12 March 2013

NYC and the digital future of street papers

At the end of last year, INSP was invited to be the beneficiary of the 'Master Class' at Brand Perfect's Adventures in Publishing event in New York. Our Development Manager Maree went to New York in February to present the brief  'How can we take the street paper network into the digital age?' and work with conference delegates on ideas for the future of the concept.

Maree said:
It was an amazing experience. I knew from the start that that it would be a great opportunity for INSP, but it really exceeded my expectations. 
My sleep deprived brain was woken up on the day by blizzard-like conditions on the way to Times Square, and then by the truly inspiring presentations from Katrina Dodd (Contagious Magazine), Wyatt Mitchell (The New Yorker), Cameron Connors (Condé Nast) and Jenn Eldin (American Express).

In the Master Class, the group clicked right away with INSP's mission, our challenges and the fact that the homeless vendor is at the heart of everything we do. I was incredibly proud to hear a group of great creative minds discussing the INSP brief and instantly coming up with ideas – some that we've half formed ourselves already and others that we hadn't even considered.
I left the Condé Nast building with the feeling that despite the various challenges we face at the moment, we're on the right track and that the street paper model will be relevant in future decades as long as we think creatively and keep the vendor right there at the heart of everything. 
I spent the next few days in a cold and snowy Manhattan with a head full of ideas.

You can read more about our ideas for digital street paper innovations here on the Brand Perfect website