OMR x IMAGING Convention: Rethinking photo and video

Is the imaging market at a crossroads between mass and niche? What innovations are needed to stimulate the market? What are the current strategies for success? What can the imaging industry learn from other markets? What is the role of retailers, manufacturers, service providers, and communications? Is the current retro trend a solution or part of the problem? And how do we bring the different strands together into a winning overall strategy? Ten top speakers will answer these and many other pressing questions in the imaging industry at the new B2B event format OMR x IMAGING on May 5 at the Hotel Gastwerk in Hamburg, organized by OMR and New C, the market leader in imaging media.

The success of the imaging industry depends on true innovation. Dietmar Wüller (Image Engineering, President VCX-Forum e.V. – an association of leading smartphone manufacturers) knows better than anyone where the innovation potential still lies in cameras and smartphones – and where it does not. What role do the latest AI models and play in the evolution of the industry? Adrian Rohnfelder (co-founder of AI Imagelab) has the answers. How important are future technologies in harmony with the 100-year tradition and history of the premium camera manufacturer from Wetzlar? Leica Camera Deutschland provides exciting insights.

How intelligent communication strategies are at the heart of every market success will be demonstrated exclusively by four top agencies, who will present the latest best cases of their brand clients from the imaging sector: Jan König (co-founder of Odaline) will talk about the award-winning TikTok campaigns, Fabian Jung (chief creative director and co-founder of Ryzon) will talk with Marie Baap (social media manager) about visual storytelling for the client Leica Camera, and Uli Kramer (managing director and founder Pilot) will present the image of the photo industry from the perspective of a brand specialist and the expectations of the core target group “photo amateurs” from the perspective of a photo enthusiast. Falko Ohlmer (co-founder and managing director of Arndt Benedikt) will talk about “How visual concepts can authentically convey the brand message and build a deeper, emotional connection with the target group in order to promote long-term brand loyalty”.

What will new workflows for photographers look like, and why will humans still be needed to create great images in the future, despite AI? Markus Goles (creative director),

Sebastian v. Wyschetzki (creative director), Daniel Partzsch (creative technologist) – Seven.One Entertainment Group not only know this, but also how to activate communities with an innovative photo app. To define the imaging market, you need  numbers and to look beyond your own industry. Jan Lorbach (Analyst Nielsen/GfK) will provide this as well as the potential impact of distribution concepts such as agency models.

Puzzle pieces will be put together to form a complete picture: A concluding panel discussion will bring together the individual ideas from the above-mentioned keynote speeches at the OMR x Imaging Convention into a “Future Model of Imaging”.

The entire event is sponsored by Leica Camera Deutschland, among others.

How is generative AI changing creativity in visual content creation? How do photos become icons? What is better for successful storytelling – video or stills? Is the communication of many and loud images the only way to attract attention in a flood of images? And how can image services make money in the future? These questions are the focus of the OMR x IMAGING Masterclass on May 6 in the OMR25 area (Messe Hamburg). In an hour packed with relevant information, participants will discuss the future of the imaging business model with industry experts, photographers and content creators.

“To be successful in this market in the future, we need to rethink imaging from the perspective of the many people who take pictures – no matter what device they use,” said Wolfgang Heinen, CEO of co-organiser New C. “We have about half a million people in Germany who take pictures as a hobby, plus about 20,000 professional photographers and about 50 million people who use pictures as a means of communication every day. The OMR x IMAGING Convention aims to give participants real impetus to develop new value-added models on this basis. This requires the participation of all market players: Manufacturers, service providers and the media”.

The exclusive OMR x IMAGING event package for only €699 is a unique offer consisting of an imaging congress and get-together dinner, May 5 at the Gastwerk Hamburg, a master class and guided tours as well as admission to the regular OMR Festival (May 6-7, Hamburg Messe. The package includes participation and access to a unique combination of top-class industry events, as well as admission to the OMR Festival (worth €549 alone!).

For more information and direct registration: www.new-c.de/omr

About OMR

The OMR Festival is the largest gathering of digital business, media, and marketing leaders in Europe. In 2024, around 67,000 people visited the OMR Festival in Hamburg. The two-day event offers the marketing and digital scene with a comprehensive program of conferences, masterclasses, side events, and an expo.

OMR x IMAGING, a special OMR side event, will take place for the first time at OMR Festival 2025, consisting of a conference, networking event, masterclass, and guided tours.

 About New C

New C. GmbH fi Co KG was founded in 2017 by Wolfgang Heinen and Florian Schuster. Heinen has been a formative figure in the world of photo media for decades, while Schuster had a career in various management positions at Hubert Burda Media before founding New C.   Today, New C is one of the largest photo media companies in Europe. With its digital offerings and print magazines, including PHOTO PRESSE, PhotoWeekly, PhotoKlassik and Photoscala, New C reaches all photography target groups in the German-speaking world – from technical enthusiasts to full-blooded professionals and artistic creators.