Your chance to get up close and personal in San Francisco, Silicon Valley & LA

FIPP and VDZ’s 3rd annual Digital Innovators' Tour (DI Tour) to the US, takes place from 17 to 22 April 2016 and will take you to media and tech hot spots in San Francisco, Silicon Valley and Los Angeles.

The DI Tour is an exclusive, highly valued opportunity to spend 5 days meeting face to face with leaders at the forefront of media and tech innovation and change. Everything on the tour – from meetings, to meals and internal travel – is taken care of to allow you to focus 100 per cent on what matters: learning, engaging and building contacts and peering into the future.

Places on the tour are limited, so we urge you to reserve your place today. To book, contact Anja Mumm (A.Mumm[at]vdz.de) or register online via FIPP.com, here.

In the meantime, while we work on the agenda for DI Tour 2016, here is what 9 participants of the DI Tours in 2014 and 2015 have to say about the experience.

Eric Blok, CEO G+J, The Netherlands:
The 2015 Digital Innovators Tour to New York and Boston has given me valuable insight into some sustainable digital media business models. In these times of uncertainty for 'classic' print publishers it was good to find new angels that have really helped my company to develop a digital strategy. It was an intensive, yet well-organised program. But it was also fun to meet other international publishers providing stimulating conversation, with whom I have stayed in touch since then.

Ewa Redel-Bydlowska, Member of the Board, Edipresse Polska, Poland:
By far my best learning experience ever!  It was a great mix of inspiration, practical knowledge and useful contacts - plus smooth organisation and an interesting group of participants. I hope to attend it again in the close future!

Jonas Triebel, Publisher, IDG Tech Media, Germany:
This tour delivers pure value. I came home with some great ideas for our business and the tour connected me with many smart media executives.

Marianne Gram, Editor-in-chief, Egmont Publishing Magasiner, Denmark:
I was very impressed by the level of people we got access to. Founders, CEO’s, chief editors sat down to have free-flowing conversations and were very willing to share their insights with us. This grand tour gave me a very useful overview of burning platforms and new ideas in the digital part of our industry.

Sean Fitzpatrick, Chief Creative Officer, Edipresse Media, Hong Kong, China:
The Digital Innovators Tour puts you right in the front line of US digital strategy. You visit media brands at different evolutionary stages and which are operating at different financial scales – but all of them have a story to tell about how they have succeeded in a fast-changing media-landscape. The things we learned are invaluable and still help us drive our own companies' digital strategy, almost a year after we went on the tour.

Svein-Erik Hole, editor, TU Media, Norway:
I've attended quite a few study trips over the years, and the 2015 Digital Innovators' US Tour is so far the most useful of all. I enjoyed the combination of visits to established giants like Google and Huffington Post, to new trendsetters like Quartz and more academic discussions at the Nieman Journalism Lab. The delegates were taken really good care of, with top class logistics and social events. The discussions continued long after the visits to the media companies, and I still have a professional relationship to some of the participants from other countries. The networking was really good.

Rupert Heseltine, Executive Chairman, Haymarket Media, UK:
I really enjoyed the Digital Innovators Tour to the West Coast, not only was it run like a military operation, ferrying the group from one office to another, but it was all done with a smile. The companies we visited were incredibly welcoming and informative, and were always very open when answering questions. Since my return I have shared many of my findings with my colleagues and we have begun to change some of our behaviours as a result of the trip. The trip allowed the group to immerse itself in the culture of digital innovation in a way not possible without getting out into the field, and over dinner in the evening many of the things we had seen were the focus of the conversation, and how we could implement them in our own companies and cultures.”

Sébastien Lamunière, VP of Digital Ventures, Edipresse Group, Switzerland:
An inspiring experience, shared with some of the industry’s top executives, which beyond a certain sense of vertigo due to the pace of change, showed great opportunities.

Kerstin Schiefelbein, (then) Head of Digital Burda International, Germany:
A great opportunity to experience the innovation power of startups and successful established digital companies; and to learn about the digital culture that drive success around Silicon Valley. Valuable for everyone interested to extend the network for future publishing business and discuss digital trends and developments with market experts and other tour participants from international media companies.

Why San Francisco, Silicon Valley and Los Angeles?
The DI Tour goes to either the East or West Coast of America each year. Earlier this year DI Tour 2015 visited companies in New York and Boston; in 2014 we visited companies in San Francisco, Silicon Valley and Seattle.

San Francisco and Silicon Valley are well known as centres of innovation with a global impact, and offering DI Tour participants the opportunity to visit companies, soak up the energy and experience life here is virtually a no-brainer.

What is perhaps somewhat lesser known is the massive strides LA has made as a hub for media and tech innovation, with its “Silicon Beach” which is home to more than 500 tech startups. Consider this, and it will become all too clear: Snapchat, Tinder, Oculus Rift, Maker Studios, Midroll Media, Little Labs, SpaceX … all of them are LA born and bred.

Who participates in the DI Tour?
The tour is meant for senior media executives from around the world tasked with driving strategy and change in their organisations. This not only has a bearing on the quality of meetings during the tour, but also ensures for high-quality networking experiences and conversations among participants.

Booking your place for DI Tour 2016:
Places for DI Tour 2016 are starting to fill up and because we limit the number of participants per tour (to ensure an intimate, interactive and highly engaging experience), we urge you today to reserve your place for DI Tour 2016 if you have any interest in participating.

Contact Christine Huntingford (christine[at]fipp.com) for more information or contact Anja Mumm (A.Mumm[at]vdz.de) to book. You can also register online via FIPP.com, here.