Group IMD

A Message from Lord Pickles and Lord Blunkett, followed by Group IMD's best practice article

The ability to listen and learn from one another has always been vital in parliament, in business and in most aspects of daily life. But at this particular moment in time, as national and global events continue to reiterate, it is uncommonly crucial that we forge new channels of communication and reinforce existing ones. The following article from Group IMD is an attempt to do just that. We would welcome your thoughts on this or any other Parliamentary Review article.

Rt Hon The Lord David Blunkett, MP

Rt Hon The Lord Eric Pickles, MP

www.groupimd.com

THE PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW

Highlighting best practice

50 | GROUP IMD

CEO Simon Cox

At the Group IMD and

Honeycomb offices

Calling the UK’s would-be exporters: if you can develop

a successful internet- delivered software business here,

rolling it out across the world can be easier than you think.

This is the message of Group IMD, an innovative and efficiency-

driving company that does just this. At a time when trade and

investment beyond the EU is more important than ever for the UK,

Group IMD have shown that if your proposition is innovative and

valuable, taking it to overseas territories is not as hard as some

anticipate – a topic upon which Simon Cox, their CEO, elaborates.

Our product

Our business is in over 30 markets, including: the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy,

Switzerland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Poland, Hungary, Republic of Ireland,

India, Indonesia, Singapore, the Philippines, China, Japan, Australia, New Zealand,

Dubai, Turkey, Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Argentina and Brazil

Group IMD’s core product, IMD Cloud, is used by the advertising and media

industries to move finished video advertisements online from the point of

production, using instructions from advertising agencies, to the media outlets –

whether broadcasters or online publishers – where they are due to air.

IMD Cloud quality-controls files that are uploaded into the platform and rejects them,

with detailed reports, if they don’t meet required specifications to be ultimately

suitable for broadcast transmission or use over the internet. Given suitable files,

IMD Cloud creates new files in the different combinations of video format, audio,

and metadata that are required by the media outlets for whichtheyaredestined.

FACTS ABOUT

GROUP IMD

»CEO Simon Cox

»Established in 1995

»Located in London HQ, with

offices in thirty countries

»Services: Workflow for video

advertising, from production

to media outlets

»No. of employees: 200

»Recently merged with

Honeycomb

»There are only two companies

in the world that work across

so many international markets,

and Group IMD is one of them

»www.groupimd.com

Group IMD

51GROUP IMD |

BEST PRACTICE REPRESENTATIVE 2019

These versions of the original ad are

then delivered over the internet to all

the media outlets.

Before online services like IMD

Cloud, video ads were duplicated

on video tape and couriered to their

destinations. This process using

physical material took far longer than

online delivery. Therefore, online

delivery gives people involved in the

creative process more time and a

greater ability to change video ads at

the last minute, an example of which

might be using a different price point

or to correct an error.

Moreover, by doing this all online, the

carbon footprint also falls compared

to tapes and couriers. Indeed, a French

authority’s study pointed to a 28-fold

reduction.

Everyone involved in the online

process can log on to IMD Cloud,

play their role and see what the status

of an ad is as it goes through this

process. Previously, when ads were

moved around on video tape, this

transparency didn’t exist. Frantic phone

calls to hunt down missing ads were

a daily reality; now they are a thing of

the past.

Our performance has made us the

leader in many countries, including

Germany, Italy, India, China and Brazil.

For example, around two thirds of the

TV adverts in the UK come through

Group IMD.

How our success was achieved

It’s possible to identify several elements

of our company’s strategy and

approach to growing internationally.

For starters, we’ve always had a very

focused strategy and concentrated on

one core offering. For example, we

avoided the temptation of going into

the business of moving TV programmes

around online. This might seem like an

identical business from a distance, but

in reality the customers and technology

are considerably different.

We also took time to hire great local

staff for our business in every market

we entered. Sometimes we used

headhunters or recruiters; sometimes

we used our own network of contacts.

In any case, without great local leaders

our markets wouldn’t have developed.

All our employees have to be able to

communicate in English, but being

local means that they understand their

market and the local clients much

better. This is particularly appreciated

in markets like France and Japan.

Another factor in our success was the

winning of some major global brands

as clients, such as Unilever and L’Oréal,

which helped us open up different

markets where they wanted to enjoy

the benefits of our service.

Most of our growth was organic, but

in some markets we acquired other

similar businesses. To do this, we

needed people inside the business

who had the skill set for mergers and

acquisitions. This has now happened in

Spain, Ireland, China, India, Singapore,

New Zealand and, most recently, with

the merger with Honeycomb.

We also invested in a Latin American

business, A+V, taking a minority

shareholding, rather than attempting

to set up a business in a continent

that can be hard to navigate. We’ve

Signing a deal to buy

our competitor in China

Before online

services like IMD

Cloud, video ads

were duplicated

on video tape

and couriered to

their

destinations

“

THE PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW

Highlighting best practice

52 | GROUP IMD

brought management experience,

technology and clients to A+V and

now have the option of acquiring 100

per cent of the business in the future.

We developed technology that could

scale internationally with a single

software application. Initially we had

a complex combination of software

written by us or licensed from third

parties, as well as expensive hardware.

To complete a job for a client we also

needed manual interventions. Then

we were fortunate enough to acquire

a company in Singapore that had

developed an entirely software-based

solution running in the cloud. This was

far more scalable and reliable than the

technology we had before.

Above all, though, we built a culture

with a strong set of values and hired

people who melded with the culture.

If people didn’t exhibit appropriate

behaviours, we coached them to

improve; if they didn’t, we had to let

them go.

Impact on the industry

Group IMD’s mission is to transform

video advertising workflow by

automating processes and connecting

people. We’ve done this across

30 countries, often pioneering the

transformation as a key agent of change

between advertisers and their partners –

such as production companies – and the

media outlets, principally broadcasters.

The impact of this transformation has

been:

»a dramatic reduction in the time to

deliver ads, allowing last-minute

changes along with more time for

the creative process;

»providing a 24-hours-a-day, seven-

days-a-week capability using fully

automated software, so that no

matter how late people work, they can

deliver their ads – something especially

appreciated in different time zones;

»a key enabler for the growth of

production agencies that make

global campaigns for many countries

in one place, specifically in London,

which is the leading centre for

this sector of the industry. Once

all the ads are finished, they must

be delivered across the world,

something that IMD Cloud allows;

»removal of the carbon footprint of

tape manufacture, duplication and

transport;

»enabling the introduction of

new technologies that need fast,

automated workflow. For example,

social TV advertising from never.

no, a Manchester-based company

that automates the incorporation of

social media in TV advertising, which

then needs rapid, same-day delivery

to broadcasters. We have worked

with them in Argentina, the Czech

Republic and the UK.

International expansion often seems

daunting but if you have the right

product and people, you may find

demand all the way round the world for

what you do. This was the case for us,

and was another reason for our success.

With a radical re-brand in development

and a new focus beyond traditional

linear broadcasters, 2019 is going

to be an extraordinary year for the

company. We’re building the team,

infrastructure and technology today to

serve the digital advertising workflows

of tomorrow.

We’ve always

had a very

focused

strategy and

concentrated

on one core

offering

“

Team members from

France, Italy, Germany

and Hungary

The Parliamentary Review Publication, in which this article originally appeared, contained the following foreword from the prime minister.

The Rt Hon Theresa May MP's Foreword For The Parliamentary Review

By The Rt Hon Theresa May MP

British politics provides ample material for analysis in the pages of The Parliamentary Review. For Her Majesty’s Government, our task in the year ahead is clear: to achieve the best Brexit deal for Britain and to carry on our work to build a more prosperous and united country – one that truly works for everyone.

The right Brexit deal will not be sufficient on its own to secure a more prosperous future for Britain. We also need to ensure that our economy is ready for what tomorrow will bring. Our Modern Industrial Strategy is our plan to do that. It means Government stepping up to secure the foundations of our productivity: providing an education system that delivers the skills our economy needs, improving school standards and transforming technical education; delivering infrastructure for growth; ensuring people have the homes they need in the places they want to live. It is all about taking action for the long-term that will pay dividends in the future.

But it also goes beyond that. Government, the private sector and academia working together as strategic partners achieve far more than we could separately. That is why we have set an ambitious goal of lifting UK public and private research and development investment to 2.4 per cent of GDP by 2027. It is why we are developing four Grand Challenges, the big drivers of social and economic change in the world today: harnessing artificial intelligence and the data revolution; leading in changes to the future of mobility; meeting the challenges of our ageing society; and driving ahead the revolution in clean growth. By focusing our efforts on making the most of these areas of enormous potential, we can develop new exports, grow new industries and create more good jobs in every part of our country.

Years of hard work and sacrifice from the British people have got our deficit down by over three quarters. We are building on this success by taking a balanced approach to public spending. We are continuing to deal with our debts, so that our economy can remain strong and we can protect people’s jobs, and at the same time we are investing in vital public services, like our NHS. We have set out plans to increase NHS funding annually by an average by 3.4 percent in real terms: that is £394 million a week more. In return, the NHS will produce a ten-year plan, led by doctors and nurses, to eliminate waste and improve patient care.

I believe that Britain can look to the future with confidence. We are leaving the EU and setting a new course for prosperity as a global trading nation. We have a Modern Industrial Strategy that is strengthening the foundations of our economy and helping us to seize the opportunities of the future. We are investing in the public services we all rely on and helping them to grow and improve. Building on our country’s great strengths – our world-class universities and researchers, our excellent services sector, our cutting edge manufacturers, our vibrant creative industries, our dedicated public servants – we can look towards a new decade that is ripe with possibility. The government I lead is doing all it can to make that brighter future a reality for everyone in our country.

British politics provides ample material for analysis in the pages of The Parliamentary Review

The Rt Hon Theresa May MP
Prime Minister