REAP WHAT YOU SOW - The Drum

THE DRUM 12.APR.13 www.thedrum.comLEADER05contributors this issuesilas amos,creative director, jkrtakes a look at thephenomenon of copycatpackagingUri Baruchin, strategicdirector, The Partnersexplains why microconsolesmight inspire a new style ofecosystem marketingjason stone, editor, davidreviewsspeaks to Stuart Douglas ofNice Shirt Films about his desertisland clipskaren canty, head of news,future foundationexplores the consumer trend of‘everyday exceptional’richard draycott,associate editorcatches up with AKQA founderAjaz Ahmed to talk leadershipstephen lepitak,news editorstephen.lepitak@thedrum.comcameron clarke,opinion editorcameron.clarke@thedrum.comjessica davies,senior reporterjessica.davies@thedrum.comgillian west, reportergillian.west@thedrum.comthe drum’s debtto thatcherIf it wasn’t for Margaret Thatcher the magazine you hold in yourhands would not exist. The 40 odd people I can see as I write thesewords would not be here. Initiatives such as the Chip Shop Awards,DADIs and The Drum Design Awards would never have happened.This business, which I helped found, first emerged in 1984 whenthe country was in the grip of the miners’ strike. But it was not onlyin coal where the unions’ influence was felt. They controlled myindustry in a way which is impossible to imagine now.In fact, we launched what was to become The Drum to replaceanother title which had effectively been closed down by union action. Ithad attempted to implement a redundancy to secure its future. Powerfulunions decreed the person be reinstated or the title would be blacklistedby those in its supply chain. It complied only to close a few months later.Thanks to Thatcher’s reforms, by the time we appeared on the scenesuch power was on the wane. But we still had to tread carefully. I wasadvised that I too should join a union, to ensure that compositors andprinters would agree to work on our title.But imagine my concern when at my first meeting I found thatwe were already on the union agenda. Some were unhappy that wehad run a piece in support of free newspapers, which many saw asa threat to paid-fors. Not long before, plans to set up a free titlein Clydebank were scuppered by union action.Not only were new concepts viewed with disdain. So was newtechnology. There were newspapers still using hot metal when wefirst appeared. Really, compositors sat with molten buckets of leadat their feet. Meanwhile, like a brooding giant, a printing works satsilent in a Glasgow industrial estate as a result of this Luddite tendency.It was the Scottish home of News International, which had laindormant for years because of union opposition. But in 1985, itburst into life as NI made the move to Wapping.Made possible by Thatcher’s new laws, the move was historic.It saw control of the company move from unions back to itsmanagement. But the ripples have continued to reverberate.It would not have been possible to start The Drum pre-Thatcher. Butso too would it have been impossible to create the vibrant, dynamic andsuccessful ecosystem which is today’s UK media and marketing scene.angela haggerty, reporterangela.haggerty@thedrum.comGordon Young, Editorgordon.young@thedrum.comPublisher/Editor: Gordon Young Associate Editor: Richard Draycott Assistant Editors: Thomas O’Neill, Katie McQuater News Editor: Stephen Lepitak Opinion Editor: Cameron Clarke Senior Reporter: Jessica DaviesReporters: Ishbel Macleod, Gillian West, Jen Faull, Angela Haggerty Business Development Director: Liz Hamilton Business Development Manager: James McGowan Directory Sales: Victoria Swan Recruitment Sales: Tehmeena LatifMarketing & Subscriptions: Ayush Kejriwal Design & Production Director: Nick Creed Design/Production: Amanda Dewar, Dane Brown Events Director: Lynn Lester Events Manager: Katy Thomson Managing Director: Diane YoungHead of London Operations: Andy Oakes Head Office: 4th Floor, Mercat Building, 26 Gallowgate, Glasgow G1 5AB Tel: 0141 552 5858 Fax: 0141 559 6050 Printed by: Stephens & George MagazinesTHE DRUM is published by Carnyx Group Limited. The publishers, authors and printers cannot accept liability for any errors or omissions. Any transparencies or artwork will be accepted at owner’s risk. All rights reserved. On no accountmay any part of this publication be reproduced in any form without the written permission of the copyright holder and publisher, application for which should be made to the publisher. © carnyx group limited 2013 ISSN 2046-0635