Above: "There was no customer service!" Too busy looking cool to remember the customer? Collider12 co-founder Rose Lewis blogs in The Drum about her trip to the Burberry store on Regent Street where the technology is great but brands must leverage this tech to drive revenue. If you think you have some smart tech that helps big brands ultimately sell more product then apply to Collider12 because we would like to hear from you. Read the full article here.
By @mstafford
Collider12 today announces the first wave of Brand Mentors for its accelerator programme. They include Chris Whiteley from BBC Worldwide, Robin Chhabra from William Hill and Dan Cresta from CBS Outdoor. Collider12 is a Creative England initiative backed with investment from the Government’s Regional Growth Fund*.
JIM FARMERY, Director of Business Development at Creative England said: “The first three mentors for Collider12 are a good start and we welcome the announcement of more over the coming weeks.”
DAN CRESTA, Head of Client Strategy at CBS Outdoor UK said “CBS is constantly looking to pioneer the use of new technologies to engage consumers in out of home spaces. Our product and asset innovation programme will benefit from the insights, perspective and radical approaches which startups can bring.”
ROBIN CHHABRA, Head of Strategy and Corporate Development at William Hill plc said “Innovation is critical to the continued success of companies like William Hill. This is a great opportunity to bring innovation and experience together, by combining the energy and new thinking of the start-ups with the insights and practical application of well-established and high-profile brands.”
CHRIS WHITELEY, VP Digital Strategy & New Business Development at BBC Worldwide Ltd said: “BBC Worldwide understands that new technologies and changes in consumer behaviour will continue to drive significant developments to the media landscape. We are therefore increasing our engagement with the start-up community in order to better understand their innovation and share our global knowledge of the market. We’re delighted to share our experience with the start-ups on the Collider12 Programme”.
DAVID PRAIS from Collider12 said: “Brands are increasingly clear that their corporate innovation programmes benefit from direct engagement with startups. As England’s “B2Brand” accelerator, this is our speciality. We’ve seen incredible financial success in the US come from combining brands with startups and we’re expecting much more of this here in England”.
*The Regional Growth Fund (RGF) is a £2.4bn fund operating across England from 2011 to 2015. It supports projects and programmes that lever private sector investment to create economic growth and sustainable employment. Please see www.bis.gov.uk/rgf for more information
Just like @TechHubManc last week we're continuing the search for the best #B2Brand startups in the land, @mstafford will be hosting 'Office Hours' in Google Campus, London and at The Watershed, Bristol. The 'Office Hours' are for startups to chat about @Collider12 to ask any queries and make sure they're suitable before hopefully applying.
*Added Leeds on Tuesday 13th November.
Details and signup:
If you have any queries just tweet @mstafford.
A great day up in Manchester @TechHubManc talking to 'B2Brand' startups during 'Office Hour'. The startup recruitment drive for @Collider12 is well and truly up and running. There's a great deal happening up there and as @TechHubManc is only 5 minutes walk from the station I got to stay for @TechBasinBeers too!
By @mstafford
The UK is the leader in creative industries: branding, creativity and marketing – that's why Collider12 is backing startups in this sector with investment, skills and brands.
Collider12 will focus on creative technology that helps brands - 'B2Brand' technology - tech that will help big brands with market engagement and ultimately help them sell more product. Collider12 is a year long programme and it will allow startups to develop a sustainable and attractive product for their customers. It's the connections with brands that will make Collider12 different. The ultimate customer of the creative technologies being built are the big brands. During the 'Collision Phase' of Collider12 the brands will engage with the startups during the product validation phase and help accelerate customer wins.
The mentoring offered will be from investors and entrepreneurs who have track records of success in the sector. The mentorship will be in execution of the business, not just by giving connections and access to capital but by giving the rigour, confidence and discipline required to make things happen. Most startups do not fail because they have a bad idea - many do have brilliant ideas - startups fail because they fail to execute. Collider12 helps with this execution by offering a year long programme rather than the traditional 3 months and gives mentoring from people who have built their own businesses, raised money, acquired and sold businesses and helped 100’s of companies do the same!
