More than 70 people attended the inaugural Isle of Man Marketing Community’s event where plans for the Department for Enterprise were unveiled.
The presentation by interim CEO for the Department of Economic Development Mark Lewin, held at the Manx Museum, highlighted the review into the Department and the proposed ‘executive agency model’ that is core to the planned new approach for economic development for the Isle of Man.
The event, sponsored by local marketing agency Home Strategic, saw Mark Lewin introduce the thinking behind the review’s recommendations but also invited the audience to work in breakout groups to brainstorm how the four proposed agencies could work together to benefit the Isle of Man’s economy and to think of solutions to some of the challenges each one may face.
The Isle of Man Marketing Community is a new networking group for the Isle of Man, open to anyone with an interest in marketing, PR, promotion, business development and sales whether they are working in those disciplines or not. Its steering group features a mix of client-sided, agency and consultant marketers from both public and private sector.
Voirrey Barron, part of the Isle of Man Marketing Community’s steering group said: ‘Our first event has been very well received and has provided the new group with the ideal platform from which to move forward. The Isle of Man Marketing Community is a group of like-minded people working in marketing, from private and public sector, agency and client side, dedicated to marketing and formalising the already close networks many of us have with each other. Ultimately we hope we can encourage this group to collaborate, communicate and inspire to facilitate a better environment for marketers and marketing in the Isle of Man. We will be holding our next event in October so plan to release more details soon.’
Sponsor Home Strategic’s Lee McLellan, who is also part of the steering group, said: ‘Home was delighted to sponsor the first IOM Marketing Community event and it was a great success. It was refreshing for the audience to be able to be part of the presentation by getting involved and giving their opinion, which will help shape the future of the Department for Enterprise.
‘Anyone who has an interest in marketing, whether it’s part of their job or not, is welcome to come along to the events. We’ve been planning the schedule for the next 12 months and we’re looking to present a wide range of topics including the latest trends in our industry. We look forward to announcing our next event soon.’
