Digital talent to accelerate your business

Rebecca Wheatley

@fivebrand@impact_futures

Birmingham is uniquely positioned to accelerate brands in

the digital space.

Why?We have access to the biggest pool of digital native talent in Europe.

• Birmingham is the most youthful major city in Europe*

• Under 25’s account for nearly 40% of our population

• Birmingham’s population will grow to 1.1 million in

2018 and 1.17 million by 2028 – more than twice that

of Manchester

• We have access over 340,000 students and 120,000

graduates and 14,000 international students within an

hour’s drive of the city, drawn from the 15 universities

within reach

• More languages are spoken than any other UK city

• *businessbirmingham.com

Is that relevant?

• Digital communication skills will become key to building

sustainable businesses It is done best by digital natives

• The young and diverse population of the region are your

future customers

• You have the business savvy, Brum’s young people have

the digital skills

• They are creative, risk takers and have grown up online

How digital natives grow your brand

Authentic, engaging

communication

Build Existing Customer

Relationships

Create New Customer Relationships

Sales

What to look for in digital communicators

• Graphic design skills

• Copywriting skills

• Creative thinking

• Pro-active and self-motivated

• Accountability

• Project management skills

• Personal digital reach

What you can do

• Take a risk with fresh talent that you can grow

• Understand that these people will make a new type of

contribution

• Talk to local universities about placement schemes and

internships

• Look to youth leadership and entrepreneurship organisations

• Give young talent a license to operate

• Get advisory support with social media, but grow the skills

in-house to grow your brand authentically – Don’t outsource!