I think John makes a valid and productive point in this post about the IPA's Creative Pioneers mission to Silicon Valley (which seems to be quite the thing to do these days) – namely the opportunity afforded to the ad industry of working more closely with tech and startup talent in the UK.
There's clearly a big benefit with the increasing convergence (or marriage) of advertising and technology, in the industry developing a better understanding of startup and tech culture and practices. But there's another, very real, reason why this might be a good idea: the looming talent shortage in the kind of areas that will create the critical capabilities of the near future. The industry needs to think about not only what it can offer that talent, but how it might be able to work with it in more flexible, productive ways.
I get that there's other reasons for getting on a plane, but if so-called Creative Britain wants to start building some bridges and connecting with some of the best digital talent and ideas in the UK, the best place to do that is in the UK, not the US.
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