Among those who took advantage of the first deadline for early bird rates and registered to the conference are editors and managers of the leading European newsmedia such as the Daily Telegraph, Corriere della Serra, Der Spiegel, El Pais, Helsingin Sanomat, Irish Times, Le Monde, Mecom, New York Times, Ouest-France, Schibsted, or Styria.

In total organisers of the Krakow event expect more than 200 newsmedia executives from all over Europe to gather this year at the main annual conference of the International Newsmedia Marketing Association and the Online Publishers Association in Europe.

The programme of the conference includes topical seminars on local newsmedia, research, sports journalism and marketing, and plenary sessions on innovations in news content, advertising, promotion as well as new mobile devices like tablets. (Check the latest version of the programme at the conference site.)

Confirmed speakers include David Montgomery, CEO of Mecom Group (UK), Shailesh Gupta of Dainik Jagran (India), Bernard Asselin of the Montreal Gazette (Canada), Espen Hansen of Schibsted’s VG (Norway), Massimo Russo of Gruppo l’Espresso (Italy), Chris Pennock of Johnston Press (UK) and Florian Nehm of Axel Springer (Germany).

Krakow, the host city of the conference, is itself a reason to come. Recognised throughout the world as an authentic and charming historical city, it is one of Europe’s official cultural capitals. It has a great location between the West and the East, and travel has become easy with affordable direct flights. (Learn more at this site.)

Check who’s already registered to the event (the list updated as of July 25th):

• Belden Associates (USA)
• ComQuotidiens (F)
• Corelio (B)
• De Gelderlander (NL)
• De Persgroep Publishing (B)
• DNA (F)
• Edytor (PL)
• Ekstra Bladet (DK)
• Gijbels Groep (B)
• Gruppo Editoriale L’Espresso (I)
• Helsingin Sanomat (FI)
• Il Sole 24 Ore (I)
• The Irish Times (IE)
• Kurrier (A)
• Le Monde Interactif (F)
• Le Temps (F)
• MatchWork (UK)
• Mecom (UK)
• Media Convergence (NL)
• Media Regionalne (PL)
• Mediasite (N)
• New York Times Syndicate (US)
• Ouest-France (F)
• PBI (PL)
• Prisacom (E)
• RCS Digital (I)
• RCS Media Group (I)
• Schibsted (N)
• Styria Media (A)
• Spiegel QC (D)
• Telegraph Media Group (UK)
• Verlag Dierichs (D)
• WDM Belgium (B)
• Xtreme Nordic (N)

Join them by registering here. The next early bird deadline is September 15.

Here’s an overview of the latest developments in the mobile Internet industry. I used current reports from Morgan Stanley, Distimo, NetMarketShare and other sources published in June or July 2010.

The presentation features also some early findings on usage of newspapers on iPad thanks to John Einar Sandvand of a Norwegian daily newspaper Aftenposten. John Einar disclosed them during his speech at the Oxford Tablet Summit organized in May by INMA, Innovations Media Consulting Group and the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. We had been trying to ask the right questions in Oxford — the list is included in the slideshow. Where to find the answers?

I hope we will be able to learn more this September in Kraków, Poland, at the annual INMA/OPA Europe Newsmedia Conference where we plan to have a special session on tablets and mobile reading devices. As we want to share the most current case studies, we are going to put them on the programme very close to date of conference. Expect then the unexpected.

Update: This deck made one of three Top Presentations of the Day at SlideShare on July 28, 2010. I think it just proves how important this topic is today.

The goal of the competition is to reward the excellence in marketing and creativity in using newsmedia in the media mix. This is the first competition ever to promote the innovation in advertising usng all platforms from newsmedia companies: print, online and mobile. Most likely, the non-traditional advertising solutions (on one platform) and a mix of standard advertising solutions in an innovative way (multiplatform) are sought.

All entries – the best examples from the newsmedia market – will be gathered in one publication: a special report that will be published in both English and Polish. This report is set to be an inspiration for the advertisers, and other publishers, and at the same time to be the proof of strength, innovation and flexibility of newsmedia companies in terms of advertising.

The jury of this competition will be called and recognised by the International Newsmedia Marketing Association in cooperation with the two Polish press associations: Zwiazek Kontroli Dystrybucji Prasy and Polskie Badania Czytelnictwa. Only real campaigns (not advertising offers or possibilities) will be judged. The campaign has to be from the 2009-2011 time period with the use of at least one medium. What counts is the non-traditional use of one platform sollution or creative combination of standard sollutions. The jury will judge ideas for the campaign, creation and its results.

All entries are free and should be submitted online by September 10, 2010. Click here if you are interested in submitting your case study online. For more information please refer to the competition’s announcement site. Remember, all ideas count! Best of luck, and see you in Kraków.

The competition is organised by International Newsmedia Marketing Association (INMA), and is supported by two Polish media associations: Zwiazek Kontroli Dystrybucji Prasy (ZKDP) and Polskie Badania Czytelnictwa (PBC). The sponsor of the non-traditional advertising awards competition is ATEX.

Let’s take a closer look at the programme. This September, Kraków will host  executives from big newsmedia companies such as: Mecom Group, Johnston Press, Agora, Schibsted, De Persgroep, and many many others. David Montgomery (Mecom) together with Kalle Jungkvist (Schibsted) and Shailesh Gupta (Dainik Jagran, one of the largest dailies in India – 2,2 million paid circulation, 55,7 million readers daily reach) will speak about marketing solutions to grow audience and advertising revenue in newsmedia companies. Bernard Asselin (“The Gazette”, Canada), Griet Ducatteeuw (Corelio, Belgium), and Wanja Oberhof (Niiu, Germany) will participate in a session dedicated to ideas of how to attract and quantify total audience across different platforms. Also advertising strategists will find inspiring ideas for their everyday work. Latest trends concerning tablets, e-readers, kindles, iPads will also be analyzed – are they a new hype or a great opportunity for newsmedia companies? This, plus quick overview of greatest hypes from the past 7 years will surely gain a lot of interest.

Not only great discussion topics and lectures make INMA Outlook 2011 worth attending. During the three day conference additional events are planned as well. One of them will be the gala dinner at the Salt Mines of Wieliczka — 125 meters below ground.

In case all of the above does not convince you yet to sign up for this conference, take a look at the presentation embedded below, and check back the programme of the conference which surely will be extended with the names of the special guests. Make sure you sign up for the INMA/OPA Europe Conference, and see you in Kraków!

Newspapers

Besides all the national Polish newspapers, there are 3 main local players competing in Kraków.

First is “Gazeta Wyborcza” (publisher: Agora), which despite the fact that it is a national newspaper, has many local editions. One of them is Kraków. “Gazeta Wyborcza” is distributed in Kraków at 30.500 copies (as in April, 2010). Two other competitors are regional titles: “Dziennik Polski” (publisher: Jagiellonia, 46.000 copies sold in April 2010) and “Polska Gazeta Krakowska” (publisher: Polskapresse, 32.000 copies sold). Those three newspapers also top the “most read”-list in Kraków (almost 16% of people living in the region of Krakow read “Polska Gazeta Krakowska, about 15% of them read both “Dziennik Polski” and “Gazeta Wyborcza”). Only “Fakt”, a tabloid national newspaper published by Axel Springer Polska, is more popular in terms of readership in Kraków (about 17% of people living in Kraków area read “Fakt”).

There are also two free newspapers distributed in Kraków: Metro (free daily published by Agora, daily distribution: 38.000 copies) and “Echo Miasta” (published by Polskapresse, 2 days a week; distribution: 15.000 copies on Mondays and 40.000 copies on Thursdays).

Radio

One of the most  popular national radio stations in Poland, RMF FM, has its headquarters in Kraków. According to Milward Brown SMG/KRC, radio RMF FM has a 25,5% market share. 9,8 million of Poles listen to this radio station on a daily basis. In 2007, RMF FM was named one of the strongest Polish brands.

RMF FM diversifies into four products with different target audiences. The most popular is RMF FM (adult cotemporary format with greatest hits from the past 30 years), next are RMF MAXXX (produced in the contemporary hit format, targeted to young inhabitants of large cities) and RMF Classic (with classical music). Last but not least, RMF Group has its internet platform: miastomuzyki.pl with more than 50 internet radio channels dedicated to different kinds of music).

Internet

Two of five most popular information services are published by companies based in Kraków: Onet and Interia.

Onet Group is the most popular publishing group operating in the new media area. Its activity is focused mainly on the internet market. It is the biggest multimedia company in Poland. Despite marketing  (advertisements, e-commerce, search engine ads) it searches the income elsewhere, in such areas as: paid content pages, mail and hosting services, auction and tel-com services). Since 2000, Onet has been the leader in terms of popularity and today it’s ranked as the no.1 web page among information portals (with 6,87 million users a month, and 38,77% monthly reach). Interia is ranked 4th in the same category with 3,55 million users a month and 20% monthly reach.

You will be able to learn more about the city of Kraków in September. INMA/OPA’s annual European conference will be organized in Kraków this year. With many interesting speakers and topics, the conference is a must-attend event this fall.

Entrance picture by stevesheriw from flickr.com.