Digital Business Labs

© Kieran O’Hea 2002

1. R A T I O N A L E

Digital micro-enterprises have many creative ideas but inadequate time and resources to develop them.
They are often ill equipped to deal with investors and content commissioners. The success of the digital
media sector relies heavily on developing sufficient creative talent to satisfy the demand for diverse and
compelling content. While their work is recognised and flagged as being at the forefront in terms of
innovation and content, digital media innovators and entrepreneurs need access to an intellectual
infrastructure that will support business growth in this dynamic industry.

The pilot should provide a programme of business support to digital media companies, focusing mainly on
the needs of established, indigenous enterprises, with the aim of promoting best practice in business
management. It will provide knowledge on issues such as business development, branding and intellectual
property rights, with the objective of encouraging digital media companies to become competent in these
practices. It will also encourage them to exploit the resources around them, such as academic support,
R&D facilities, business-to-business networking and collaboration opportunities. Contributors to the
programme will include digital media companies, experts in business, law, finance and sponsoring
organisations, ideally with the participation of a business school and a University research centre.

Large organisations are often unaware of the different business functions that digital media can add value
to, including Training; Corporate communications; Customer relations; Retail activity; Supplier networks;
Marketing; Internal communications; Procurement; and Public relations. Most organisations will
eventually use digital media to some degree even if it is only on the company web site. However, they
need help from the sector in order to understand more fully the ways in which digital media can help their
business. In a pilot scenario, digital media companies could be given assignments by sponsoring
companies.

Digital media specialists could also take up residencies inside sponsoring companies in order to carry out
research into their digital needs. The sponsoring company may also wish to place staff inside digital media
companies, to learn more about digital media or to carry out due diligence in the case of a possible
investment. Partnerships such as this will lead to more widespread recognition of digital media as a
problem solving technology and will increase the profile of the Irish digital media sector.
2. C H A L L E N G E S T O B E A D D R E S S E D

The following challenges are associated with helping Irish digital media companies to access the global
market:

 Developing business knowledge of how to provide continuity of supply and how to protect,
harness and exploit intellectual property rights.

 Finding cost-effective ways for emerging talent and talented products, works or programmes to
be showcased internationally.

 Supporting small companies to secure international distribution deals and to provide a

compelling global online presence.

 Creating networks and partnerships that allow digital media companies to establish profitable
working relationships with a range of clients.

3. T H E D I G I T A L B U S I N E S S L A B S P R O G R A M M E

The programme should be a knowledge-driven process for digital media companies, which enables them
o
to take a 360 view of their future business directions. It will include modules on analysis, discovery,
creative thinking and strategic orientation and is designed to help digital media companies to equip their
businesses for the future. The programme will provide an innovative approach to company orientation
and the provision of prescriptive business solutions. It will help participants to align with best practice in
their sector and to align their own internal strategies.

 The programme will give digital media companies a high-level view on their business and on their
sector and helps them to develop future orientations.

 Companies will be given the opportunity to participate in cost-effective group labs that are small
enough to retain the intimacy of one to one consulting.

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  The programme will provide digital media companies with a low cost introduction to high quality
consulting and business analysis.

 Participants will learn about best practice in the sector and how to apply it to their businesses.

The proposed model is not unique and could in theory be offered to any sector by any competent
consulting firm. What makes it unique in the context of this application is that nobody in Ireland has
attempted to deliver business knowledge to the digital media sector using this model. Those consulting
firms that could do it have chosen not to, either because they do not recognise the need from inside the
sector or they do not see sufficient profit in it. Public sector intervention is therefore needed to provide
this important service.

4. A P P R O A C H

The pilot will be based on successful mentoring programmes but will be especially designed for the needs
of digital media companies. The pilot programme should be made available on a subsidised basis to
companies who meet certain criteria relating to size and turnover, including independent digital media
companies and traditional media companies who are in transition to digital. Business-to-business mentors
will participate in phase one of the pilot and will impart knowledge directly to the participants via the labs
programme.

Phase two of the pilot will encourage large enterprises to work with local digital media companies by
setting up partnerships aimed at increasing the role of digital media in everyday business. Large
businesses are potential market makers due to their ability to stimulate the market by outsourcing certain
requirements to digital media specialists or by becoming investors in their companies. This phase will seed
further understanding in the business community of the impact of digital media on their business.

The pilot programme of one-day labs will be run once a month for three months starting at the end of
month 3 of the pilot. The labs will cluster companies around issues key to their development. These issues
have been identified from within the sector. The objective is to mix the diversity of a conference with the
intimacy of one-to-one consulting. The lab model is a hybrid that will bring up to 16 participants from 8
companies together for one day off-site with four independent experts, each addressing one of the
identified topics. The day will be split between lectures and round table discussion.

The Digital Business Labs are intended to be the first steps in a development path that will disseminate
best practice in the digital media sector, encourage collaboration between the companies and lead to an

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eventual migration into a digital media cluster when such facilities come on stream. The pilot scheme is
borne of a commitment to the development of a robust digital media sector with great economic
potential.

5. C L U S T E R D E V E L O P M E N T

The following diagram shows how the proposed pilot programme helps what are currently non-aligned
digital media companies to mobilise themselves into a collaborative platform sharing skills and access to
expertise. Such a platform will galvanise the digital media sector, filling gaps in its business armoury and
equipping it to compete internationally. This will eventually become an organically derived digital cluster,
which will be attractive to investors and capable of substantial and sustainable growth.

COLLABORATIVE PLATFORM (featuring Industry Working Group)

BUSINESS Migration
KNOWLEDGE into DIGITAL
PROGRAMME CLUSTER
PEER MARKET
EXPOSURE: EXPOSURE:
Performance
Assessment
Industry Collective
and Business
Conference & Pitching and
Model
Workshops Marketing
Analysis

T0 T0 + 6 T0 + 12 T0 + 18 T0 + 24 T0 + 30

6. P I L O T O B J E C T I V E S

The results of the recent O2 National Digital Media Conference (www.ndmc.info) indicate that digital
media companies would benefit from better advice in a number of areas including business development,
branding and intellectual property rights. The cost of obtaining such advice can be prohibitive so it is
intended to offer the labs at a highly subsidised price that will be cost-effective for all participants. The
pilot programme is intended to fill a gap in the market for business knowledge but is also intended to
complement other initiatives aimed at developing a first-class digital media sector in Ireland.
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The main aim of the pilot programme is to equip digital media organisations with the necessary
knowledge and intellectual resources required to successfully manage the growth and direction of their
organisations. The pilot programme should comprise three labs. Up to eight companies from the digital
media sector should attend each lab. Each company can bring two people. Leading independent experts
in business, infrastructure, IPR and finance will lecture at each lab. An international guest may also
feature. By the end of the pilot programme, a total of 24 companies will have gone through the pipeline.

If successful, the pilot may create a demand for further programmes. If this demand is sufficient, a fully
operational labs programme running one lab per month could reach 10% of the digital media sector or
approximately 100 companies in its first year.

7. P I L O T P A R T I C I P A N T S

The target audience for the programme is the digital media sector. The digital media community has
specific needs and requires a special approach that few people outside the industry are capable of
understanding or providing. The team of experts that will deliver the programme must have such
experience. There are three typical profiles for participants in the programme:

 Start-ups or recently established companies facing the challenge of rapid growth.

 Established companies that are in transition into new markets.

 Organisations and entrepreneurs who are considering investing in the digital media sector

In addition to the above, the programme must encourage the participation of business schools, research
centres and the local business community.

8. L A B S T R U C T U R E

The suggested format of the Lab is a morning of presentations by acknowledged experts, followed by an
afternoon of round-table issue discussions with the experts from the morning session. The following
would be a typical schedule:

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 09h00 – Positioning your business

 10h00 – Marketing and presentation skills: hitting the right pitch.

 11h00 – Unlocking value from IPR

 12h00 – Effective networking with the business and finance communities

 13h00 Lunch

 14h00 – Roundtable discussions of present business issues with the experts who presented the
morning content.

 17h00 Close.

Each lab participant should receive focused business advice from acknowledged experts in the field. The
right advice on IPR, Finance and Marketing can make the difference between winning and losing in the
Digital Media arena. Such advice doesn’t come cheap, but the lab programme enables young companies
to benefit at a low cost from unique, valuable advice normally only available to longer established, cash
rich organisations.

Certain participants may need a more personalised type of service. The pilot should have the flexibility to
explore the structure of a more intensive lab dealing with individual clients and covering the following
topics:

 Discovery: an in-depth look at the client’s business model, customer base, development plan and
pipeline.

 Market Landscape: presenting industry trends, developments and best practice relevant to the
client.

 Validation: evaluating the client’s current market position and direction against the market
landscape and identifying gaps.

 Strategy: identifying corrective actions, presenting findings to the client and working with them
to ensure that the business strategy is in line with the business opportunity.

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9. M A R K E T I N G P L A N

The following tactics will be used to create awareness of the labs and secure critical mass participation:

 PR programme supported widely in the press and trade media

 Marketing through trade associations such as NIIM and IIA

 Sampling of databases by phone and of a larger number of companies by e-mail

 Sampling includes information on labs and request to assist in shaping labs by replying to
embedded survey

 Use input from sampling to refine lab objectives, confirm participant cost and date of first lab

 Once sufficient response obtained from sampling to sell out first lab, go out to a wider target
audience to sell out remaining two labs

 Publicise these via e-mail with link to Lab web site and through the press

10 . P I L O T D U R A T I O N A N D C O S T S

Funds are limited in the digital media sector and there is not a tradition of paying for consulting. Lack of a
subsidised business support programme is depriving those most in need of help. On the other hand,
pricing the labs too low or offering them for free might attract participants for the wrong reasons. A
nominal participation charge may therefore be considered. However the cost of planning and delivering a
labs programme still far exceeds the amount that could be collected in revenue from participants. This
makes the lab programme an unattractive proposition for a commercial organisation. Yet without such a
programme the digital media sector is being deprived of valuable information which could help
companies to grow.

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The work should be carried out in a number of work packages to be more precisely defined by those
implementing the pilot. The following guideline includes the effort that should be dedicated to each work
package.

 Work package 1: Management and planning (20)

 Work package 2: Marketing: secure participating organisations (20)

 Work package 3: Lab organisation (30)

 Work package 4: Developing industry partnerships (20)

 Work package 5: Dissemination of results and best practice guidelines (10)

The cost of each lab is €16,000 including management and planning, guest speakers’ time and expenses,
venue costs and catering. Additional costs are likely to be incurred in promoting the programme and
securing the participants. The lab programme will be run over a 6-month period allowing for 2 months of
planning, followed by 3 labs over 3 months and 1 month for follow up and reporting. Approximately 6
person months of effort are anticipated. The following cost estimates are given in Euro:

Management and reporting 30 person days @ €800 24 000

Marketing and networking 40 person days @ €800 32 000

Lab organisation 10 person days per lab @ €800 24 000

per day x 3

Guest experts 4 person days @€1500 per day 18 000

inc travel expenses x 3

Literature Brochure, lab material 5 000

Website Design, development, hosting 10 000

Public Relations – launch and Use of PR company 5 000

ongoing publicity

TOTAL 118 000

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The format of the labs is lectures followed by round table discussion. Technology requirements are
minimal as no digital media creation or presentation is anticipated. Conference-style presentation will be
the norm. There will therefore be no exceptional costs in this area and all equipment needed will be
included in the venue apart from portable computers which some of the speakers may care to bring with
them.

Documentation will include a lab programme which will initially be developed for online dissemination
during the marketing phase and which may later be reproduced in printed brochure form. A programme
covering each day’s activities will be integrated into this brochure. The printed content of the Labs
programme may be supplemented by handouts from the experts should they wish to make these
available.

The contribution of InterTradeIreland to the project should include a financial contribution of €118,000
and the optionally the provision of facilitation including the hosting of the three labs.

11 . I M P L E M E N T A T I O N S C H E D U L E

WP / month 1 2 3 4 5 6

Management & Planning

Marketing & Networking

Lab organisation
L L L
a a a
Industry partnerships b b b

1 2 3
Dissemination of results

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12 . D E L I V E R A B L E S

 The first deliverable is the lab offering which will be used to attract a critical mass of participants.

 The second deliverable is the lab programme including the names of the experts who have been
secured to deliver the labs.

 The third deliverable is the report of the labs programme which will be published as a best
practice guide.

 The fourth and final deliverable is the report of the ongoing mentoring programme aimed at
building working relationships between digital media companies and large clients.

13 . I M P A C T

The success of the pilot programme will be judged by measuring the following criteria:

 Feedback from sampling campaign leading to a critical mass of interest and a capacity audience
at the three pilot labs

 Securing the interest and commitment of the business community and the subject experts

 Positive review from feedback forms submitted by the labs participants

 Sufficient word of mouth generated to create demand for second labs programme

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