Brighton has long been recognised as a centre for new media excellence.
A recent Financial Times report stated new businesses are most likely to succeed in the city, encouraging further investment from up-and-coming technology companies.
Last week a billboard poster proclaiming the city's status as Silicon Beach was unveiled at Brighton station by Simon Fanshawe, leader of the successful city bid campaign.
He said: "In a new kind of city, media and knowledge-based businesses are one of the main ways we will create jobs. Brighton and Hove are now the birthplace of ambition and success. This is a great tribute to our growing new media sector."
Travellers were given a large reminder of Brighton and Hove's reputation for creative excellence.
Caraline Brown, managing director of Midnight Communications, had the idea of promoting the city with the poster which features three Brighton-based new media companies, Midnight Communications, NVisage and Spannerworks.
Midnight Communications was set up in February 1995 with no clients and a £2,000 overdraft. It was the first UK public relations consultancy to specialise in the internet and new media.
Caraline Brown said: "We had a strong belief that the internet would flourish, a brave decision when less than two per cent of the UK was online.
"Brighton has always been one of those places where people with good ideas are not afraid to stick their necks out and go for it and certainly in the company's early days, I felt motivated by the general surge of enthusiasm which very much carries our city.
"Midnight Communications is proud to tell clients we are based here."
Midnight Communications won Best Small Consultancy and Best International Campaign Awards at the PR Week Awards 2000 and was named Sussex Company of the Year at the Sussex Business Awards.
NVisage, provider of multimedia solutions, also believes it has benefited from a Brighton base. Set up in 1997 by a team of two, the company has grown to nine staff and has a client base which includes Emap, HSBC and Legal and General.
Marketing director Paul Madgin said: "Businesses such as ours are benefiting from a steady migration of talent from London and from commuters who are increasingly keen to work here."
Managing director of Spannerworks Arjo Ghosh said the fact the city's new media businesses work closely together played a key part in their success.
He said: "Our collaborations with local companies helped us to establish our business in the early days and, even today, the confidence brought about by the success of the city's technology-related companies helps bring the business community together."
Spannerworks has provided web technology and marketing services to companies across the UK since its creation in 1997. Clients include Glaxo-Smithkline, Capital One Bank, IIR Conferences, Invicta Leisure, smile-on.com and Grouptrade.
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