It’s great to welcome a new B2B title to the South West – Business Insider. It’s the fifth regional Insider title with a mission of giving the South West business community a forum and a medium that reflects its aspirations and voices their concerns.

This month’s first issue was a cracking read and featured the first ever Rich List for the South West.

Business Insider’s readership figures are shaping up nicely with circulation in its first month at 8,000 and a readership of 24,000.

As an agency we look forward to watching this title flourish in the region and think that it provides an insightful, passionate and motivating read!

Find out more about this title by clicking here. 

This week marks the two-year anniversary of Apple's video iPod, where has the time gone! It’s been fascinating to watch how videos on the net have revolutionised the media.

Even Hollywood celebrities are jumping on the bandwagon and are now working online, new media personalities are crossing over into the mainstream, and the entertainment industry is bridging the two worlds. Internet video is no longer a "new media"; it's an industry standard.

In fact, it has reached every corner of the entertainment industry, and talent agencies have launched new media divisions to discover and connect online talent.

And, just as it has become important for agents to dip into the web for talent, agents are becoming a must-have for most new media personalities.

Even Hollywood studios are immersing themselves in the new media realm. AOL and HBO recently launched a web-only series called The Smart Show, a quirky documented road trip across the United States discovering "smart" American innovations along their journey.

While television has traditionally been a passive experience, these innovative web series pioneers are using online tools like social networking sites to promote interactivity and cultivate communities around their show.

It’s great to work in such a fast paced environment when our clients’ media requirements are changing and evolving as the media industry diverts and expands into new and exciting areas. Who knows what changes and developments we will be embracing in a few years time! Watch this space!

It’s an exciting time for the team here at Montage as we are all in the midst of planning a major national event for next Spring which, we have just had confirmed, will be launched by one of the UK’s leading journalists and best selling authors….details to follow!

The launch is for our client VisionWorks for Schools, which teaches students to develop their emotional intelligence capabilities, improving both learning and behaviour. Its programmes create kinder, more caring school communities and equip young people with life skills that benefit the whole community. Trials are already taking place throughout the UK with outstanding results, so next Spring’s launch will be a fantastic opportunity for schools, teachers and parents to find out how they can become involved and help shape their children’s future.

This week we also heard the fantastic news that our client Lucy Bristow Appointments has been short-listed for three of the Evening Post 2007 Recruitment Awards. The Agency has an outstanding reputation in the South West, with a 19-year track record of placing high-calibre temporary and permanent candidates in a wide range of business support roles, including marketing, PA/secretarial, HR, administration and finance.

Founder and managing director Lucy Bristow’s approach to recruitment has made it stand out in a crowded market by providing added value and personal care throughout the recruitment process and after the placement has been made. We wish them the best of luck and will report back when they hear the news at a glittering awards ceremony later on this month!

Also, at the end of this month is the National Crimestoppers Conference and the Montage team are working side by side with the regional media to secure extensive coverage. West Country Crimestoppers, a registered charity and part of the Crimestoppers Trust, is to host the prestigious National Crimestoppers Conference, which will be held in Bristol for the first time, on 1 November 2007.

The conference will take place at Bristol’s newest luxury hotel, the Mercure Holland House Hotel and Spa in Redcliffe. Keynote speakers will include the Chief Constable of Avon & Somerset Police, Colin Port, and Michael Laurie CBE, Chief Executive of Crimestoppers. The theme of this year’s conference will be ‘Engaging Hard-To-Reach Communities’.

Over 150 delegates from all over the UK will be attending the event, to share best practice and discuss ways of working together and providing more support to their local communities.

Keep your eyes peeled in the local and national media for details on all of these events!

I am pleased to see that 3 is moving with the times and this current push will dispense with traditional 60-second TV ads in favour of 10-second bursts as part of a strategy to set the brand apart from the pack.

Several short ads have already been created for the push, titled "Fresh on 3", and the pop trio will appear in future clips to promote services such as 3's mobile TV and internet offerings.

The £15m campaign, which breaks tonight and runs for three months, will see the first TV work from 3's new agency Euro RSCG.

The campaign marks the most important shift in the brand's marketing since it launched four years ago, according to the 3 marketing director, John Penberthy-Smith.

"The key thing is reappraisal," he said. "In four years we have gone from nowhere to being part of the mobile firmament. But if you talk to consumers there is a lack of clarity over what we are about and there are some who haven't heard of us."

The underlying theory, according to the Euro RSCG creative chairman, Gerry Moira, is akin to moving from "dumping a fire bucket of water over a consumer" by moving from" big splash" 60-second TV ads to "individual jets of communication" that are more tailored.

This means an end to big ads in favour of 10-second bursts - similar to the TV sponsorship idents around a programme such as Big Brother - designed to push short, sharp messages.

It's a good move in terms of cutting back on expensive TV ads, so 3's media budget will stretch much further. Also moving to short, sharp and punchier adverts to caputure the audience's imagination has got to be the way forward - we are all 'time-poor' and need advertising and the media to guide us in a confident, memorable and succinct manner.