12,908* total attendees; 50.4% increase on 2006
Web 2.0 and social media solutions top industry agenda
98% of floor space re-booked on-site
Speaking to packed keynote theatres, Europe’s most influential players in Web 2.0 helped create a massive surge in attendance at the industry’s leading event, Internet World (1st – 3rd May 2007, Earls Court, London).
Initial figures suggested a total net attendance of 12,908* business decision-makers at Internet World 2007 (an increase of 50.4% against 2006).
Research among this gathering of senior industry decision-makers showed that 42% of them identified Web 2.0 and 29% identified social media as their priorities. Other major areas of interest for businesses looking to exploit the internet revealed by the research included mobile and IPTV, as well as rich media, content management and online advertising.
Meanwhile, Google, MSN, Yahoo! and many others outlined their vision of what will drive success in the new world of internet marketing at Internet World 2007 and the speakers held audiences of many hundreds enthralled. Top speakers from BBC and Channel 4 examined the impact of the wider digital revolution in interactive media while O2 and Vodafone explored the scope of mobile digitisation.
Mark Howe, UK sales director for Google, showed the scale of the opportunity to new age marketers.
“$30 billion was spent online last year, in the UK the spending per capita was £1,000 and that is expected to rise 30-40% this year. Yet only 12% of total media spend is on the internet. That is well behind the time spent online and so the advertising pound will follow.”
Glenn Drury, the UK managing director of Yahoo! Europe, said the age of social computing had arrived and is still growing.
“There are currently 1 billion internet users in the world – in a couple of years it will be 40% of the world’s population. 2 billion emails and instant messages are sent each day, 2 million photos are uploaded each day and there are 100 million Yahoo! Groups.”
Although Howe said that while the world of marketing is changing the basic skills required to exploit it are the same. “You still need to reach the customer at the right time, at the right place with an offer that will engage them in an interaction,” he said.
But speaker after speaker hailed the potential of the internet in opening new opportunities to reach people. Jamie Riddell, director of innovation at leading agency Cheeze, said: “This is the year that social computing became mainstream and not just a bastion of US west coast agencies. How far it has come in just 18 months.” David Soskin, the chief executive of Cheapflights, said the real growth is yet to come. “The age group spending most time on the internet is 16-24 year olds so the best is yet to come for internet companies.”
The blogosphere was held up as a shining example of how new technology can help us do the old things but better. Blogging evangelist Loic Le Meur, the executive vice president of weblog software company, SixApart, said: “The phenomenon is the traditional art of having a conversation with friends without traditional limitations of time and place”. But, according to Le Meur, its potential isn’t yet being fully exploited.
“In the old days products were developed in secret, tested on a small group then launched. But with blogging you can involve your customers directly in development and bring in their ideas,” he said.
Rebecca Jennings, senior analyst with Forrester, summed up the new internet age when she said:
“Content is no longer king, contact with the customer is king. The medium is not the message, the customer response is the message and it is not what you say that is important, it is what the customers say to you. Because they will talk to friends, colleagues and, through the internet, to the world.”
Internet World Event Director, James Drake-Brockman, commented:
“We stand on the cusp of another generation of internet developments which will start to deliver on the promise of the internet – to dramatically change the way business is done - by bringing customers ever closer to the businesses that serve them.”
Internet World 2008 takes place from 29th April to 1st May at Earls Court, London. Visit www.internetworld.co.uk for more information. If you are interested in exhibiting or participating at Internet World, just contact James Drake-Brockman on 44 (0)20 8232 1600 ext 311. Alternatively email
james.drake-brockman@ithacamedia.co.uk
ENDS
For further information contact:
Mark Ram Marketing Manager, Internet World
Tel: 44 (0)20 8232 1600
E-mail: mark.ram@ithacamedia.co.uk
Notes to Editors
*Total Attendees = 12,908. This includes 10,946 qualified attendees (9,350 registered attendees to Internet World and 1,596 visitors crossing over from the International Direct Marketing Fair) plus 250 speakers and press and 1,712 exhibitors and other staff. Organiser's own data, BPA Worldwide Event Audit Membership Applied for May 2007.