IBC 2024 saw over 45,000 visitors and 1,350 exhibitors filling the RAI in Amsterdam. It was my third year attending the event, and it still blows my mind. As you can imagine, exploring 46,000 m2 of exhibition space is no easy feat. Although I didn’t get round to every corner of the show, my body was feeling the fatigue by Monday (I’m going to blame the walking here, not the Heineken). Thankfully, I had come equipped with some excellent footwear choices and plenty of Berocca!
Highlights
There were so many highlights from this year’s show. To name just a few…
1. The Perifery booth
I may be biased but the Perifery booth was probably the best space at the show. (We didn’t win the ‘Best Stand Award’, but we’ll put it down to an oversight!) We’re in a creative industry after all, so the booth perfectly reflected the spirit of Perifery. The creation of the booth was a team effort, headed up by our Global Marketing Director, Leanne Tomlin, designed by our graphics guru, Michael, and brought to life by the talented Harry at Haxo. The cherry on top was our pick ‘n’ mix station – we gave out 60kg of sweets at IBC!
If you hadn’t noticed, Perifery recently had a brand refresh, toning down the dark colour palette and opting instead for more eye-catching greens, blues, and pinks. Check out our new website if you haven’t already.
2. Awards
I’m not usually one to boast, but when you’re in the company of such talented individuals, it’s hard not to show off a bit.
Firstly, our transformative AI-powered solution, AI+, won the TVBEurope ‘Best of Show IBC2024’ award. A true testament to the innovative and skilled team behind the Perifery technology.
Here’s a short abstract from our entry: By offering a comprehensive set of AI and workflow automation tools, including updated transcription, metadata generation, facial and object recognition, and automatic translation, AI+ enables the media industry to remonetise the content they already own.
Learn more about AI+.
Secondly, our very own Leanne Tomlin was shortlisted in the ‘Marketing’ category for this year’s Rise Awards. Leanne heads up marketing at Perifery and is extremely talented and dedicated to her role. Anyone who knows her knows how amazing she is, so I don’t need to go on about it - it’ll only embarrass her! However, I will just say that Perifery wouldn’t be the company that it is today without Leanne.
Leanne is up against some great marketers in this category but we’re crossing everything in the hope she picks up that trophy! Rise Award winners will be announced on November 19th.
3. Networking
I always have good intentions when going to industry events, telling myself “make good choices” and “be in bed by midnight’. But it rarely happens. However, the social and networking side of events is so important - and I’m not just saying that to justify my 3am finishes.
The days at a trade show are long, so a chance to unwind in the evenings is almost essential. It’s not, however, all about the late ones. There are many events that take place during show hours, such as the Rise networking drinks or SVG Women’s networking event. These gatherings are a chance for industry friends, acquaintances, and strangers, to meet informally to discuss, well, anything. It’s not all work and no play. We all have lives outside of the office, so whether you’re bonding over the latest technological innovation, or the latest episode of Selling Sunset, it really doesn’t matter. I’m a firm believer in showing a bit of personality and these events are crucial for forming lasting relationships with industry peers.
I also need to highlight the Perifery boat event which took place on the Saturday evening. Luckily, this year we had organised a bigger boat which meant I was able to step aboard and sail down the canals to central station. A hugely successful event with customers, prospects, and team members. We finished the night with a partner-event at Vic’s bar.
Trending technology
I can’t publish a post-event blog without mentioning some of the trends from the IBC show floor. As expected, AI was everywhere. Although a new AI Tech Zone was set up in hall 14, the topic was not confined to those walls. AI capabilities were showcased on many booths, spoke about on many panels, and discussed during some of those events I spoke about earlier. The potential of artificial intelligence seems more tangible than ever – it’s not just spoken about in hypothetical terms anymore; it’s being integrated into every stage of the media lifecycle.
Watch this video to find out what our CPO, Abhi Dey, had to say about how AI is influencing the M&E industry, and how Perifery is leveraging AI to make users’ workflows more efficient.
There were many other trends and innovations showcased, from cloud technology to AR/VR, and 5G, but the general consensus was that media-driven organisations are looking to adopt solutions and technology to, ultimately, streamline their workflows and simplify the way they create, deliver, and monetise content.
NAB NY
Although I won’t be attending NAB New York next month, the Perifery team will be there on booth #858, showcasing how you can take your media asset workflows and storage beyond boundaries. You can schedule a meeting with the team now.
Watch our IBC 2024 highlights reel here.
