On June 18 and 19, Paris’s Palais Brongniart building (site of the former stock exchange) will play host to UbiQ, the first international Digital Entertainment Showcase.
According to a release, the conference and exhibition will “spotlight the best of digital entertainment — content creation, business case studies and winning strategies to engage with audiences and maximize ROI across all digital platforms — Internet, mobile, IPTV, connected TV, tablets and social media.”
The first day’s conferences will focus on Social Media and Branded Entertainment. The second day’s on music and games.
Former Facebook marketing director Randi Zuckerberg — and founder of RtoZ Media — will present the keynote speech.
Among the companies that have already confirmed attendance are Disney Mobile US, Universal Music, Viacom International Media Networks, Samsung Electronics, Endemol, Orange, GloboTV, BBC Worldwide, Ubisoft, FremantleMedia, BitTorrent and Ogilvy.
We caught up with Gwénaël Flatres, CEO of UbiQ Events, and former head of Digital Business Development at MIPTV and MIPCOM (note UbiQ is not associated with Reed Midem) to find out more.
VAI: What was the impetus behind starting this event?
GF: In the digital business, it’s all about identifying the right partners with whom to reach consumers. We wanted to create a pragmatic, cost-effective market that included TV, music, apps and games.
“Anytime, Anywhere, Any Device (ATAWAD)” now fully defines consumer expectations as well as media and advertiser obligations and the digital entertainment market is maturing.
There are many existing events but no true one-stop shop in EMEA that gathers digital and interactive content creators and all content editors and platforms.
And finally, for the next five years, 65 percent of the media growth in the world will come from digital (according to PriceWaterhouseCoopers) and UbiQ is here to accompany the movement.
VAI: How many attendees are you expecting?
We already have more than 90 companies participating, 75 percent of which are from outside France – Germany, Turkey, Netherlands, Poland, Italy, U.K. (a lot of companies will come rom there because it’s the number one market in Europe).
VAI: What kinds of companies will be attending?
Everything. It’s exactly what we were hoping for — telecom operators, media agencies, TV producers, content providers, game studies and big consumer brands.
Your seeing digital companies and heads of Digital for companies that you don’t see at other markets.
VAI: What makes UBiQ different than other content conferences and exhibitions?
Our target is completely clear. We are bringing together companies from TV, music, games and social media to share experiences on how to capture, engage, monetize audiences and measure ROI in the different arena. The idea is not to think of them by different segments.
VAI: Will the location change in future editions?
No, and when you see the venue you will understand why. Also, Paris is center of Europe — it’s easy to get to from London, Amsterdam and Frankfurt. For new technology companies, it’s also nice because they can organize meetings with a lot of other clients based in Paris.
And price-wise it’s much better, because participants have a huge choice of hotels. We were really trying to make an event that is cost-efficient and pragmatic.
VAI: Will companies have stands?
Yes, like any other market. Participants are taking stands the first year. They might start to use suites and apartments over time.
