Happiness is creative talent

Thursday, November 26, 2009 | Posted by: Fiona Cullinan
Categories: Media sector | Tags: business, Alex Connock, entrepreneurs, media, awards, Ten Alps, talent, Facebook, Manchester, television, RTS, creative

Alex Connock, CEO, Ten Alps: Franklin D Roosevelt knew enough about financial success to rescue the US economy from the Great Depression. But he also said: ‘Happiness is not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort.’

That was confirmed to me three times last week…

Next generation stars
It started with a night out in a Leeds casino, hired by The Royal Television Society for Student Awards and filled with 350 people. After my quick intro (in the role of boring TV executive, played to perfection), Alex Zane did a great stand-up show. (In the laundry that doubled as green room for the evening, he also reminded me that the last time we saw each other was in Reykjavik for the judging of the Miss Iceland contest, which has been my standby anecdote ever since.)

But the talent we were in Leeds to see came from young filmmakers. How about this for a first animation from a 22-year-old Polish student at the University of Bradford – A Friend of Mine. It’s brilliant – two animation styles in one short piece, and a moving story too. The media will reinvent itself with each new generation, and it’s as much as I can do to keep up.

The thrill of dramatic talent
Saturday was another RTS awards, held in the Hilton, Manchester. The Street won big, and writer/legend Jimmy McGovern was given a lifetime achievement award by Shameless creator Paul Abbott, the awesome Manchester drama writer who, in his writers’ studio in Hale, Cheshire, also has the most talent-friendly, creative set-up I’ve seen.

I was a judge for the drama performance category, and Anna Friel deservedly won for her performance in The Street. Talents like these working together are a rare and desirable alchemy, to be kept hold of at all costs: why ITV have let The Street team leave for the BBC I don’t know. I would have employed the lot of them and just said: ‘Make anything you want.’

But hang on – managers are creative talent, too
I’ve been having fun meeting great thinkers from across the media. We have a high-profile project with Trinity Mirror and the Press Association to pitch a local TV and online news service for the North East. Working with top teams like that is always a revelation. You learn far more from other people’s companies than you can teach yourself in your own. 

In Manchester, I hosted a session on the global power of football over the internet – with management guests who are running the game with both eyes to its future. Stephen Nuttall, commercial director of BSKYB, told how they are using Xbox to let people watch premiership matches in a virtual ‘box’ with other guys. Just a great idea.

And Andy Anson, CEO of the FA 2018 bid, reminded us how fast innovation needs to go. When he was at Manchester United, they sold a million Man U-branded credit cards in the first year of their launch – in South Korea. He told how for 2018, even with a total relevant electorate of 24 people (the FIFA delegates) it was still vital to generate a Facebook fanbase to give it the heat It needs. 

That inspired me to test a Facebook page for Ten Alps, too. I’ll use it to keep up with the creatives – of all kinds.

Image: © Ernst Moeksis 

Read more posts by Alex Connock on life in the media sector