This Thursday (June 10) will see the latest edition of Media Meet & Greet, an event that is growing rapidly in popularity across the industry.
Broadband TV News approached a number of leading executives who have attended previous ones to gauge their views on why this is the case and why they would recommend it to others.
For Chris Pfaff, CEO, Chris Pfaff Tech Media LLC, its uniqueness and the way it points to the future are key elements.
“The Media Meet & Greet experience is like no other that currently exists: actually conversing in real time with industry colleagues, and discovering new contacts all within the framework of a well-curated discussion. This is the new model for how video industry professionals can meet on a global scale, on an ongoing basis. We see Media Meet & Greet as more than a stop-gap way to conduct real-time business during the pandemic; it is a clear way forward in business networking”.
Meanwhile, Stephanie Schuster, CCO at Axinom, sees great value in the event. “Media Meet & Greet is doing an amazing job of filling the void of missing live events and trade shows. The event format is developed to provide value to all the participants from the media industry, engaging them with lively networking and discussion sessions, which is something Axinom greatly values as a leading technology provider”.
Networking is of course one of the main objectives of industry events and Media Meet & Greet’s role in this is commended by David Shapiro, the owner of 3B Media. In his view, “this is a great platform for making new connections. I would hope to see more TV companies and content providers benefit from it”.
This is also acknowledged by Bea Alonso, CMO at Dalet, who says “the Media Meet & Greet event series has provided a welcome alternative to the lack of in-person events in an industry that thrives on business partnerships. With an easy-to-use interactive platform and high-quality attendees, the Media Meet & Greet events provide the opportunity to make new contacts and gain useful insights”.
The theme of opportunity is also identified by Mehmet Eroglu, CCO of Foxxum. Speaking about previous Media Meet & Greets he has attended, he says: “I believe it provided a great opportunity to connect and explore business opportunities with people from the industry and media during a time of not being able to travel and visit trade shows or similar last year.
Having had short meetings with video streaming during these events myself, I can say that I quite enjoyed the discussions and felt also as if we were having short coffee meetings which we normally would have at industry shows such as the IBC for instance, which was nice during a year of lock-downs and least human interactions”.
Further perspectives are provided by David Short, media technologist at Malkani Systems. In his view, “ Media Meet & Greet is a fascinating experiment attempting to recreate some of the more informal and less scripted aspects of an in-person trade show. To try to make spaces for serendipity. It’s not like the real thing, but it’s the closest I have seen so far and well worth a visit”.
Meanwhile, Delphine Ehret, senior manager marketing and business development at PaxLife Innovations, says that “For a newcomer like me in the media business, what you have setup is very useful”, and Graeme Leith, business development director at Zattoo, believes that “these days, a multitude of online webinars and events go some way to replace trade shows and meetings on the booth. Media Meet & Greet does it well – great participants, good discussions on relevant topics and that extra bit of fun”.
For Uwe Kühhirt, head of metadata department at Fraunhofer, Media Meet & Greet is making great progress. Commenting on his attendance, he says that “it was a great event. Even though I had only two appointments it was a lot of fun. The idea with the rooms for smaller groups worked very well. Maybe the time slots could have been a bit longer for the group discussions. The music at the end was also great. I think you are on the right path to really great networking events”.
Finally, event executive producer Janet Greco, of Broadcast Projects says: “This is not the usual virtual event where you sign up and maybe go if you feel like it on the day. Media Meet & Greet is more like a dinner party. There’s a place setting with your name card. People are expecting you and hope you´ll be available to meet them. When you don´t turn up it’s awkward. We don´t just want people who register, we want them to actually attend on the day, and plan their meetings in advance, just like you’d do for any trade show”.
Live networking will be possible throughout the entire event from 5pm CET until 8pm CET on June 10.
To sign up, please go to: https://broadcastprojects.ck.page/ac7b882b5a
