Business leaders go head-to-head

Jan 29 2008 by Sue Scott, Evening Gazette

NEXT week in nebusiness we launch the first in a new series profiling Rising Stars of industry and commerce. Sean Crooks and David Allanson founded the creative media company 3rd Dimension Creations in Middlesbrough, which is leading the digital revolution on Teesside.

The following week, we’ll carry an in-depth interview with an established entrepreneur in the Tees Valley. But to introduce you to the series, we bring an old-hand and a bright young thing together for a head-to-head between very different business leaders - one leads a slick, well-established PR firm, the other broke onto the highly alternative creative industry scene just three years ago. But Tanya Garland of Cool Blue Brand Communications and Satish Shewhorak of moShine Animation Studio had more in common than you might think...

Tanya to Satish

What was your breakthrough moment?

We had one moment of madness one night when we were watching late-night TV, and we thought the animation on the show was rubbish. So we phoned them up and told them we thought that we could do better and asked if they would let us try. As a result we gained our first commission.

How easy is it to pitch your concepts to clients who may not fully understand digital media?

We have learned to look at our work through the client’s eyes and try to communicate the benefit not the feature to them.

We still sometimes need to take time out to explain how long a short piece of animation can take in reality to produce. Usually 30-second TV ads can take a couple of weeks to produce.

Do you perceive yourself primarily as a technology company?

We all have a technical background, but our creative inspiration always comes away from the computer, with moodboards of images, colours and lots of sketches and post-it notes on the wall, to keep the ideas open and flowing. There is a fantastic convergence of digital media, social networking and video journalism that opens up exciting new possibilities for our business.

What impact has this convergence had on your company?

We grew up surrounded by cutting-edge technology and it is second nature to us to use it in business. So in terms of the technological advances, it’s less about convergence for us as these trends are part of our professional make-up.

Satish to Tanya

You’ve worked in the city, so what are the differences between running a business like ours in the Tees Valley and London?

In London, there is always going to be so much work; it’s the international centre for communications opportunities after all. But Northern cities are becoming a magnet for national organisations that have a Northern outpost or are launching something here.

Do you find it easy to attract staff to the North-east?

We have some outstanding home-grown talent and have benefited from an influx of ‘returners’; either people who have relocated here with their partners or people deciding it’s time to come home to their roots after several years away.

What would be your dream project?

I can honestly say I have already got some dream projects involving some of the region’s leading organisations such as Traidcraft, Garlands Call Centres and the Centre for Process Innovation. Our relationship with these companies allows us to work with some extremely clever, dynamic and creative individuals.