Zinc Media Group’s Olly Strous explains why IBC is critical for cultivating relationships with suppliers old and new, and why staying on top of fast-moving trends can be a full-time job.
What’s your typical IBC routine: What are you there to see/learn, who are you there to meet?
IBC allows us to not only see the latest and greatest tech advancements in one space but it gives a block of a few days without day-to-day distractions to focus on innovation. I typically balance my time between existing suppliers and new suppliers you may not typically get in front of with desktop research.
Cultivating relationships with suppliers old and new is critical as those relationships lead to deeper understanding of not only our business but our pain points and can subsequently feed their own development cycles, delivering better products to us and the wider industry.
Why is IBC important to you in a professional capacity, and how does the show compare to others on the calendar?
At Zinc, technical innovation is critical to our success, from creative services we can offer our clients through to workflow efficiencies, staying on top of fast-moving trends can be a full-time job so dedicated time to focus in one place is ideal. IBC focuses on a different market to NAB, with an international contingent versus a US-skewed contingent at NAB. Subsequently, you see different vendors and hear different viewpoints.
What are you most looking forward to at IBC 2023?
Innovations in AI are high on our agenda. We started the year looking at practical applications of AI and have now honed our focus so are clear on the conversations we’d like to have.
