There was so much buzz around the inaugural Advertising Week Europe that I was delighted to get there in person and participate in a session entitled 'The Changing Relationship Between TV and Advertising'.

The key discussion point was around the changing importance of TV, not just in consumers’ lives but also to the emerging economy, kicked off by Channel 5’s commercial sales director, Nick Bampton.

With content the driver of audiences and therefore the broadcaster’s single biggest cost, Bammo (as he is affectionately known in the industry) pleaded for new commercial ways of working with advertisers and agencies which would be mutually beneficial.

With the cost of TV reducing in real terms by 55%, broadcasters need to find new ways of making money from content or find new partners to pay for it, in return for better value or terms. The debate was further stimulated by Ago Agostino Di Falco., partnerships director at Channel 5 and Claire Heys of Endemol, who showcased their shared experiences of working with advertisers to accelerate the relationship between content and advertising, using Big Brother as the hero programme.

Next up was my bit – a panel discussion with Bammo, Nick Samwell Smith, creative director of Endemol, ably chaired by Matthew Wright of The Wright Stuff. I had hoped to make it a little controversial, but in general we found ourselves agreeing that it was in all our interests to build interesting, relevant content where brand assets are seamlessly integrated into content to generate natural affinity and drive positive perceptions, not just of the brand but the programming too.

With regulation relaxed, it is important that broadcasters and advertisers strictly self-regulate to create content with real audience value – the key thought being ‘just because we can, doesn’t mean we should’.

Joshua Graff, Director of Marketing Solutions, EMEA at LinkedIn explains to SMG's Gill Huber how the social media platform has transformed and how the whole industry benefits from Advertising Week Europe.

Graff feels that Advertising Week Europe has brought together a great mix of people from the industry, from students to marketers, publishers and CEOs of media agencies rubbing shoulders. With rich content that crosses over pop culture, music and film, the event has provided the opportunity for everyone to learn something new.

Discussing LinkedIn as a platform, Graff talks of the transformation the social media channel has gone through. LinkedIn is now a rich content platform, with over 250 influencers over the world blogging on a regular basis. LinkedIn Today provides consumers with network news and the channel has the ability to push out relevant engaging content to its professional audience, Graff explains.

As a speaker at ‘The Best Advice I Ever Got’ session, Graff believes that it is important to take intelligent risks and that it is okay to fail as failure can be a positive learning experience.

As a brand, if you’re not thinking about commissioning integrated, authentic content like a broadcaster then you won’t be part of the conversation, LiquidThread’s MD Amice Lock tells SMG’s marketing director Gill Huber.

Lock explains how LiquidThread creates content opportunities for brands by bringing a clear understanding of what audiences really want and marrying this with excellent content to create a seamless brand integration.

Broadcasters are now commissioning programmes with multi-platforms in mind, Lock says describing recent successes with product placement work for Samsung.

Channel 4 sales director Jonathan Allan looks to the future with SMG's marketing director Gill Huber.

There is a real focus on the future and change at Channel 4 Allan explains, driven by the broadcaster's innovation agenda that is helping to understand what the industry will look like in five to 10 years' time.

For Allan it's the potential of the second screen and the role of long and short form content as 4G explodes that is particularly interesting, as Channel 4 looks to maximise new opportunities brought by digital media.

Channel 4 are investing in audience segmentation, Allan explains, by finding out more about the 7-8 million that have registered with 4 on Demand.

Clear Channel’s CEO Matthew Dearden Discusses The Outdoor Industry And Mobility With SMG’s Gill Huber.

With today’s digital explosion, Dearden explains that Clear Channel are interconnecting with other media, especially mobile, to deliver successful campaigns for brands.

Although he considers good mobile advertising to be difficult, Dearden believes the future of the internet is mobile, and that outdoor is the best driver of mobile search.

Talking about 4G, Dearden believes that it will be great for consumers once the pricing falls, as it creates the potential for engagement with creativity at the heart of it.

Dearden took part in the Evening Standard’s CEO summit panel with SMG’s CEO Stewart Easterbrook, where the importance of nurturing and recruiting great talent was the number one theme, he explains.

Linda Grant Talks to SMG’s Gill Huber About Metro as a Multi-Channel Brand and its Approach to Mobility.

Talking of Advertising Week Europe, Grant says that Metro was one of the first on board to support the inaugural London event and that today businesses need to collaborate, a mind-set that Advertising Week Europe is fuelling.

Grant discusses Metro and mobility, explaining how the brand is taking mobility to a new level, publishing to different platforms to encourage its audience to engage with the business at a deeper level.

Analytics are presenting Metro with insight into reader behaviours, Grant explains, having discovered that 60% of readers on the tablet edition return throughout the day.

Matt Scheckner Reveals to SMG's Marketing Director Gill Huber How Advertising Week Made it to London.

The United States has experienced Advertising Week since 2004, and two years ago work quietly started on bringing the event across the Atlantic to London, explains Scheckner.

The model for the event is very similar, featuring thought-leadership on business throughout the day and show business at night. Scheckner says that the environment where Advertising Week is hosted needs to be inspirational; the reason behind the event taking place at BAFTA and Ronnie Scott’s.

The programme for Advertising Week Europe is very rich, from opening to close, with all the major players attending, Scheckner explains who revealed that London will be the permanent home for Advertising Week Europe and it will return in 2014, there is 'no question about it' he said.

Locke talks about the future of TV, the growth of biddable TV model and the need for better measurement to fully understand the digital space with SMG's marketing director Gill Huber.

The future of TV is to be shaped by a biddable trading model with Sky leading this trend, Locke explains, adding that targeting homes based on demographics is the first step on this journey.

It is the second screen where Locke believes biddable trading has the opportunity to make quick progress and that it will be a five year evolution to scale biddable TV trading.

The biggest theme to come from the Evening Standard's CEO Summit was talent recruitment, the newspaper's media editor tells SMG's marketing director Gill Huber.

People recognise London as an international capital for the creative industries right across music, film, TV and advertising, Spanier explains citing London 2012 as another reminder of the UK's creative ability. As a result, London is a great place to source talent and develop great ideas he says.

Technology has opened up radical new thinking, Spanier believes and highlights companies including Twitter Facebook as businesses that are not afraid to fail, a lesson the wider business community could benefit from emulating, not just those in media.

‘The power of the human experience' discussion had a prominent theme of collaboration, explains Stewart Easterbrook, UK CEO, Starcom MediaVest Group.

Easterbrook explains to SMG's marketing director Gill Huber that the panel discussion demonstrated people's desire to be collaborative in how they work, and that it is the best way to capitalise new and emerging opportunities.

Advertising Week Europe is a great opportunity to promote what we do as a creative industry in the UK, says Easterbrook.