THE FOUNDER of Glasgow creative agency MadeBrave has said the city has the potential to become a leading player in the UK’s burgeoning digital marketing industry, as Google launched a new service in the city to train businesses.
Andrew Dobbie said: “For big brands like Google to focus on Glasgow and see that there’s potential here, having them bolted on to our thriving digital community and showing that they are backing us will send a lot more eyes and ears on Glasgow, which can only be good for us and our wider economy,” said Mr Dobbie.
MadeBrave, along with Glasgow City Council and The Scottish Government, has partnered with the internet giant on its Digital Garage pop-up, which will remain at Mitchell Library in Glasgow until January 2017.
Mr Dobbie said the move was testament to Glasgow’s digital transformation. "Our talent [used to] disappear down to London but there’s more and more of a scene here now,” he said. “And with Google’s Digital Garage coming to Glasgow it helps put it on the map and keep our talent here.
The facility, which was officially launched by Keith Brown, cabinet secretary for economy, jobs and fair work, offers one-to-one mentoring support and group digital masterclasses on a regular basis. The Digital Garage is a spin-off from Google's online digital learning programme.
After opening talks with Google just days before the pop-up launched, MadeBrave will run a series of talks and host a key event involving YouTube and Instagram personalities with upwards of 500,000 followers.
"It’s about celebrating and helping businesses in Glasgow,” said Mr Dobbie.
Among its themes, MadeBrave will be looking at how businesses can harness virtual reality, and boost revenues through social media.
“To some people it can feel bamboozling, there’s a lot of information out there. What we’re trying to do with Google is make that accessible, and almost tell people it’s not a black art, it can be learned and there are loads of good tools out there to help. And if you do figure it out it can have huge effects on your business.”
At the launch, Peter Barron, Google UK vice president for communications, noted that while Google itself was just 18 years old, “Mitchell Library has been carrying on its tradition of learning more than a century”.
He commented: “Our technology helps companies be discovered by new customers, boosts productivity by helping teams collaborate better and helps content creators get paid for their creativity.
“It can be easy to think that technology is just for start-ups, but we know it can bring real growth to all businesses and improve.”
Keith Brown said: “Scotland already has exceptional digital talent and innovators. We recognise, however, we need to do more to help develop, nurture and expand digital skills across the country as a whole. That’s why we are committed to working with partners, such as Google, to achieve this. It’s fantastic that Google is making this investment in Scotland.
As part of a multi-million-pound investment outside of London, Google aims to train over 250,000 people by the end of 2016, encouraging them to learn crucial skills for the digital age.
As part of the Digital Garage a series of business breakfasts will be held at The Tontine in Glasgow. The first of three monthly meetings will be on September 30. The Tontine, which opened in May, is a five year project to support and sustain the development of high-growth companies in the design, technology and creative sector.
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