OnDAM Paris 2024 Review

December 12, 2024 By Russell McVeigh in Industry Events

OnDAM Paris returned last month as France’s leading conference dedicated entirely to DAM, making it the quintessential European event for professionals and organisations invested in managing and optimizing their digital assets. Organised by DAM News owners Activo Consulting, OnDAM Paris has quickly established itself as a hub for innovation, networking, and knowledge-sharing within the sector.

Now in its fourth year, OnDAM Paris has gained a reputation for its high-quality programming and engaging format. This year’s conference attracted a diverse audience, including DAM professionals, industry leaders, technology vendors, consultants, and marketers. This eclectic mix of attendees has culminated in a collaborative environment where ideas, best practices, and innovations are freely exchanged.

OnDAM Paris 2024 Venue – The Stunning Pavillon Élysée Té

A Networking Hotspot

In addition to its rich educational content, OnDAM Paris served as a vibrant networking platform. Attendees had the opportunity to connect with peers, vendors, and industry experts, fostering collaborations that extend well beyond the event itself. The conference also featured exhibitor booths and demonstrations, allowing participants to explore the latest DAM innovations and solutions first-hand.

OnDAM Paris 2024 – Vendor Exihibitions

A Vision for the Future

OnDAM Paris is more than just an event – it’s a catalyst for growth and innovation in the DAM industry. Each year, the conference adapts to the evolving needs of the digital landscape, ensuring it remains relevant and valuable to its attendees.

Free Merchandise!

With its strong foundation, dedicated organisers, and ever-expanding community, this unique gathering continues to be a must-attend event for anyone looking to stay ahead in the dynamic world of DAM, PIM, CMS and digital marketing trends and technologies.

The conference provided a dedicated co-working space

Conference Highlights

This year’s conference offered two full multi-track days with an agenda packed with keynotes, breakout sessions, workshops, product demonstrations and panel discussions. Among the highlights were a number of especially notable events.

Sylvie Fodor – Executive Director, CEPIC, Mathieu Kervenec – Co-founder TrustMyContent, Mete Zihnioglu – Sipa Press

On day one, Arthur Dumont, Project Manager of the Olympic and Paralympic Games Digital Media Center, joined François Gille, Photo Editor at L’Équipe and Activo’s Frédéric Sanuy and Malika Kechich to explore the challenges with managing the vast amount of content generated by the games.

The OnDAM tech table!

Also on the first day, Chief Scientific Officer at the Renault Group, Luc Julia, presented a keynote on artificial intelligence along with Frédéric Bardeau, Co-Founder of digital training provider Simplon.co. The session explored emerging trends in AI along with insights on how businesses of all types can navigate this rapidly evolving technological landscape.

Frédéric Bardeau and Luc Julia

This year also saw the introduction of The DAM Awards – a prestigious award celebrating excellence in Digital Asset Management by recognising the world’s most outstanding DAM projects across five categories: Brand, Retailer, Heritage, Ecosystem and Communication.

This year saw the introduction of The DAM Awards

Day two kicked off with an introduction to DAM News from my colleague Ralph Windsor, along with Stephan Spijkers from PIMVendors, who presented the latest developments in integrating DAM and PIM.

Longchamp’s Veronique Gaudiot receives a DAM Award

Heritage at the Heart of Brands was a keynote delivered by Louis Vuitton’s Digital Heritage Managers Florence Lesché and Emilie Pouget, who were joined by L’Équipe’s Sarah Barbier and François Gille. Additional representatives from the world of fashion and couture included Veronique Gaudiot from Longchamps and Christian Dior’s Ami Ouattara.

Fred and Malika with Wedia’s Olivier Grenet and Phraseanet

Santa Cruz Software’s Mark Hilton joined Frédéric Sanuy and visual tech expert Paul Melcher for a deep dive into the challenges of maintaining brand consistency at an enterprise level, and how purpose-built tools such as BannersUI and PrintUI can assist non-creative end users such as marketers in creating engaging professional content, including the modification of layout elements, language, localisation, and omnichannel output formats.

Santa Cruz Software’s Luis Mendes and Mark Hilton with Paul Melcher

Day two concluded with Activo Consulting’s Malika, Frédéric and Isabelle Roy presenting Activo’s Green Charter and the measures they are taking to improve the sustainability of DAM and reduce its impact on the environment.

Christian Dior’s Ami Ouattara and Mauricio Garcia Lazard join Damiano Battaglia from CLX Europe

Paul Melcher, Fotoware’s Stephane Dayras, Anna Roseira from Shutterstock and Imatag’s Mathieu Desoubeaux discuss the issues of trust, governance and responsibility in AI

The full agenda, along with workshops and keynotes, can be viewed at the link below.

https://www.ondamparis.com/agenda-2024

A full list of this year’s speakers can be viewed here:

https://www.ondamparis.com/agenda-2024

DALIM Workshop with Florent Epaud

User Feedback

As is customary, DAM News has gathered feedback from some of the conference’s speakers, vendors and attendees. We would like to thank those that provided their thoughts and insights.

Anneke Matsis, Field Marketing EMEA at Frontify

https://www.linkedin.com/in/anneke-langhorst/
https://www.frontify.com/

OnDAM 2024 was an incredible experience, filled with meaningful connections as brand builders and DAM managers united to address challenges and exchange solutions in asset and brand management. I was inspired by the thought-provoking panel discussions, interactive workshops, and lively networking sessions that created a strong sense of community. Two standout moments for me and the Frontify team were: (a) standing alongside Ville de Paris to present their Media Centre for the Olympic and Paralympic Games—a proud milestone two years in the making; and (b) the engaging panel discussion on striking the balance between global consistency and local relevance, featuring valuable insights from CANAL+ INTERNATIONAL and Zoom Video Communications.

Martin Reinheimer, IT Consultant

https://www.linkedin.com/in/reinheimer/
https://www.procress.de/

OnDAM lives up to its mission statement ‘all about digital asset management in France any beyond’ more and more every year. It is developing into THE industry’s autumn event and offers manufacturers, consultants and customers an excellent platform for exchanging information about new developments and trends, maintaining existing contacts and making new ones.

This year, it was clear to see how the market is changing: established systems are evolving to meet changing requirements, but there are also new players who are achieving a competitive market position with innovative, disruptive approaches.

I will certainly be there again next year and am more than grateful to Activo for having conceptualised and established such a wonderful event.

Richard Bamford, DAM Consultant

https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardbamford/
https://www.acrodam.com/

Fred, Malika, and the entire Activo team went out of their way to make everyone feel welcome and the presentations and discussions that followed were all translated real-time and so setting the tone for the entire event in celebrating DAM—not only with success stories, but also initiating other DAM related conversations, from DAM/PIM selection, workflow, metadata, the role of AI, copyright, microservices integration and on-boarding.

Attending OnDAM is the perfect opportunity to learn more about everything DAM and regardless of whether it’s researching the best solution to meet specific needs or exploring ideas with industry experts and peers to fine-tune an existing configuration and improve success.

Celine Millinder, DAM Manager, Save the Children

https://www.linkedin.com/in/celinemillinder/

OnDAM Paris 2024 reaffirmed its role as a cornerstone event for the digital asset management (DAM) industry, showcasing innovation, collaboration, and industry insights.

This year’s conference explored key intersections of art, technology, industry, and heritage, with highlights including innovation in AI, AI-powered workflows for cultural institutions, sustainability-driven solutions, and challenges around localisation.

Sessions like Musée d’Orsay’s focus on standardising DAM practices, Claire Fontaine’s insights on PIM-DAM integration, and Canal Plus’ study on localisation within a global organisation emphasised the importance of collaboration and human-centric approaches. Topics on the state of AI in DAM, regulations, AI traceability, and content credentials underscored the need for continuous adaptation and the industry’s state of “constant disruption”, in Peter Krogh’s words.

From heritage preservation to cutting-edge AI, OnDAM Paris reaffirms its commitment to shaping the future of digital asset management. It’s not just a conference—it’s a convergence of ideas, challenges, and solutions for an industry in perpetual motion. I look forward to OnDAM2025!

Paul Melcher, Founder of online Magazine Kaptur

https://www.linkedin.com/in/melcher/
https://kaptur.co/

OnDAM 2024: Elevating the Standard Yet Again

Every year, OnDAM sets the bar higher, and 2024 was no exception. From the stunning location to the expertly curated sessions and the impressive turnout of industry professionals, every aspect of this conference exceeded expectations.

What sets OnDAM apart is its unwavering focus on delivering high-quality, actionable information tailored to professionals. The sessions were a masterclass in content delivery: tightly packed with insights, practical applications, and state-of-the-art advancements in digital asset management. Each presentation felt like a deep dive into the most pressing challenges and innovative solutions in the field, leaving attendees both informed and inspired.

The user-centric approach was evident not only in the sessions but also in the networking opportunities, which sparked insightful conversations and connections. These exchanges often felt as valuable as the panels themselves, enabling attendees to explore real-world applications and challenges with peers and thought leaders.

OnDAM remains the #1 European DAM event for a reason. It is not just a conference—it’s a hub for innovation, collaboration, and the future of visual asset management. For anyone serious about staying ahead in this rapidly evolving space, OnDAM is an unmissable event.

2024 reaffirmed its reputation as the must-attend gathering for DAM professionals. If you weren’t there, you missed out on a truly transformative experience.

Cecilia Pierron, Head of Business Development at Fotoware

https://www.linkedin.com/in/cecilia-pierron/
https://www.fotoware.com

For the 2nd year in a row, Fotoware participated to OnDAM with great enthusiasm. Although we didn’t have a booth this year, we delivered 2 engaging conferences and a workshop.

One key theme that shone through at this year’s edition was the transformative impact of AI on Digital Asset Management.

In that context, we took the stage together with Shutterstock, Imatag and Paul Melcher and discussed insights and best practice on how to track content from creation to distribution, using technology to ensure rights compliance and content authenticity. An important step in the era of Generative AI!

Stéphane Dayras, our French professional services manager also shared the stage with Perfect Memory and Groupe M6 to discuss DAM and MAM at the heart of media & press workflows.

Another moment that stood out for me?

One memorable moment for me was hearing L’Equipe share their story of Paris 2024 Olympic Games; how Fotoware helped them manage nearly 100,000 sports images and delivering them to the world – talking about purpose!

In summary, it was an insightful and well-organized event, bringing together a unique mix of experts, consultants, vendors, and international brands—all united by their passion for DAM!

Clemency Wright, Keywording Consultant

https://www.linkedin.com/in/clemencywright/
https://www.makesearchbetter.com

My first visit to the OnDAM event, and not my last! Overall, the line-up was impressive and the number of topics covered was incredible. I’m not a French speaker, so I used the Interprefy app to hear live translations. Perhaps remind people to bring power banks as the app drains your phone battery! The food was excellent, though I would have preferred to be able to take water as needed rather than wait in line. I particularly loved the vibe and atmosphere – Fréd’s enthusiasm and excitement rubs off on everyone! The networking opportunities were brilliant too. Thank you to all involved, an excellent two days!

Mark Hilton, Santa Cruz Software

https://www.linkedin.com/in/bmarkhilton/
https://santacruzsoftware.com/

OnDAM is THE event to attend if you’re at all interested in DAM in Europe. It’s a great opportunity for a USA based company like ourselves to meet customers and partners to understand their needs and how they are different from North America. Frederic and Malika and the whole Activo / DAM News family put on a great event. This is our second time sponsoring and we’ll definitely be back next year and the year after and the year after.

Special Thanks

We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone who attended, and to the outstanding staff, crew, and organisers – your hard work and exceptional service are very much appreciated.

A special thanks goes to Fred, Malika, and the entire Activo team for their dedication, resources, and countless hours spent making OnDAM 2024 a superb event. Here’s to OnDAM 2025 – we can’t wait to see you there next year!

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