LONDON, March 13, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

In its first year under a new name, Publishing & Media Expo provided visitors with an array of expertise from the leading voices in publishing and media.  Exhibitors and speakers alike were on hand to share their industry insight and product innovations with an audience which grew by 4% (organiser's statement subject to audit). since last year's show.

Education topics included content as currency, digital sales, digital design, app development and success stories from publishers who have adapted to a changing audience demands. Among the keynote speakers on the programme were Paul Field, associate editor of The Daily Mail and Rupert Knowles from Adobe who spoke about The Daily Mail Plus project, the groundbreaking new app which reportedly maintains the 'newspaper look and feel' with the most up to date app technology on the market.

Jonny Kaldor, MD of Kaldor Group also spoke as part of the keynote programme giving his audience of publishers the inside track on 'how to create a beautiful weekly publication for mobile without killing your art director'; while Adrian Clarke, innovation program director from Microsoft joined Rob Grainger from Stonewash and Ben Greenish from EMAP to discuss the new opportunities Windows 8 provides for publishers.

Launched this year, in association with Digital Shoreditch, was the Digital Innovation Challenge. A challenge designed to give up-and-coming digital companies the chance to pitch publishing solutions directly to the publishing community. The challenges posed were to monetise content and/or to generate stronger communities. It was standing room only during the final pitch with five entrants competing against one another. The judges agreed with the audience vote awarding Platter with the winner's title.  Platter is a platform for cooks to share ideas in the simplest format - photos.  But unlike Instagram, Platter reveals the creative process behind those pictures.  Many of their users reference favourite cookbooks and columns and Platter is using this data to build communities.  In doing this, Platter extends the influence of traditional food media beyond print and into digital.

Will Hodson from Platter said, "We were chuffed just at getting the chance to pitch at the Publishing & Media Expo.  To win - especially with such an august panel of judges - was amazing.  Since the pitch we've had lots of interesting conversations with wide range of different publishers.  There is a general sense that food media is ripe for a revolution and our platform can spark it across any number of publications."

In order to manage anticipated high demand for this free educational content, organisers introduced a queue management system where visitors collected vouchers for the sessions they wanted to attend. This system was mirrored in neighbouring Technology for Marketing & Advertising and was hugely successful in both cases.

"We are absolutely delighted with the strength of the content at this year's show and the reception it got from visitors. Having re-branded this year to include 'media' in our name it was vital that we provide content that reflected the move in publishing towards a more multi-channel approach" said Jon Howell, event manager of Publishing & Media Expo.

"The feedback we received from visitors and exhibitors alike was really fantastic and we're already making plans for the 2014 show. It's important that we lead the way in embracing this vibrant and fast moving industry whilst maintaining the strength of the more traditional side of the show."

The stellar line up of exhibitors included Stonewash, Adestra, Adobe Systems Europe, Denmaur Independent Papers Ltd, Pensord, NXTBook Media and Mail Options.

Visitor feedback centred on the fact that Publishing & Media Expo is an essential event to keep up with industry developments, really highlighting the strength of face to face events for learning and inspiration:

Donald McDonald, Managing Production Editor from Nature Publishing Group said "I'm here to find out what's going on with new technologies and what existing companies are doing and see what the industry is up to. From a personal perspective it's a great forum to make sure I'm up to date with what's going on."

While Hugo Varley, Development Editor from Macmillan Education said "It's great to open my mind to the bigger picture and get new ideas and developments within the industry. You meet people here who you otherwise wouldn't meet in your daily activities and you get to attend seminars by people who have got real insight of the industry."

Publishing & Media Expo 2014 will take place on the 25^th and 26^th of February next year. Further information can be found at http://www.publishing-expo.co.uk.

*subject to ABC audit

Notes to editors:

About UBM Live (organiser of Publishing & Media Expo):

UBM Live connects people and creates opportunities for companies across five continents to develop new business, meet customers, launch new products, promote their brands and expand their markets.   Through premiere brands such as MD&M, CPhI, IFSEC, TFM&A, Cruise Shipping Miami, the Concrete Show and many others, UBM Live exhibitions, conferences, awards programs, publications, websites and training and certification programs are an integral part of the marketing plans of companies across more than 20 industry sectors.

SOURCE Publishing & Media Expo