The Marketing Industry Network is the brainchild of The Drum, the fortnighly media and marketing magazine and website. Here Gordon Young, founder of both The Drum and MIN discusses the strategy, objectives and vision which is driving this knowledge-sharing organisation.
Credit crunch, or no credit crunch, the media and marketing business is continuing to change at a break-neck pace. Old models are being swept away, techniques that have delivered for generations have stopped working and the talk is not of evolution but revolution.
Because your business has been changing so rapidly, The Drum has had to stand back and look at our business too. We want to ensure we are best placed to help you continue to grow.
In the past we have asked you to subscribe to a magazine. But now we have decided that we are not actually in the business of simply producing a magazine.
Our business is actually providing you with market intelligence, business leads and key insights. It's also about helping you identify suppliers, finding clients and showcasing your work. Through our events it is also about training, celebrating best practice and sharing knowledge.
In many ways the magazine, which will continue what it always has done, is the glue that holds a community of like-minded people together.
So from now on to reflect this, the Marketing Industry Network will represent this community.
The organisation combines the Scottish Marketing Association and the Marketeer Association, which served Scotland and England respectively, and already has 2,000 members - 40 per cent of which are client-side marketeers - making it the largest trade body of its type outside of London.
Through this members-only website, it will provide numerous research documents, white papers, seminar notes as well as training and conference information.
Its aims are quite simply to bring clients and agencies together, and to help you grow your business through gaining access to information, networking opportunities and meeting like-minded people.
