nextMEDIA event postponed as management needs breather to hone focus

One of the very few Canadian events catering to the interactive media industry, nextMEDIA, has been postponed, likely until next spring. The company that owns the festival, Achilles Media, says it put off the show from its traditional October time slot after determining that it didn’t have enough time to mount the kind of festival it wanted. The move is the latest twist for the event that, like the industry it serves, has been thrown more than a few curve balls in its short life. Robert Montgomery, a partner in Achilles, tells Canadian NEW MEDIA that the company has high expectations for the show that can’t be met so quickly after acquiring the event this April (CNM, April 16/04). The nextMEDIA property was one of several owned by the Banff Television Foundation at the time the popular television trade event was rescued by Achilles. The Banff Television Festival was the highest profile event in Banff’s roster, but it was quickly determined by Achilles management that it would also retain the nextMEDIA event. Another Banff property, the World Congress of History Producers, has also recently been announced as continuing in Toronto. The nextMEDIA festival has seen several criticisms leveled against it in recent years, including that it has been too focused on the broadcast sector as other platforms such as wireless and gaming show nearly limitless potential. Montgomery says those are the kinds of directions that could draw a broader number of participants, but that the timing wouldn’t work out to mount the event in October. "The last thing we want to do is put an event on that doesn’t meet our satisfaction, let alone the satisfaction of the community. (We didn’t have) enough time to do that, both with respect to getting the right speakers and people involved in the event, because of the timeframe, because people book their schedules up pretty far in advance. The other thing is just in terms of partners. Getting the right partners into the process takes time and takes notice. In the event business, you really have to be out the door in the spring with your ducks in a row to do events in the fall. People don’t really start thinking about the event from a delegate perspective until, sort of, September in a serious way. But all the work has to be done in advance. We’re not in the business of rushing things out the door. We’re in the business of doing well thought, well executed events. And so we took the decision after extensive consultations that that’s what we should do." He adds that initial feedback to the postponement has been positive. "The fun thing is that the community really, really likes the idea of this event, and really wants to sort of figure out the correct way forward. That, to me, is obviously critical because if people were fair to middling, we would be not so ready to jump to the pump. In an interesting sort of way, part of the reason for the postponement…is the fact that people are so into this event that we think we can really engineer and build a great event. We want to make sure that we have the time to do that." Asked whether there might be financial reasons behind the decision – the company expected to lose $300,000 to $400,000 on the Banff Television Festival this year – Montgomery says no. "Only that if you hold an event and not enough people come, it’s obviously more financially distressing. The other thing I think that it’s fair to say is that this event has not been a financial success in its past. That’s an additional reason to make sure that we get everything right." In fact, he says that a significant amount of money has already been spent towards this year’s nextMEDIA festival, though he won’t divulge how much, except to say that, "it would signify a serious commitment to moving forward…We’ve been the ones paying those bills and we wouldn’t do that if we weren’t serious." Finally, Montgomery promises a new and stronger role for the advisory board (of which Canadian NEW MEDIA is a member). The board was established when Banff acquired control of the festival in February 2003 from the Atlantic Digital Media Festival (ADMF). The acquisition occurred a year after Economic Cape Breton Corp. backed out from supporting the 2002 festival, which would have been held in Baddeck NS. Instead, TechPEI rode to the rescue of the ADMF and mounted the show in Prince Edward Island. Banff organizers maintained the show in P.E.I. the following year, and it would have been held there again this October, except for the postponement. The event is unlikely to move however, since TechPEI has committed $100,000 per year to it for five years beginning with last year’s event. While the festival on P.E.I. has been well received by new media players, a broader focus and international participation are still lacking. Upon acquiring the festival, then-head of the Banff Television Foundation Pat Ferns told CNM that, "It is going to be broader and it’s not going to be just about the convergence of television and new media. It’s going to be looking at all aspects of the leading edge of 21st century communication. It’s going to be much more firmly international and we’re going to work with the best practitioners in this country to make sure it’s a great event." That didn’t come to full fruition last year, though keynote speeches by individuals from Microsoft Corp. and from Sulake Labs added an international flavour. More important, perhaps, than the out-of-country participation has been the networking opportunity the festival provides. In 2003, a closed-door meeting of leading new media players from industry and government was likely the catalyst for a new national association now coalescing around key regional association players (CNM, July 23/04). It remains to be seen how that group will react to the postponement of an obvious opportunity to officially launch a new umbrella group, and to pitch in person for members.

nextMEDIA event postponed as management needs breather to hone focus

News | 08/06/2004 4:00 am EDT

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