— Case Study: Medientage München 2016
The Strongest Sky Presence at Medientage München.

Medientage München is one of Europe’s leading industry events for media, technology and digital innovation. As early as 2016, topics such as virtual reality, artificial intelligence, e-sports and emerging digital media formats were shaping discussions across the industry.

The objective was to position Sky strategically as an innovation driver and thought leader. To achieve this, I developed and implemented an integrated 360° communications strategy focused on key innovation and industry topics, resulting in the largest and most visible Sky presence in the history of Medientage München.

Tobias Kurig, Manager Product Architecture bei Sky Deutschland, präsentiert Sky VR auf den Medientagen München
Werbung für den Sky Play Pitch im Rahmen der Medientage München 2016
Alessandro Reitano, Senior Vice President Sports bei Sky Deutschland, diskutiert auf einem Panel der Medientage München über die Zukunft von Sport, Medien und Digitalisierung
— CURRENT SITUATION & CHALLENGE
New Technologies and Increasing Competitive Pressure.

The media industry was undergoing significant transformation in 2016. Streaming platforms were reshaping the competitive landscape, new technologies such as virtual reality and artificial intelligence were gaining momentum, and traditional media companies were facing growing pressure to innovate and transform. At the same time, regulatory developments, new digital business models and changing consumer behaviour were becoming increasingly important across the industry.

– Increasing competitive pressure from streaming platforms and new market entrants

– Rapid technological change driven by virtual reality, artificial intelligence and e-sports

– Shifting media and entertainment consumption through platforms and emerging formats

– Growing relevance of regulatory, technological and strategic future topics across the media industry

– Limited awareness of the new PLAY accelerator program within the media and startup ecosystem

— STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES
Position Sky Strategically as an Innovation Driver.

The objective was to position Sky strategically as an innovation driver and thought leader within the media and entertainment market, increasing its visibility among media, partners, policymakers and competitors. To achieve this, Sky sought to actively shape key future and industry topics while significantly expanding its presence across the conference and media landscape. Alongside traditional panels and keynote sessions, particular focus was placed on developing new event formats with organisers and extending reach through social media.

– Strategic positioning of Sky as an innovation driver and thought leader within the media and entertainment market

– Position Sky experts on key industry and future-focused topics

– Increasing Sky’s visibility and relevance among media, partners, policymakers and competitors

– Further development of traditional conference formats through new formats created in collaboration with Medientage München

– Integration of the Sky Accelerator Program PLAY into the conference programme and generation of submissions for the innovation programme

– Integration of innovation topics such as virtual reality, artificial intelligence, Ultra HD and e-sports

– Extending conference content through media relations and social media

– Increasing reach, engagement and media coverage surrounding Sky’s conference presence

— STRATEGY & ACTIONS
What I specifically did.

In my role as Corporate Spokesperson, I was responsible for Sky Deutschland’s speaker programme. To position Sky as an innovation driver and thought leader, I proactively developed an integrated positioning and communications strategy for Medientage München 2016. Together with the Executive Board, division heads and relevant stakeholders, I analysed which future and innovation topics Sky could strategically and credibly own. This resulted in a strategy paper featuring key narratives based on the corporate strategy, new products, pilot projects and company initiatives.

– Developed an integrated positioning and communications strategy for Medientage München 2016

– Analysed strategically relevant future and innovation topics together with the Executive Board, division heads and key stakeholders

– Developed a strategy paper with key narratives based on the corporate strategy, new products, pilot projects and company initiatives

– Proactively engaged partner-led panels, including Deloitte and PwC, with strategic narratives to increase speaker placements

– Developed new event formats in collaboration with Medientage München

– Integrated the Sky Accelerator Program PLAY into the conference programme and supported increased participation and submissions for the innovation programme

– Integrated future-oriented topics such as virtual reality, artificial intelligence, Ultra HD and e-sports into the communications and content strategy

– Positioned the Sky VR app within the VR Experience Area at the exhibition

– Developed a Twitter-first communications approach featuring pre-prepared speaker statements to support media coverage, social media reach and real-time reporting

– Managed and coordinated organisers, partners, speaker briefings and communications activities across Sky’s entire conference presence

— RESULTS & IMPACT
What we achieved.

Sky’s Largest Presence at Medientage München

23 speaker appearances and programme placements across the conference and exhibition

Visibility Across Future-Oriented Topics

Sky represented across VR, artificial intelligence, Ultra HD and e-sports

New Event Formats Established

New event and innovation formats developed in collaboration with organisers

Greater Impact at
Lower Cost

35% more placements while reducing costs by approximately 78%

– Sky Deutschland’s largest and most visible presence in the history of Medientage München

– Increased speaker and format placements from 17 to 23 compared with the previous year (+35%)

– Successful positioning of Sky across nearly all relevant industry, innovation and future-focused panels

– Strong presence across key future topics including virtual reality, artificial intelligence, Ultra HD and e-sports

– Developed new event and innovation formats together with Medientage München, including the VR Experience Area and VR Cinema

– Successfully positioned the Sky Accelerator Program PLAY through a panel discussion and live pitch at Medientage München

– Promoted PLAY and the live pitch through STRÖER information screens in underground stations across Germany’s largest cities

– Extended conference content through Twitter-first communications, pre-prepared speaker statements, media relations and social media

– Reduced sponsorship costs by 78% while increasing visibility and reach

– Strategic collaboration with organisers, partners and partner-led panels including Deloitte, PwC, goetzpartners and MedienCampus Bayern

– Established the concept as a blueprint for Sky Deutschland’s strategic speaker and thought leadership programme

View Complete Overview of Speaker and Programme Placements

Alessandro Reitano von Sky Deutschland diskutiert im Deloitte-Panel „Virtual Reality: Die Zukunft des Entertainments?“ auf den Medientagen München
Dr. Jörg E. Allgäuer von Sky Deutschland diskutiert im Panel „Roboterjournalismus & Künstliche Intelligenz“ auf den Medientagen München
Damian Holmer am Sky Recruiting- und Employer-Branding-Stand auf den Medientagen München
Tobias Kurig von Sky Deutschland präsentiert Sky VR im Panel „Virtual Reality: Die Zukunft des Entertainments?“ auf den Medientagen München

Further insights

Medientage München

Further information and references relating to this case are available upon request.

— Core Competencies

The following competencies were applied throughout this project and reflect the core areas of my expertise.

— Executive Summary
With Sky’s strongest presence ever at Medientage München, I strategically combined innovation, reach and thought leadership.”
For Medientage München 2016, I developed a strategic positioning and communications strategy for Sky Deutschland focused on key future-oriented and innovation-related topics. By integrating the speaker programme, new event formats, Twitter-first communications and strategic narratives, I delivered the largest and most visible Sky presence in the history of Medientage München. At the same time, I increased speaker and format placements by 35% compared with the previous year while reducing sponsorship costs by 78%.
Idea, Strategy & Execution · Damian Holmer (Corporate Spokesperson, Sky Deutschland)