THE head of the agency that promotes Merseyside’s creative sector says he believes it is well-placed to ride out the public sector cuts.
Kevin McManus, director of Merseyside ACME, says creative and digital firms are worried about the effects cuts may have. But he believes most firms have diversified enough to be able to cope with the retrenchment of the public sector.
And he says he hopes creative firms will be able to build on Liverpool’s presence at the World Expo, in Shanghai last year, to win more overseas contracts.
Mr McManus says local creative firms, from web agencies such as Rippleffect and Mando to design firms including Smiling Wolf, had a strong 2010. Events such as Liverpool Sound City and Design Symposium North also helped promote Merseyside’s creative sector.
Mr McManus said firms were now looking to grow again after the recession.
He said: “There has been a general upturn in business. Businesses have thrived and there has been growth – not huge growth, but steady growth after a period of consolidation and uncertainty, and businesses have pressed on.
“Looking forward, there’s probably going to be a worry for some who are over-reliant on public sector contracts.
“The general message is that the full impact of the cuts won’t be felt until next April. There are companies that do a fair bit of public sector work. The concern is how much of that is going to dry up.
“The smarter companies will already have been looking to diversify.
“I wouldn’t worry about too many because they’re tough enough to survive. Some might need to stop to think about where they are up to.”
Liverpool’s stand at the Shanghai Expo was designed by city agency Uniform, while the films used to promote the city were created by Liverpool’s River Media.
Mr McManus believes more Mersey creative and digital firms need to look to international markets.
He said: “I hope some creative businesses capitalise on the links we have made with Shanghai during the last year. We need to build on the momentum of the Expo.”
ACME is also planning to revamp its successful Kin website. Kin, an online community for the creative sector, has more than 3,000 members.
“It’s already very active, but we need to reinvigorate it a bit,” said Mr McManus.
“We can get 200 people at our Kin networking events in Liverpool. We think it’s got something to offer in terms of networking opportunities.”
Merseyside ACME is part of regeneration agency Liverpool Vision. Vision is being restructured, but ACME’s future looks secure.
Vision’s chief executive, Max Steinberg, said: “We have never envisaged that ACME would be anything other than part of a ‘new’ Vision in moving forward. It is part of a number of outward-facing business responsibilities of the ‘new’ Vision.”
