VidCon, the world’s largest celebration of online video and digital creators, is headed to Singapore for its first VidCon Asia Summit. The two-day event will be held from December 3-4, 2019 at the Raffles City Convention Centre, Singapore.
VidCon was founded by the Vlog Brothers, veteran YouTube creators Hank and John Green and was acquired by Viacom in 2018. VidCon’s flagship event, VidCon US, kicked off its 10th anniversary on July 10 in Anaheim, California. VidCon London is set to return in February 2020 following its successful debut earlier this year, while VidCon Australia which is taking place in Melbourne this September, is in its third year.
The VidCon Asia Summit, being staged in association with the Singapore Media Festival hosted by the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), will introduce VidCon’s signature Industry Track to the Asian market. Programming will comprise a variety of keynotes from global industry leaders coupled with hands-on workshops focused on growing an audience and revenue in the fast-paced Asian online video marketplace. VidCon Asia will include panel discussions about working with online video platforms, brand case studies and learnings, algorithm insights and test results from Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat experiments, along with a deep-dive on social video trends across Asia, and much more. VidCon Asia will be produced by Branded, owners of the award winning All That Matters festival.
Mark Whitehead, President and Managing Director, Viacom International Media Networks Asia Pacific, said, “As a media company that is dedicated to creating entertainment and experiences for our fans while bringing value for our partners, we are extremely excited to launch VidCon in Asia. Singapore is the perfect location for us to make our debut in the region – it is a vibrant media hub with a solid digital infrastructure and strong support from bodies such as the IMDA. Through VidCon, we are creating not just a forum, but also a platform and playground for anyone who is passionate about digital content, and will further fuel the growth of the online video universe.”
“As we celebrate VidCon’s tenth anniversary, we are excited to continue expanding our global footprint and introduce our VidCon format to the Asian market. Asia is one of the most creative cultural hubs in the world and we expect a diverse group of creators, brands and platforms to come together and shape the future of online video,” said Jim Louderback, General Manager of VidCon. “Our foray into Asia, coupled with our return to London, further solidifies our international presence and commitment to honour those making an impact on the digital world.”
“VidCon Asia will add to the vibrancy of our events calendar and position Singapore as the hub for the development of online video and digital content. Set to be a flagship event for the community of online content creators, it will provide networking avenues for creators and delegates, promote capability development opportunities, and build industry thought leadership for the region. We are heartened that Singapore continues to be recognised as the preferred MICE destination for first-in-Asia shows, offering the platforms for innovation, growth and opportunities,” said Andrew Phua, Director of Exhibitions and Conferences, Singapore Tourism Board.
The longer-term ambition is to expand the VidCon Asia Summit and bring VidCon’s signature three-track programme to the market, expanding beyond the Industry Track with the addition of the Community Track and the Creator Track. The Community Track is a hugely popular festival connecting fans with their favourite online video creators and fellow fans across parties, panels, meet and greets, concerts and more; the Creator Track is a showcase for creators and experts to educate their peers and the industry about online video, how to break into the industry and build an online brand, and strategies to meet and collaborate with fellow creators.
In the past year alone, VidCon has welcomed more than 100,000 attendees and industry guests to events staged in the US, UK and Australia. VidCon plays host to a wide variety of interactive experiences, live music performances, panels with experts and content creators, one-on-one chats, meet and greets between fans and creators, innovative brand activations, selfie moments and much more.
In addition to connecting the world’s top digital creators with their biggest fans, VidCon assembles senior executives from the world’s top digital platforms including YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, Twitch, Snapchat, TikTok, Weibo, Tencent and more.
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