Chris Pfaff moderated the Streaming Media Connect virtual panel – ‘From Small Things: How Niche Services Can Find Mainstream Success’ – on Thursday, February 17, 2022, a discussion on the growth in niche OTT services, with the followingexpert group of panelists:

• Igor Oreper, vice president, solutions, Bitmovin
• Paul Erickson, Director of Research, Parks Associates 
• DeShuna Spencer, CEO/founder, Kweli
• Marc DiLorenzo, CEO/founder, 2GTHR
• Ajit Thakur, CEO, aha 
• Damian Pelliccione, CEO/co-founder,Revry

You can watch the full panel on ‘From Small Things: How Niche Services Can Find Mainstream Success’ at:

ABOUT ‘FROM SMALL THINGS: HOW NICHE SERVICES CAN FIND MAINSTREAM SUCCESS’  

Whether they’re defined by the type of content—science fiction, horror, romance—or the type of audience, niche services are the long tail of the OTT universe. But just because their audiences are limited doesn’t mean their revenue opportunities are. Partnerships with aggregators and “mainstream” services offer pathways to bigger viewership numbers, and innovative marketing approaches can turn small services into big successes.

Chris Pfaff moderated the Streaming Media Connect virtual panel – Connected TV Advertising: The Holy Grail?’ – produced by Streaming Media Magazine, on Tuesday, February 15, 2022, featuring the following speakers:

• Kumar Subramanian, CEO,MediaMelon
• Jessica Masters, director of East Coast sales,Roku
• Aulden Kaye, director of advertising partnerships,Philo
• Tal Chalozin, CTO/co-founder, Innovid

You can watch the full panel at:

ABOUT ‘CONNECTED TV ADVERTISING: THE HOLY GRAIL?’

OTT’s hottest new monetization strategy is CTV. It’s got everything: better reach, increased engagement, improved attribution, and unparalleled targeting. We examine how brands and OTT services can work hand-in-hand to provide the best viewing experience for consumers while delivering the most bang for the buck for advertisers.

Jessica Masters, Roku

Tal Chalozin, Innovier

Alden Kaye, Philo

Kumar Subramanian, MediaMelon

Jerimiah Hamon, chief scientist of Firstlight Media, one of the leading data science figures in the OTT industry, conducted a one-on-one fireside chat with Chris Pfaff – ‘Your Data or Your Gut?’ – at the TVOT Live! Spring 2021 edition on April 27, 2021. Hamon discussed his views on what data science brings to the business of building an effective and engaging OTT offering. How predictive analytics can deliver a superior experience.

You can watch the full panel at: https://youtu.be/STpbnjxNsVE

Chris Pfaff (left) and Jerimiah Hamon (right)

ABOUT ‘YOUR DATA OR YOUR GUT?’

Media and entertainment executives have a long history of “knowing” what sells, but nowadays are gut feelings enough of a foundation for a winning business strategy? As more and more choices vie for consumers’ attention and loyalty, can the content industry really leave subscribers’ viewing choices to chance?  Jerimiah Hamon, Chief Scientist at Firstlight Media, is a computational mathematician with a background in military intelligence, healthcare and medical research, and now consumer behavior and entertainment. He is expert at correlating and automating the links between stimuli and viewer responses to enable more precise targeting of video content. In this wide ranging conversation with  Chris Pfaff, CEO of Chris Pfaff Tech Media, Jerimiah will lift the veil that surrounds data science, explaining: the top misconceptions executives have about data; the pillars of a successful data strategy; and the advanced psychographics that are making data more accurate than ever.

Chris Pfaff moderated two sessions during the first VR AR Global Summit Online, produced by the VR AR Association, on June 2nd and 3rd, 2020. The first session, ‘Collaboration Tools in VR: Developing Virtual Creativity in the Age of Social Distance’ was held on June 2nd and featured two of the leading platforms for VR collaboration – Glue, represented by Jani Leskinen, head of sales, and MeetinVR, represented by founder/CEO, Cristian-Emanuel Anton – and one of the leading virtual theater producers, Keira Benzing. The session was voted in the Top 5 of the more than 200 sessions held during the summit.

Jani Leskinen (top left), head of sales for Glue; Chris Pfaff (top right), moderator; Cristian-Emanuel Anton (lower left), founder/CEO of MeetinVR, and Keira Benzing (lower right), from DoubleEye Studios, discuss collaborative VR experiences

The second session, ‘Producing in XR: How to Create Unique Stories for Immersive Audiences’ was held on June 3rd, and featured

* Chloé Jarry, CEO/executive producer, Lucid Realities Studio

* Maciej Wisniewski, founder/producer, 99 Cent Opera

* Rafael Pavon, director/creative producer for VR/AR

* Pouria Kay, CEO, Grib

The session included a look at 99 Cent Opera’s EVR-1 blockchain VR game, as well as Chloé Jarry’s immersive experiences, Rafael Pavon’s leading VR work, and Pouria Kay’s AR platform, Grib. The stimulating conversation on how producers are developing new stories for XR platforms can be viewed at:

Maciej Wisniewski (upper left), from 99 Cent Opera; Rafael Pavon (upper center); Chloé Jarry (upper right), from Lucid Realities Studio; Pouria Kay (lower left), from Grib, and Chris Pfaff, moderator (lower center), as Rafael Pavon demonstrates some of his work

Pouria Kay (lower left) presents the Grib platform for immersive and AR production 

Chloé Jarry presents some of her work 

Maciej Wisniewski presents a preview of EVR-1, from 99 Cent Opera

Discussion with the full panel: Rafael Pavon (upper left); Chris Pfaff (upper right); Chloé Jarry (middle left); Maciej Wisniewski (middle right), and Pouria Kay (lower center)

Jan Ameri, CEO of Arctic15, welcomes the crowd on Day 1 of Arctic15 Stockholm 2020

Peter Vesterbacka kicks off the show on Day 1 with a heady talk

Our good friends at Arctic15 held one of the last events in the venture world before lockdown at the Münchenbryggeriet in Stockholm, on February 5th and 6th. The sprawling event space was ideal for making new contacts, and dozens of new investors and start-ups crowded the Deal Room area (a much more commodious and well-lit space than the Cable Factory in Helsinki). This was the first legitimate Arctic15 event in Stockholm, and the likes of Industrifonden, Northzone, Bonnier Ventures, Ericsson Ventures, Luminar Ventures, Creandum and GP Bullhound, among other reputable Swedish investors, welcomed founders and investors alike at their stands facing massive windows overlooking a surprisingly sunny Stockholm sky.

Outside, and inside, the Münchenbryggeriet

Chris Pfaff chaired the Media Revolution track on Day 1, which included a fireside chat with Arctic15 CEO Jan Ameri and the legendary Tommy Palm (Candy Crush Saga, King Digital Entertainment, Resolution Games), a panel moderated by Pfaff, with Harri Manninen, Finnish gaming legend and founding partner of Play Ventures, and Joakim Dal, partner at GP Bullhound. The panel, ‘How Gaming Will Dominate the Entertainment Industry in the 2020s,’ can be heard at:

https://bit.ly/3gXFKL4

Chris Pfaff introduces the Media Revolution Track at Arctic15 Stockholm 2020

Tommy Palm (left) discusses gaming with Jan Ameri

Harri Manninen (left), from Play Ventures, Joakim Dal (center), from GP Bullhound, and Chris Pfaff (right), from Chris Pfaff Tech Media LLC, discuss ‘How Gaming Will Dominate the Entertainment Industry in the 2020s’

Other sessions on the track included a showcase demo of Playpilot by founder/CEO David Mühle; a keynote – ‘Scale 10X like a Mobile Game Company’ – by Sonja Ängeslevä, product lead for Zynga; a fireside chat with Epidemic Sound founder/CEO Oscar Höglund and Staffan Helgesson, general partner at Creandum, and a rousing fireside chat to finish, with Jan Ameri and Yamba founder/CEO John Zerihoun.

David Mühle, founder/CEO of Playpilot, demonstrates the service on Day 1 of Arctic15 Stockholm

Sonja Ängeslevä, product lead for Zynga, gives a keynote – ‘Scale 10X Like a Mobile Game Company’ – on Day 1 or Arctic15 Stockholm 2020

Pfaff moderated a panel on Day2, ‘Journeys of AI & ML startups in the Nordics’ with Anna Holmquist, founder/CEO of Gazzine; Arash Pendari, founder/creative director of Vionlabs; Jonna Ekman, marketing director at Storykit, and Jonathan Selbie, CEO at Univrses.

Anna Holmquist, from Gazzine (with microphone), discusses her journey to AI

Arash Pendari (with microphone) discusses Vionlabs’ work with leading operators

Jonna Ekman (with microphone) explains Storykit’s value proposition

The panel, left to right: Jonna Ekman, Anna Holmquist, Chris Pfaff, Arash Pendari, Jonathan Selbie

Jonna Ekman (far left), from Storykit; Anna Holmquist, from Gazzine (second from left), Arash Pendari (center), from Vionlabs, Jonathan Selbie, from Univrses (2nd from right), and Chris Pfaff (far right), from Chris Pfaff Tech Media LLC

With a reception at Stockholm City Hall, and a grand tour of the historic building on Night 1 and a fabulous dinner at Stockholm Fisk, hosted by Epistemic VC and Northzone on Night 2, Arctic15 closed out another strong event in high fashion.

The scene at Stockholm City Hall, with (left to right) Chris Pfaff, Jordan Shapiro, VP, IonQ; Jari Mieskonen, managing partner, Conor Venture Partners; Henrik Keinonen, head of partnerships, gaming/XR/blockchain, from NewCoHelsinki/City of Helsinki, and Jan Ameri, CEO of Arctic15

Jan Ameri (standing) addresses the crowd at Stockholm Fisk

Chris Pfaff and Peter Vesterbacka discuss the “FinEst Bay” concept of connecting Helsinki and Tallinn via tunnel

Chris Pfaff, Arash Pendari, and Tomas Bennich on Day 1 of Arctic15 Stockholm 2020

The latest edition of the TV of Tomorrow Show New York, in a new location at Town Stages in TriBeCa, delivered a day’s worth of engaging discussion and demos of advanced TV and OTT analytics and programmatic ad solutions on Wednesday, December 4, 2019. I produced and moderated the ‘AI and ML Take Over TV: Monetizing Every Pixel’ panel, which featured a powerhouse of experts in visual content automation and AI, including Richard Collins, CEO of Tellyo; Randa Minkarah, COO and co-founder of Transform Inc.; Phil Zepeda, vice president, product & marketing at Vilynx, and Thomas Jelonek, CEO of envision AI.

You can listen to the full session at: https://lnkd.in/e9hd-aG

Chris Pfaff, Richard Collins, Randa Minkarah, Phil Zepeda, and Thomas Jelonek, after the ‘AI and ML Take Over TV’ panel, December 4, 2019

Richard Collins discusses Tellyo’s multichannel automation features

Phil Zepeda discusses Vilynx’s content sentiment detection features

Randa Minkarah discusses Transform’s curation features

Thomas Jelonek discusses envision AI’s intelligent tagging features

Simon Applebaum (back to camera) asks a question of Richard Collins, from Tellyo, at the ‘AI and ML Take Over TV’ panel

Ravi Peravali, from event sponsor Tavant, with TV of Tomorrow Show founder and CEO, Tracy Swedlow

The 2nd Annual VR/AR Global Summit at the Parq Vancouver, from November 1-2, 2019, featured some of the leading brands in the broader XR space, including Apple, Lenovo, Viacom, Niantic, and Microsoft, among others. A diverse array of use cases and new solutions for VR training were demonstrated throughout the event. The event, produced by the VR/AR Association, showcased a solid representation from local Vancouver firms, validating Vancouver’s status as the leading visual effects and animation cluster in the world, a growing presence in the broader XR arena.

I produced and moderated a packed house for the ‘Expert Storytelling in XR’ panel on Day 2 of the event, November 2nd, featuring Srinivas Krishna, founder/CEO, Geogram; Michael Owen, CEO, MediaCombo, and Amy Lou Abernethy, President, Creative Director, and Chief Learning Strategist at AMP Creative. Srinivas showed off his latest technology for virtual event production and promotion; Michael showed off his work in AR museum curation, and Amy Lou showed off AMP Creative’s work in VR empathy training.

Michael Owens, Srinivas Krishna, Amy Lou Abernethy, and Chris Pfaff, after the ‘Expert Storytelling in XR’ panel, November 2, 2019

Chris Pfaff, Srinivas Krishna, Michael Owen, and Amy Lou Abernethy, at the opening reception for the VR/AR Global Summit, October 31, 2019

Kris Kolo, executive director of VRARA, Chris Pfaff, and Michael Owen, at the opening reception for the VR/AR Global Summit, October 31, 2019

Chris Pfaff, Alan Smithson, and Michael Owen, at the opening reception for the VR/AR Global Summit, October 31, 2019

Alan Smithson discusses MetaVRse’s latest ed-tech work, while Sophia Loren looks on

Galit Ariel and Chris Pfaff, after Galit’s presentation, November 1, 2019

Group shot of attendees at the Vancouver Economic Commission’s VIP Dinner, at the Hawksworth Restaurant, November 1, 2019

The Augmented World Expo (AWE) Expo Europe conference, held at the MOC Exhibition Center in Munich on October 17-18, 2019 was an intense assemblage of leading enterprise solutions experts from some of Europe’s most prominent industrial companies, from Deutsche Telekom to Alstom and Siemens. A strong showing from the Finnish VR/AR scene – including Varjo, Glue, Dispelix, and Immersal – and a diverse showing of German industrial XR solutions proved that Northern Europe is well-positioned to lead innovation in the XR space in the new decade.

I chaired Day 2 of the Enterprise Track, on Friday, October 18th, and had an incredibly strong line-up of presenters. All but one showed up; Citrix’s Christian Reilly (who was slated to lead off the afternoon sessions with a talk entitled ‘Future of Work: The Next Technological Revolution’) was a no-show, but I managed to conduct a one-on-one stand-up chat with one of his competitors – Matt Copping, director of AR/VR at VMware. Dirk Hartmann, from Siemens, did not show, but his colleague, Theodoros Papadopoulos, presented solo. Daniel Seidl, from Innoactive, showed a QR code on his presentation, and got more than 20 leads in one minute. Megan Lubaszka, from Gensler, had a packed house, as did Nestle’s Richard Hess, and the last presentation of day, from heavyweight Alstom, saw presenter Aurelie Perruchon swamped with audience members pitching her after the track’s sessions ended.

Presenters included:

• Panagiotis-Alexandros Bokaris, L’Oreal: Video-projected Augmented Reality in the Beauty Industry
• Jana Gerl, Vuframe GmbH, Virtual & Augmented Business: How to Discover and Leverage Immersive Data You Already Onw
• Richard Hess, Nestle, Scaling XR at Nestle
• Daniel Seidl, Innovative: Challenges and Best Practices in Adopting and Scaling VR Training in Enterprise
• Barbara Schiavi, VINCI Construction France: Use Case: Construction Use Cases for AR and VR
• Megan Lubaszka, Gensler: AR, VR, AI and the Future of Spatial Computing
• Mattias Johansson, Tetra Pak: Automation Today and in Tetra Pak’s Factory of the Future
• Theodoros Papadopoulos, Siemens AG: Design Concept in VR – Democratizing Simulation World
• Gary Smith, Dwr Cymru Welsh Water: MR in Industry – Risk Reduction or Risk Generation
• Eletheria Kouri, ABI Research: An Accurate ROI Story: Identifying Impactful Variables in AR/VR Implementations
• Aurelie Perruchon, Alstom: AR/VR Use Cassetin Alstom

#AWE2019 #AugmentedReality #VirtualReality  www.awexr.com/eu-2019/www.awexr.com

Chris Pfaff, chairing the Enterprise Track on Day 2 of the Augmented World Expo (AWE) Europe, in Munich, October 18, 2019

Chris Pfaff, chair of Day 2 of the Enterprise Track, at the standee for Augmented World Expo (AWE) Europe, in Munich, October 18, 2019

Richard Hess, from Nestle, discusses XR use cases for the brand

Megan Lubaszka, from Gensler, discusses the future of spatial computing

Daniel Seidl, from Innoactive, discusses VR training for the enterprise

Chris Pfaff and Panagiotis-Alexandros Bokaris, from L’Oreal, at the start of Day 2 of the AWE Europe Enterprise Track, October 18, 2019

Chris Pfaff and Philip Wogart, executive director, DACH, at the VR/AR Association (VRARA), at a VRARA dinner on October 17, 2019

Chris Pfaff and Wade Tinney, chief product officer of Patched Reality, on Day 2 of AWE Europe, October 18, 2019

Chris Pfaff, Brian Kane, from Magic Leap, and Leif Arne Petersen, CEO/founder of HOLOGATE, at the Hologate headquarters, October 18, 2019

The winners of the AWE Europe Awards, onstage at the closing awards ceremony, October 18, 2019

The TV of Tomorrow Show in San Francisco, held at the Golden Gate Club in the Presidio, June 12-13, 2019, was a solid event. I moderated a panel – ‘AI and ML in the TV Industry: Mining Data in Every Corner’ – that brought together an incredibly rich array of perspectives on AI from five different solutions providers, including Randa Minkarah, COO and co-founder, Transform Inc.; Juan Carlos Riveiro, CEO, Vilynx; Kevin Gou, CEO, Hive; Aman Sareen, CEO, ZypMedia, and Arun Prakash, CFO, Cerebri AI.

The discussion ran from use cases of AI and ML in the OTT world as it reflects customer journey; content curation; content distribution, and programmatic advertising.

Chris Pfaff leads discussion on the ‘AI and ML in the TV Industry’ panel

Aman Sareen, from ZypMedia, discusses his approach to AI-powered local-first programmatic advertising

Kevin Gou discusses Hive Data, and how to build machine learning models 

Chris Pfaff, Aman Sareen, Randa Minkarah, J.C. Riveiro, Arun Prakash, and Kevin Gou, after the ‘AI and ML in the TV Industry’ panel

At Arctic 15 in Helsinki, I conducted a fireside chat on the ethics of AI with Pia Erkenheimo, founder and chief orchestrator of iloom.io (http://www.iloom.io), on Thursday, June 6th, from 1:20-1:45 pm on theAccenture AI Track at Arctic 15, at the Cable Factory (Kaapelitehdas, Tallberginkatu 1) in Helsinki.

iloom.io uses natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning (ML) to analyze authentic text and language that employees and customers use to deliver narrative understanding beyond words. In addition to her role with iloom.io, Pia is also chairman of Solved – the clean tech company; serves on various company boards, is an AI researcher at the Aalto School of Science and Technology, and serves as an innovation expert and evaluator for the European Commission.

The conversation discussed the recent geopolitical issues with social media and targeted messaging and advertising, and how AI tools can spot and manage manipulation of public conversations. Pia’s work on the venture and non-government agency (NGO) sides lent great credence to the overall topic, and she hinted at further coming work on her behalf to help stem the tide of AI run amok in the public sphere.

Chris Pfaff and Pia Erkenheimo discuss the ethics of AI at Arctic 15 on June 6, 2019 at the Cable Factory, Helsinki

Chris Pfaff and Pia Erkenheimo discuss conversational topics prior to their fireside chat on the ethics of AI at Arctic15, on June 6, 2019

Chris Pfaff and Pia Erkenheimo enjoy radiant sunshine outside the Cable Factory in Helsinki, prior to their fireside chat on the ethics of AI at Arctic15, June 6, 2019