Fraser Bradshaw, managing director of the Bristol office of McCann Erickson takes up the reigns to the website today as guest editor.

At last, a version of The Drum, coming to you from the South West!  I am Fraser Bradshaw, Managing Director of McCann Erickson in Bristol.  I am also on the group board of McCann Central, encompassing Bristol, Dublin, Birmingham and a board member of Bristol Media, an industry led organisation representing media businesses within our region, with over 3,500 members.  Married with three sons, I enjoy all sports (and actively participate in as many as I can!)

I hope that this will be a different edition of The Drum.  I hope it will be more personal and will reflect a mix of work and thinking that has inspired us all this year. 

Certainly next year plenty promises to bring many things, and scale will be one of them – by the end of 2011 there will be many more internet users (not necessarily on desktops any more), mobile users, online shoppers, online gamers, social networkers, and more data being generated.  No surprises. Now that mobile has ‘arrived’ and the ubiquity of social media and online video will create a lot of new marketing opportunities I am looking forward to new, dynamic campaigns from us agencies.  I hope to see our regional businesses continue to compete and demonstrate that strong creative thinking can be delivered from outside London, showing the value and expertise that our regions provide.

So, as we sit back and enjoy the festive season (please ignore talks of a double dip) we can look back on a challenging year, as the recession has asked us to look at, and justify, the value of what we do and it forced us to be more innovative. 

In my day as pseudo-editor I hope to review some of my favourite parts of 2010 - looking at top 5 campaigns, top 5 technology stories and things to look forward to in 2011 - and I welcome a year of innovation for us all in 2011.

Wishing you all a prosperous New Year!

Fraser