“Content is king” reiterates Globalocal 2014

GLOBALOCAL 2014, the 5th edition of GBO New Delhi’s exclusive forum for content, was successfully held on February 13-14, 2014 in New Delhi. Like earlier in 2013, the focus this year was on increasing one-on-one networking opportunities within the publishing and allied industries. The forum included a mix of roundtables, rights and licences training, business matchmakings, keynote presentations and networking breaks. GLOBALOCAL 2014 was attended by over 150 delegates and featured more than a dozen experts from around the world.

Claudia Kaiser of the Frankfurt Book Fair, Germany, kicked off the conference with a welcome address, followed by an opening keynote speech from marketing guru and managing partner, Counselage, India, Suhel Seth. He spoke of the social responsibility that books carry, touching upon the recent controversy over Wendy Doniger’s book. He felt that Penguin’s decision to capitulate was contemptible and irresponsible in this context. Books capture the evolution of society, he said, and more books lead to a more tolerant world. Next, Michael Healy, executive director, Copyright Clearance Center (CCC), New York, delivered a keynote address on exploring opportunities in new revenue sources in rights and licensing.

The CEOs’ Roundtable on “An Industry in Search of Its Identity” saw seven experts from publishing and allied fields lock horns over their perceptions about the shifting scene in content delivery and consumption. While, a workshop on “Marketing for the Future” addressed new market models and ideas in publishing, creative marketing techniques and innovative transmedia content strategies.

The second day started with a keynote speech by Linda Tan Lindgard on the “missing stories” of South East Asia. The region has a rich tradition of storytelling but it isn’t being heard. She pleaded with large publishers to create a space to encourage unusual, innovative content to “surprise and delight readers.”

The second day’s roundtable was on STM, aptly titled Icing on the Cake. The panellists debated issues ranging from technology adoption and digitisation, copyright and piracy, the open access model and its implications, the challenges to technology adoption, and more.

In a keynote presentation by Winnie Hung of HP Asia Pacific, Singapore, titled Content Is King, but Not Inventory, she spoke on new printing technologies, including short-run digital printing and print-on-demand, and how they can be used for better inventory management.

The final session on both days comprised the Business Matchmaking meetings, where customised one-on-one ten-minute meetings were arranged to facilitate business opportunities.