Hitfilm / www.hitfilm.com
VidCon is debuting in Australia for the first time on September 9th and 10th 2017.
Startups have to market their brand. Startups have to communicate their message. Startups have to build a loyal following of customers. But as obvious as these steps may seem, the ways to successfully implementing them can be confusing. In a competitive landscape dictated by continuous evolution, there seems a saturation of options for startups to market themselves effectively. Different marketing mediums, different content modalities, different launch strategies. The challenge for founders, therefore, becomes identifying the opportunities showing the most effective yield at any given time.
Under current market dynamics, one medium in particular appears to be gaining accelerating momentum in terms of its efficacy.
Video content seems poised as the latest marketing arbitrage for Australian startups.
This trend is consolidated by VidCon, a global online video conference, debuting in Australia on September 9th and 10th. This is the first year that the two-day event, which was recently hosted in Amsterdam on April 7-9, has gone international. It hosts influencers, creators and experts that are prominent in the online video space as a means to illuminate the expansive activity in the industry.
In my chat with Jim Louderback, VidCon CEO, he described the conference as an eclectic combination of online video influences.
« VidCon is a mix of three different events. At it’s core, the community side is like Comicon for Online video. The creator track helps those who want to create content on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and other services get better at what they do. And the industry track explores how to build profitable businesses across these new online video platforms ».
But in addition to its multi-genre reach, VidCon’s presence in Australia is indicative of the growth of video as a ubiquitous marketing medium in the local market.
According to Louderback, Australia is an eco-system that demonstrates strong engagement and a pool of innovative content creators.
“Australia has an amazing group of online video creators, and some of the most passionate fans in the world. It’s natural to bring the biggest online video conference to a place where there’s such an amazing confluence of talent and such an amazing group of supportive fans. We wanted to make sure we were part of that community, and hopefully we can help celebrate the creative economy in VidCon as we connect the local community to VidCon’s global audience”.