What a show!
After two years of cancelled and curtailed events, the Echobox team was thrilled to get back to meeting publishers face to face and making in-person connections at The Publishing Show 2022.
Echobox was a Gold Sponsor of the show – the UK’s premier event for B2B and B2C publishers, newspapers, content providers and suppliers – which saw leaders from the industry come together at the ExCel in London for two days of diverse talks, insightful panels and lots of networking.
We loved meeting everyone who stopped by our stand to chat with our friendly team!
Looking into the future of the publishing industry
One of the highlights of The Publishing Show was the rich agenda on offer, with a variety of sessions related to audience, revenue, newsroom innovation and the future of the wider media industry. From panels on “The future of ecommerce for publishers” to “Lessons from award-winning publisher podcasts,” attendees had the opportunity to hear directly from their peers on the industry’s largest issues and opportunities. The show’s up-close-and-personal feel made it an ideal setting for trading perspectives and engaging in enriching dialogue.
Echobox was proud to sponsor the Future of the Newsroom theatre and contribute to the impressive speaker lineup: our founder and CEO Antoine Amann delivered a talk on key aspects of the Facebook algorithm and how they impact publishers, including:
- How publishers are routinely being penalized by Facebook algorithms for posting at the “wrong” frequency
- How the photo post format underperforms compared to link posts
- Why interest tagging has no impact on publisher traffic
Professor Charlie Beckett of the London School of Economics’ think-tank Polis delivered an insightful session on “AI and the future of journalism.” He spoke about common applications of AI in the newsroom and how AI is of particularly critical importance to news distribution, noting: “Helping people connect to the most relevant content is probably the most important function of a news process at the moment.”
While outlining the 7 steps to building an AI strategy for any newsroom, Professor Beckett highlighted the need for education on AI and training amongst journalists, adding that once journalists understand how machine learning and AI work, they can understand how to control the technology and best use AI to their advantage.
During “The Times: Leading the Way with Digital Journalism,” The Times’ Head of Digital Edward Roussel highlighted innovations that set the publication (an Echobox client) apart, such as Times Radio which launched in 2020, NewsUK’s forthcoming TV channel talkTV, and the trusted quality of The Times journalists’ live, original reporting.
There were too many valuable sessions to cite them all, but special mention goes to the panel on “Diversity and Inclusion in the Media” from the British Society of Magazine Editors (BSME). Moderated by Andrea Thompson, Editor-in-Chief of Marie Claire UK, the panel featured Amit Katwala of Wired UK, Ateh Jewel of HonDMedia, Curtis Moldrich of CAR magazine and Dr Joanna Abeyie MBE of Blue Moon. Recounting their personal experiences of breaking into and advancing in the media industry – and discrimination faced along the way – the panel discussed crucial steps the industry must take to become more inclusive and diverse.
Our team’s highlights from The Publishing Show
Between chats with publishers, insightful talks and panels, and discovering other innovative technologies for publishers, our team took full advantage of The Publishing Show 2022. Below, four of the Echobox team share their personal highlights from the show:
Alexandre Aranicki, Account Executive:
“It was great collaborating with my whole team so that we could make Echobox’s presence at the show a success. I also really liked getting in contact with so many different actors in the publishing industry and getting to meet many of our clients who love Echobox. Finally, the talks were great to gather further insights on what is happening in the publishing industry, particularly the talk on inclusion and diversity in terms of content but also in terms of HR.”
Anders Hedström, Regional Director:
“Given we always value personal contact with our partners and the industry as a whole, it was great to finally meet in person, showcase our technology and explore ways of reaching publisher-specific objectives.”
Edward Lidbetter, Business Development Associate:
“This was a fantastic opportunity to both collaborate with colleagues in an external setting and to meet new people from the publishing industry face-to-face. It was also great to hear many interesting talks from leaders within the industry on the challenges faced and how companies are adapting to meet them such as: achieving Net Zero pledges, implementing technologies and discovering new sources of revenue.”
Shreya Mishra, Business Development Associate:
“The Publishing Show 2022 was indeed a great experience. Having worked as a journalist before, it’s always great to have an understanding of both worlds and share with publishers how Echobox can be a boon for newsrooms and for journalists with an unrivaled understanding of their audience. It’s great to see how the media space is transforming by inculcating higher technology and more diversity and inclusion in the sector. Being a part of such a diverse team at Echobox, I value the important transitions the industry is going through.”
Will we see you at future next media and publishing industry events? Follow us on social media to keep up to date with our team and see where we’ll be next!
