International. IBC2018 has closed its doors for this year and has presented another great event with visitor figures of 55,884. In addition to providing a number of new initiatives this year, the exhibition grew by 667m2 and conference delegates increased by 14% year-over-year. One of the most important growth figures lies in the diversity of its content with a specific effort that increased the number of women who spoke at the conference from 14% to 37%.
The IBC app has provided real networking opportunities, with over 91,000 interactions on the matchmaking platform. In addition, IBC had the number one trend on Twitter in the Netherlands for several days of the convention, with 185 million potential impressions and more than 250,000 video views. Engagement with IBC has also increased year-round with IBC365 – the site now boasts over 55,000 subscribers with an average of 49,000 active users per month.
Michael Crimp, CEO of IBC, commented "The show is about commitment, commitment, commitment. Statistics are in almost every area and new bookings are ahead of last year. IBC is much more than a trade show, we have developed a basket of data-driven statistics including stand-generated sales leads, conference attendance and IBC365 views and this information sharing is critical to the longevity of IBC's success and lies at the heart of the organization."
"All of this year's initiatives have aimed to bring together the best minds, the original thinkers, to network and share their knowledge. As all communications become video and audio, IBC remains the place to discuss the future of media, technology and entertainment," added Crimp.
This year, the new focus was on a new content steering group, drawn from across the industry, and chaired by Keith Underwood, Channel 4's UK co-operative.
IBC Head of Content Jaisica Lapsiwala said: "This year, we have worked closely with the industry to create a programme that not only reflects changes in the ecosystem, but also paves the way for our industry. This has resulted in an interesting and diverse 2018 edition of IBC. An example of this was our Global Gamechangers day, which brought to the stage creative, technological and commercial heads, such as Zahra Rasool of Al Jazeera, Peter Salmon of Endemol and Lindsay Pattison of WPP. Through the program, cutting-edge technologies that transformed the industry were introduced. Blockchain is a great example, with a keynote by Kim Jackson of Singular DTV and documents from people who are already implementing it, such as Éric Minoli of Groupe Média TFO."
Alongside the conference, IBC hosted three invitation-only executive forums. The Leaders Forum looked to the future, taking into account what the new ecosystem could be after consolidation, acquisition and collaboration. The Cyber Security Forum considered not only the threats but how to respond to them. New to the program this year was the Telco and Media Innovation Forum, a vital point of debate as the boundaries between media and communication blur.
Once again, IBC was the venue for an examination of the intersection of craftsmanship and technology at The Big Screen. Sessions included an in-depth look at the effects on Game of Thrones and Pixar's Dominic Glynn talking about the animation wonder that is The Incredibles 2 – and how things have changed in the 14 years since the original film.
The Future Zone is always an active part of IBC, with presentations from researchers and academic bodies developing ideas that can become successful products within five years. This year saw the addition of a stage theatre, presented by one of IBC's owners, IABM, with an ongoing programme of presentations discussing the ideas in more detail.
In addition to IBC's Big Screen, IABM Future Trends Theatre and Content Everywhere Hub, organized presentations and expanded meeting areas are becoming an increasingly common feature of exhibition stands throughout the show. "As the industry has moved from big boxes handling discrete functions to a software-based world that looks through the content supply chain, the way vendors present themselves and interact with visitors at IBC has changed," said Roger Thornton, chair of IBC's Exhibition Committee.
"Today, it's all about collaboration to deliver solutions that give media and broadcast companies the agility and flexibility they need to stay ahead of the curve in this rapidly transforming media landscape. That's why we're seeing more and more companies using large-format theatrical performances on their booths and offering large meeting areas where conversations that start collaboration begin."
IBC2019 begins with the first day of conference sessions on Thursday, September 12, until the closing of the exhibition on Tuesday, September 17.
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