DCM Europe Day Two Highlights

Day Two of DCM Europe, or the first day of the main conference kicked off with some great sessions and discussion are ideas on how best to monetise content, the channels to market and technologies utilised.

The morning started with a great panel discussion led by David Naylor of Field Fisher Warehouse. This session was centred on how to continue to succeed and thrive in a sector that is constantly evolving. With speakers from Sega, LivingSocial and  FT.com we learned that it is vitally important to stay focused on the main company objectives – it is key to innovate but equally crucial is remembering the goals of the company. Something to think about is this nugget of data from John Clark of SEGA “by 2015 cloud-based and digital downloads will account for than 50% of game revenues”.

Nick Bell of News International conducted a Q & A session with Robert Andrews, the editor of Paid Content discussing the current and future status of online news and media. So far the paywall and business model has been successful with people willing to pay for quality editorial content. Studies and research show that for people who read regularly, there is no issue with paying for digital content. Central to keeping this momentum going forward is investing in new technologies such as providing real-time apps that allow subscribers to get “extra” content.

In the third morning session we received some great insights from BismarckLepe of Ooyala about how the company sees growth and audience usage evolving in the video space. What we do know is that the number of videos watched online has more than doubled in the last 12 months. Central to maintaining this growth and seizing the opportunities it provides is by ensuring that monetisation strategies, be they ad-funded or paywall provided are central to the strategy. The audience is still the decision-maker and they must always be the primary consideration. One major take away from this session is that Ooyala expects there to be 500 million Connected -TVs by 2015.

In the afternoon, MPP Global’s own CEO Paul Johnson led a really well-received session discussing ‘The Importance of a Single Customer View in a Multi-Platform Environment’. Using the BSkyB solution that allows users to visit one site to access all of Sky’s offerings as an example, Paul demonstrated the value of having an integrated solution for customers. This multi-channel solution gives users a cohesive and familiar application that allows them to subscribe, read, view and purchase everything they want in one interface. Regardless of the tool used – mobile phone, tablet or laptop – users need to have solutions that make accessing this content intuitive and painless. Of equal benefit to both the customer and the provider is the integrated payment solution – resulting in one-click purchasing and less time and energy spent on reconciling received payments.

Looking Ahead to Thursday January 19

The final day of DCM Europe is expected to be another full day of networking, learning and discussion. We’re looking to key sessions focusing on how to get content to customers – wherever and whenever they want it.

Developing integrated content delivery and payment solutions is central to ensuring success in this mobile and tablet-centric industry.

We of course would like your feedback on what we’re learning during this conference – don’t hesitate to email us or send us a Tweet to our Twitter account. To get the latest from the conference floor, follow the #dcmeuhashtag.