16 firms seek to consolidate Basque presence at MIPCOM in Cannes under Basque Audiovisual banner
Around 50 representatives of 16 Basque audiovisual firms will be in Cannes (France) on October 13-17 under the joint name of “Basque Audiovisual” to take part in MIPCOM, the world’s biggest event for the industry in terms of content.
Their product catalogue includes some of the newest, most successful formats produced in the Basque Country in the fields of entertainment, documentaries, animation, etc.
There has been a continual presence of Basque firms in the main international fairs and markets of the audiovisual industry for decades, but Eiken, the Basque Audiovisual Cluster, has now set out to heighten their profile by encouraging joint participation of firms under the name Basque Audiovisual. The name has now been used at various international events, and has consolidated its position so that it has become recognised as an identifying brand mark of Basque-made audiovisual products. It also represents the ability of firms to co-operate and achieve common goals for the sector.
The 2007 edition of MIPCOM in Cannes featured 245 firms from all over Spain. Basque Audiovisual accounted for 7% of that number, making it the third biggest group behind those from Madrid and Barcelona. With 16 firms involved in the project, plus the Bilbao and Donostia Film Commissions, Basque Audiovisual has consolidated its role in one of the sector’s leading events. The firms which will be present in Cannes are 3Koma, Baleuko, Canal Euskadi, Digitalak, Expressive, Flying Apple, Irusoin, Jarkatza, K2000, MediaBost, Pausoka, Mixer, Signo Digital, Somuga, Western and EiTB.
MIPCOM ‘08 is to feature “Focus on Spain”, a look at innovation and modernity in Spain’s audiovisual sector, with various events and talks scheduled on the output of the Spanish industry.
Basque Audiovisual also has an on-line catalogue available at www.basqueaudiovisual.com . Last year this proved to be a highly effective tool for establishing preliminary contacts and arranging meetings with potential customers and collaborators at the trade fair.
This month an on-line promotional campaign has been launched with an introduction mail-shot sent to thousands of contacts directly linked to the audiovisual industry around the world. The idea is to encourage them to access the on-line catalogue of Basque Audiovisual, which contains contact data and presentations for all the firms taking part and details of their work.
THE PROJECT
The Basque Audiovisual project dates from 2006, when Eiken, working in co-operation with the Basque Government Department of Culture, contacted ICEX to establish a customised participation format for the Basque audiovisual sector at the fair. The objective of the Cluster was to facilitate the presence of a large number of firms, bodies and organisations working in the sector at MIPCOM, to enable them to show off their products and make useful contacts while at the same time enhancing the image of the Basque audiovisual industry at Cannes in its own distinct setting.
Basque Audiovisual, as a single banner under which the Basque audiovisual industry can gather at international events, was first presented at the last MIPCOM fair in Cannes. It was received favourably by firms, who succeeded in concluding business deals and establishing contacts that were to prove highly valuable for promoting and internationalising their output. Since then, Basque Audiovisual has taken part in MIPTV 08 and, last June, in The Sunny Side Of The Doc, a leading international fair of documentary films.
FACTS AND FIGURES
4585 firms from 105 countries took part in the past MIPCOM fair, where 5 billion euros’ worth of transactions were conducted. Spain is the “Country of Honour” at this year’s event, which means that there will be events and lectures featuring Spanish firms and content.