Chris Pfaff will host a one-on-one session, ‘Expanding EU Ventures into the US: Navigating Financial, Legal, and Intellectual Property Issues,’ with Urmas Peiker,

co-founder of Funderbeam (www.funderbeam.com), at the Slush Investor Ingenuity event, held on Wednesday, November 11th, from 7-9 pm, at the Radisson Blu Plaza, Mikonkatu 23, Helsinki, during Slush 2015.

Urmas Peiker, co-founder, Funderbeam

Produced by Launchpad USA, the Slush Investor Ingenuity event is an exclusive opportunity for Nordic companies to meet with US investors; a chance to sit down, one-on-one, and talk with the right connections about international investment possibilities that could help foster your company’s growth. If you are interested in having discussions with veterans of the global venture community about ways to scale your business, please make sure to register for the event today using the RSVP link at https://www.lyyti.fi/group/SLUSH_1115_5982

For more information, see the event page at http://amcham.fi/event/slush-investor-ingenuity

/

Radisson Blu Plaza, Helsinki

I am producing and moderating a session at the inaugural StreamCon (http://www.streamconnyc.com) New York event, next Friday, October 30th, at 3:00 pm, at Javits Center. StreamCon, a New York version of Vidcon, features an Industry Summit on Friday, with fan days on the weekend.

Join me at my session, ‘Shooting from the Hip: Mobile Video for Producers,’ and my panelists, Gregory Strompolos (YouNow), Nick Cicero (Delmondo), Daniel Holmstrom (LiveRing), and Natan Edelsburg (Muck Rack/Shorty Awards). See more at http://bit.ly/1W11aFN

The AmCham Finland Open House on Friday, October 2nd, celebrated the 1st anniversary of the organization in New York. But, in every way, it celebrated the growing presence of Finnish entrepreneurs and business owners in New York. And, in one sense, it was somewhat of a homecoming.

The homecoming was evident when Poju Zabludowicz, head of the Tamares Group, which owns 1500 Broadway, the new home of AmCham Finland, appeared to give his best wishes to Erika Sauer, the head of AmCham Finland New York. A Finnish-born real estate magnate, Zabludowicz symbolizes the ultimate height of business success for someone born in a country of slightly more than 5 million people. But, as with its neighbor to the south, Estonia, Finland punches well above its weight in the business world.

Pujo Zabludowicz; Erika Sauer; Timo Soini, and Kristiina Helenius at the AmCham Finland New York Open House

The event was held in a raw space down the hall from where AmCham Finland New York will take an office, in a co-working space. But the space was the ultimate New York party scene, with partitions, dry wall, and bare floors, all with stunning north Times Square views. At the tail end of UN Week, the event was significant for the presence of Kai Sauer, the ambassador of the permanent mission of Finland to the UN, as well as the new foreign minister of Finland, Mr. Timo Soini. Soini read prepared remarks that underscored the significance of the U.S. market to Finland, now more than ever.

Chris Pfaff and Kai Sauer, Finland’s UN ambassador

Kristiina Helenius, the president of AmCham Finland, thanked the more than 75 people who attended, many of whom had braved strong winds and rain to make the event, and pointed out the success of the Launchpad USA program, which is opening doors for Finnish (and Estonian) ventures. Helenius had presided over a Nordic Investor Summit in New York in May; at least half of the presenting companies have already established offices in the U.S.

Kristiina Helenius, president of AmCham Finland, and Toni Toikka, CEO of Alekstra

It was an open house (avoimien oven päivä), but somewhat of a door-opener as well. At least four Finnish ventures were present at the event, all of whom had recently set up offices in New York. This is a tipping point for the Finnish venture scene; even a year ago, few if any Finnish ventures were making commitments to expand to New York – or the U.S for that matter – but the strategic vision of venture capital funds such as Inventure and Vision+ has pushed more Finns to settle in the world’s largest market and, more importantly, its largest city.

One can expect more Finnish ventures to land in the New York market, and there is every reason to believe that AmCham Finland will be part of this trend. Onnea, Suomi!

Last night, I hosted/moderated/produced a panel on branded entertainment, ‘Gaming the System: Branded Entertainment for Producers,’ at The New School that was super-hot, for two reasons. First, the session occurred during Advertising Week New York, and included a veritable all-star roster of panelists, including Ian Schafer, founder/CEO of agency Deep Focus, and founder of its recently-formed branded content studio, DFx; Will Misselbrook, head of branded entertainment Condé Nast Entertainment; Colas Overkott, CEO of multi-screen content and ad firm Sync; Luis de la Parra, senior vice president, partner solutions, Univision; Andy Oakes, managing director of the UK’s leading marketing publication, The Drum, and Warren Weideman, CEO, First Look Productions LLC.

Ian Schafer; Will Misselbrook; Andy Oakes; Colas Overkott; Warren Weideman, and Luis de la Parra.

Second, the event’s content and discussions got so hot that the NY Fire Department was called in. Yes, just as the panel discussion started, a fire alarm sounded, followed by a slightly panicked intercom message from “The Fire Captain,” beckoning us all to the street. So, an impromptu networking session, amongst 96 passionate industry professionals, convened on West 13th Street. Only in New York. Some might just call for a short networking break; they call in the fire engines with my events. That’s how we roll.

NY Fire Department fire engine and firefighters arrive at the scene, 55 West 13th Street (note: a server in a 4th-floor rack overheated, and set off a temperature alarm. Yep – we were jes too darn hot…)

Ian Schafer showed a Ruffles case study on brand engagement, and discussed his views on the shortage of good content, saying that distribution has exploded, with new platforms every week, but great content has become more of a premium. Ian founded DFx to “take back” the production control of branded entertainment.

Ian Schafer, founder/CEO of Deep Focus and DFx, discusses the new branded entertainment production paradigm

Luis de la Parra showed how T-Mobile and Univision have partnered on a Youth Awards program with a Miami event that now includes multiple platforms, and creates strong brand extensions.

Luis de la Parra presents the Univision-T-Mobile branded entertainment case study

Colas Overkott showed Sync’s revolutionary Sync2Ad product, which has enabled – for the first time – synched TV-mobile ad units for brands including Samsung, Dunlop, and Air France, among others.

Colas Overkott demonstrates Sync’s Sync2Ad product

Warren Weideman discussed the “Top 10 Things Not to Do in Branded Entertainment,” and gave great historic examples of brand integration into films. His new show on CBS, ‘The Inspectors,’ produced with Litton Entertainment, looks at postal inspectors, and includes U.S. Postal Service participation.

Warren Weideman discusses the “Top 10 Things Not to Do in Branded Entertainment”

Will Misselbrook discussed his work with luxury brand Coach, and how he essentially led branded entertainment for a company that had not developed a solid branded entertainment play. Andy Oakes discussed the differences between U.S. and UK audiences and regulators with branded entertainment, noting that the tradition of non-commercial television had limited the scope of branded entertainment, but cited the Branded Content Marketing Association (BCMA) as one of the groups leading the growth of branded entertainment in the UK.

Will Misselbrook, head of branded entertainment for Condé Nast Entertainment, with Andy Oakes, managing director, The Drum

The value of branded entertainment with jaded audiences, including millennials less susceptible to traditional advertising, led to discussion of storytelling for brands. The discussion, in a room full of producers, led to numerous conversations about platform-specific stories, whether on Snapchat or YouTube, that have now created a hunger for content that is instantly shareable.

The evening was significant for myself and for the guild. It was almost 10 years to the day that the PGA-New School relationship was formalized (for the record, we did an event on podcasting that featured the likes of Robert Spier, from NPR and Peter Rojas). Sponsored by the Media Studies program at The New School, our PGA New Media Council East salon series has included a number of venues (including The Core Club; the 57th Street Screening Room), but our relationship with The New School is special. And enduring.

Paul Hardart, Director of the Media Management Program at The New School, welcomes the audience.

Colas Overkott; Chris Pfaff; Luis de la Parra; Warren Weideman; Andy Oakes, and Ian Schafer after the PGA New Media Council East panel on branded entertainment, at The New School, 09.30.15