Starting tomorrow, the worldwide publishing and content community will meet in Germany: The IFRA World Publishing Expo and DCX Digital Content Expo will take place for three days, from 9 to 11 October, at the Messe Berlin exhibition grounds. With 193 exhibitors and more than 100 international speakers, this event acts as a ‘seismograph’ and trends showcase for the media industry while also welcoming a wide range of important industry players.
WAN-IFRA President Michael Golden (former Vice Chairman of The New York Times Company) will officially open the exhibition on 9 October. In his opening address, he will prepare the publishers and content managers, who are travelling from more than 40 countries to attend, for the challenges and opportunities confronting the industry at the present time. Accurate, well-researched journalism is just one side of the coin here. According to Golden, it is equally important to make good journalism recognizable as such for the readers and create a spirit of trust. He calls on all parties concerned to share their practical experience for new forms of storytelling – there is no better-suited motto for three full exhibition days.
From technology trends to new business models
IFRA World Publishing Expo will present the latest hardware and software for the print business in Halls 21 and 22 of Messe Berlin: printing presses, plates, prepress, paper, ink, mailroom, distribution as well as management and organization of print processes. In the parallel DCX Digital Content Expo, the emphasis will be on strategy, editorial, production, distribution, monetization and advertising for digital content.
The focus at the opening press conference will be on the latest ‘World Press Trends’: The report of the same name compiled by the world association of newspapers and news media WAN-IFRA, scheduled for release tomorrow, addresses publishing turnovers and success factors for print, digital and advertising in more than 70 countries. In addition, the exhibition organizers will report on new cooperation agreements in the industry – and the expansion of the exhibition portfolio towards content marketing and content management.
Program highlights: Speakers from all over the world
The accompanying program will have more than 100 speakers from all over the world. The new Vice President of the world association WAN-IFRA will be attending the exhibition: Lisa MacLeod, head of Digital at Tiso Blackstar, Africa’s largest English-language publishing company and owner of 8 newspapers, 15 websites, music, film and radio operations. The digital pioneer will give fascinating insights into the transformation processes currently being experienced in the industry.
DD Purkayastha, managing director and chief executive officer of ABP, will provide a ‘snapshot’ of the rapidly changing Indian news industry – from the mobile revolution to new reader behavior and the spread of social media.
With Anu Ahola, Board Member of the WAN-IFRA World Printers Forum, the paper industry will have a representative on stage who will show which strategic developments it is pursuing in its special sector, especially in Europe and North America.
Leading players in the print sector, up to and including Google, to take the stage
Both the IFRA and DCX Conferences will offer a wide range of sessions as well as top-ranking speakers on stage. For example, top managers from the press sector, such as Claus Bolza-Schünemann, chief executive officer of Koenig & Bauer, Alexander Wassermann, chief executive officer of manroland Goss Group, and Pascal Clémençon, chief executive officer of Wifag Services AG, will discuss the future of newspaper printing on the IFRA Conference Stage. Digital innovations will be the topic of discussion in the ‘Google Digital News Innovation Projects’ panel, introduced by Sarah Hartley of Google DNI, and in which representatives of the projects supported by the initiative will have the opportunity to present their respective case.
