Tuesday, 07 Sep 2010
Digital publishing
Rosy outlook for UK digital publishers in Spain
In July 2010, the UKTI Team in Madrid invited three leading Spanish educational publishers to attend a “meet the buyers” event on digital publishing in London, co-organized by GLE –Great London Enterprise- and UKTI London.
Spain is still far behind the UK in terms of the use of digital content in the classroom. Highlights of the trip included a dinner with the UK Publishers Association, and a visit to Featherstone Secondary School in Southall (a BECTA award-winner for its use of ICT) to see how a British school is combining traditional learning methods with innovative new technologies. One of the publishers said, “We have been following the example of the UK for years and this has been an excellent opportunity for us to gain first hand experience”.
At the Meet the Buyers event, a short presentation on the UK publishing market was followed by a "speed-dating" series of one-to-one meetings between UK suppliers and Spanish and Italian buyers and distributors. Belinda Coombes, Director of UKTI Madrid, who accompanied the Spanish group, said, "I'm convinced that this is one of the best ways to achieve real business outcomes - bringing the buyers to the sellers in a focussed way."
As a direct result of these meetings, one Spanish buyer dedicated exclusively to the sourcing and distribution of digital content, is in final contract stage negotiations with a BETT award-winning UK supplier. Other UK companies who participated are looking at specific opportunities in several Spanish regions, with introductions provided by UKTI Spain.
The UK Publishers' Association has now invited UKTI Madrid, together with a keynote Spanish speaker, back to London in December to take part in their Digital Business Models conference -another boost for UK-Spain business links in this leading-edge sector.
Contacts
For more information, please contact:
Belinda Coombes
Tel: +00 34 917 146 344
Email: belinda.coombes@fco.gov.uk