and two runners up will be selected by a panel of judges that will include:
- Mark Leaver CIKTN Theme Champion for Globalisation
- John Cass CIKTN Director Steve Williams UKTI
The Small Print
- Companies must have working products, services or technology.
- The judges will be looking for a company that is creating new ways to market through mobile in a creative and innovative way. This is not just about theory but practice.
- The decision of the judges is final and no correspondence will be entered into.
- The first prize is a place on the UKTI Booth. No travel or accommodation costs or other expenses are provided.
- There is no cash alternative to the prize.
- The winners are responsible for transporting and insuring any equipment/products to and from MWC The runners up prizes do not include travel or accommodation or other expenses.
- The winners will be required to undertake PR activities in relation to the event via the CI KTN platform, e.g. blogs, tweets, video interviews to be agreed with CI KTN.
Photo (cc) Nimbuzz.
Help Wanted: The Ugly Truth
New Yorkers are known for their straight-up, tell-it-like-it-is attitude. One of the points I make during the pre-event briefings for the Digital Mission to New York, is the speed and brevity the mission companies will experience during the networking events in the Big Apple.
Well, strolling round the city on the final afternoon, we happened across, Rice to Riches, a rice pudding shop who were were looking for new staff. And in true Noo Yoik style, they weren't shy in the Help Wanted sign posted on their front door, listing all the err, attributes, of working there:
- Long hard hours
- Very low pay
- Lots of heavy lifting
- Work for a ball-busting asshole
- Dead-end job
- No Benefits
- No Advancement
- Must be college grad
I'm not sure if any recruiters could take a leaf out of their book, whether this level of honest would attract or repel candidates would be an interesting study. Still, if you did receive any applications you'd know they were committed.
You have to love the Rice to Riches style...very much keepin' it real, just check out the other stickers on their shop window:
Photo (c) Sam Michel.
New York, New York...
Last week saw another successful Digital Mission to New York.
We landed in JFK on Halloween and were greeted by a limo and it’s fantastic driver, Clinton, to take us to Manhattan. Moment of glitz and glamour over, we headed to The Three Monkeys to meet up with all the companies and the UK Trade and Investment team, and generally cause havoc. I believe everyone had a good time, and judging by some of the stories the following morning, havoc was successfully caused.
Monday
The first day saw us all head to Winston and Strawn’s offices on the 43rd Floor of the Met Life
Building – needless to say, the views were incredible looking straight
down Park Avenue and right next to the Chrysler building.
Having been welcomed with a much needed breakfast, we started a long morning of intense sessions, which covered everything from legal practicalities of launching/expanding a business into the US market to support available from the city and regional development agencies and local trade associations and how to connect and partner with major corporations.
The final session, “Tales from the Trenches”, gave our companies unique insight with painful tales and success stories from those who have ‘been there’ and ‘done that’.
After a little break, we made our way to the British Consulate for a reception and networking, where we made each company step up to the mic for a strictly 60 second pitch. As time keeper, I’ll admit I felt a little harsh cutting our delegates off mid-flow, however our US guests thanked me and it turns out even 60 seconds is pushing the average New York executive’s attention span. Once pitches were over, I watched as many a business card was swapped and phone numbers exchanged.
I think it’s fair to say that the days events combined with the jetlag led to a massive energy crash, some of us headed to The Hillstone for some food before heading to back to our hotels for bed.
Tuesday
On Tuesday, our companies were on top form once again and ready for networking. The British Consulate was our first stop, for the Digital Mission / Reputation Online Breakfast where we filled up on muffins, bagels, coffee and fruit before the networking started.
Next up it was Incubator tours,
taking in some of New York’s leading co-working and start-up spaces. The
first was NYU Poly followed by General Assembly. After that was a company tour with Ogilvy,
whose offices are close to the Hudson River, another fantastic photo
opportunity.
Our final stop was the Hive at 55 who, along with UK Trade & Investment, co-hosted a mixer event bringing together the best of the New York and British digital start-ups to share stories and experiences.
Wednesday
Ad:tech started on Wednesday, and having set up our stand (conveniently located by the bar) we took on the US. There was a distinct lack of sweets & treats, but of course our stand had some – traditional ‘Murray Mints’ to be precise. Our British charm and fantastic companies won over many a curious Yank, and by this point our companies were running all over Manhattan having their own meetings and catching up with the many contacts they had made the previous day.
Many of the delegates made their way to a ‘Raising Capital Roundtable’ held at the Deloitte offices, which covered the best way to pitch to the industry in the Tri-State area.
Wednesday evening saw the majority
of the group boarding HMS Daring, where we were treated to drinks, canapés and the
rare opportunity of a guided tour through the ship. Their hospitality was
impeccable, who knew that the Navy are trained in hosting cocktail parties?!
Thursday
As our last proper Digital Mission day, a group of us had breakfast at a proper American diner – and whilst blueberry pancakes and French toast with bacon and maple syrup were on the menu, some still stuck to the English Breakfast! It was another ad:tech day, so we headed to the Javitz Center in the pouring rain to meet and greet more Americans.
Following ad:tech, we made our way to the Pitchoutofwater Meetup held at the Hive at 55, where some of our own companies (Waspit, Nuji and ShoutEm) were able to present their products & services to some of New York’s Funding Community. We then decided to end this years Digital Mission in a similar style to how it had all began, in a pub round the corner, where despite the loud music, many an interesting conversation was had.
Friday
With no official ‘Digital Mission’ associated plans, many of our companies were busy with meetings. However, a few of those who were free had a whirlwind sightseeing tour - which of course, as a Digital Mission, included the Apple store, as well as the Statue of Liberty, Soho and the kind of subway adventures only tourists could have.
The only thing left to say is a massive thank you to Patricia, Niall, Carmen, Keith and all at UKTI, Danvers and everyone at Winston and Strawn, Reputation Online, NYU Poly, General Assembly, Ogilvy, Hive at 55 and of course, the stars of the show - all the fantastic companies that were involved.
Photos (c) Lauren Cotton, (c) Andrew Fawcett-Wolf and (cc) Sam Michel
Digital Mission Companies Waspit & RealEyes Announce New Products in New York
Last week, Waspit Ltd and Realeyes Data Services, both companies that joined us on the Digital Mission to New York, managed to find time to announce new launches at ad:tech NYC 2010, despite a full weeks schedule and their own meetings!
Waspit Ltd launched their new contactless payment system, "BuzzPay" and Realeyes Data Services launched the second generation of their Adgagement eye-tracking service.
Waspit Ltd - “BuzzPay”.
“The company's new BuzzPay service is compatible with both NFC-enabled handsets and contactless stickers and will enable users to pay for purchases anywhere MasterCard PayPass is accepted around the world.
"The beauty of our platform and our open-loop approach means that Waspit can now appeal directly to consumers, rather than having to first roll out an expensive merchant network," says Waspit CEO Richard Steggall.
The company, which has operations in the UK, North America and Australia, has partnered with Yates's, a pub chain with more than 60 outlets across the UK, for the launch of the new service. "The choice to work with Yates’s was an easy one given we share the same target market," says Danielle Dalkie, Waspit's head of marketing and PR.”
Realeyes Data Services - Adgagement
“The launch follows extensive trials in collaboration with leading publishers in the US and the UK. One of the forward thinking companies to take advantage of the latest in eye-tracking solutions has been Incisive Media. Matt McGowan, Managing Director of North America, explains:
“The new eye-tracking metrics delivered by Realeyes were invaluable in helping us understand how to monetize our media assets in the most efficient way. The concise reporting uncovered key insights about user engagement with various ad display formats – information which is central to building more profitable advertising relations.”
Realeyes were commissioned to measure progress with page-layout updates across the Incisive Media portfolio. For example, the new ClickZ page redesign was able to more than double advertising engagement with both the MPU and the Leaderboard ad formats. Remarkably, this was achieved despite the fact that the old ClickZ site was already performing well. The new placements are now clocking in at 174% of industry average* - a highly compelling argument for prospective advertisers.
“With the publicity surrounding our latest Adgagement service, we’re also seeing a dramatic spike in interest from the leading FMCG brands.” says Mihkel Jäätma, Founding Partner at Realeyes. “Brand managers recognize that 2/3 of all advertising is brand-focused, yet over 90% of online ad spend is still focused on direct response. This remarkable discrepancy is due to become more balanced over time.”
For more information on all the companies taking part in the Digital Mission to NYC 2010, check out the companies page. And don't forget to keep an eye on @digitalmission or our Digital Mission newsletter for upcoming trips (announcements coming soon!)
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