Running the Show: Éric Lauzon on MultiMedia Market
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Ahead of APEX MultiMedia Market, April 18-20 in Amsterdam, we caught up with Éric Lauzon, co-chair of the event, manager of Multimedia Entertainment for Air Canada and APEX Board member, to discuss what he thinks will be the conference’s key showstopper for those in the in-flight entertainment (IFE) business.
What distinguishes this event from others?
APEX MultiMedia Market offers attendees a level of intimacy and a unique focus on IFE content. Today, the definition of IFE content is much broader than pure entertainment content, as it also includes various applications, games, user interfaces, etc. The APEX MultiMedia Market is usually held in Europe where airlines get a chance to meet up with their favorite content vendors and discover new ones that they can rarely meet in their local market.
What is the primary benefit for airlines attending the MultiMedia Market?
The main benefit for airlines is to be exposed to new sources of content that provide an international flair. In this show, we’re kept up-to-date on the upcoming blockbusters, but we can also meet smaller distributors from France, Italy, Germany and other countries that often have interesting local content to enrich the IFE library of large global airlines.
“Content is often what differentiates one airline from another.”
How do you envision this event evolving alongside the airline content industry?
Content is often what differentiates one airline from another. I’m a true believer that airlines and their content service providers will continue to search and license content gems, as the wealth of their IFE offering makes each one of them unique.
Also, the installation of in-flight Wi-Fi systems will revolutionize the airline content industry, as it will open the door to myriad new possibilities while offering airlines a new way to distribute content to passengers – in a similar fashion than how they consume entertainment content at home.