Hi! We are the first contact point and innovation support for the media and digital industry in Hamburg.

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Community

We connect established companies, start-ups, institutions and universities as well as content creators.

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Programs

We promote and support new teams, ideas, products, business models and entire companies.

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Topics & Events

We sit down with experts and talk about the important topics of the future.

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Visibility

We make Hamburg visible as the digital media metropole.

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SPACE

SPACE is our innovation space for sharing, learning and working together.

Community

Community

We connect established companies, start-ups, institutions and universities as well as content creators.
Programme

Programs

We promote and support new teams, ideas, products, business models and entire companies.
Events

Topics & Events

We sit down with experts and talk about the important topics of the future.
Sichtbarkeit

Visibility

We make Hamburg visible as the digital media metropole.
Sichtbarkeit

SPACE

SPACE is our innovation space for sharing, learning and working together.
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What we’ve been working on

Theme festival #1: Artificial Intelligence

Save the date: Our theme festival will take place from February 19 - 23, 2024. On several stages, visitors can learn everything about artificial intelligence, exchange ideas and learn from each other in workshops, keynote speeches, panels and sparring sessions. For five days, a diverse line-up will bring together managing directors, new leaders, young professionals, founders and creatives at SPACE in the Speicherstadt historical warehouse district.

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20 Media Trends for 2024

What's next in 2024? - With our predictions, we take a look into the future of the most relevant technologies, innovations and developments in the content industry. We asked 20 experts from our nextMedia network to predict what users and providers can expect in the new year 2024. Take a look and find out what the trends will be in 2024!

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Jung von Matt NERD made it in Hamburg!

Gaming, nerd culture and fandom communities - this is what the Hamburg-based creative and media agency Jung von Matt NERD specializes in. The story of Jung von Matt NERD is also the story of founder Toan Nguyen: the youngest partner of the agency group is something of a wunderkind in the advertising industry. We had the pleasure of meeting Toan in the Jung von Matt Nerd playroom and talked to him about his NERD successes.

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Session x Predictions

With nextMedia.sessions, we bring you together to discuss current topics in the media and digital industry. In the next edition on November 30 at SPACE, we ask ourselves: What's next? One day before the publication of our annual predictions, we will take an exclusive look with you at the media trends for 2024. We will ask 20 experts about their trends and bring three of them on stage. Register now for free.

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City of Content-Tour – Application Start

Come with us on a tour through the City of Content and visit four Hamburg companies that were successfully founded in the Hanseatic city. On this year's City of Content tour on November 27, you'll get to know Ströer, brand eins and Jung von Matt, among others. Look forward to exciting guided tours and interesting insights into the companies. Register here now until November 19!

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Storytelling Funding – Storynight

In our Storytelling Funding, we bring together Hamburg's creative storytelling scene with impact projects. Working in teams, they create a digital content strategy that focuses on the impact of the projects and gives them the attention they deserve. On November 16, the projects and storytellers will present their results at Storynight. You want to be part of it? Register here now.

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New Media

In good cooperation with Neue Narrative, we developed "New Media - A Construction Kit for the Media Organization of the Future". In view of the challenging situation in the media landscape, our need for action was clear: We want to help founders, media entrepreneurs and all those who want to modernize their organizations. Our kit offers: Instructions & exercises, motivational tools and copyable templates. Check out our kit here!

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SPACE Opening

Last week we officially opened our SPACE together with the Senator for Culture and Media Dr. Carsten Brosda, our partners and representatives of the press. The innovation space is open to the content and technology industry. On 630 sqm it offers space for collaborative work, events, workshops, technology knowledge and informal get-togethers. More information is available on our SPACE website.

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Ströer made it in Hamburg

Ströer is a leading company in external and online advertising and an important economic driver of Hamburg. With its sustainability strategy, Ströer is taking recognizable steps to move toward a more sustainable future. The Group has set itself the goal of being climate-neutral by 2025. Find out how Ströer is making advertising more sustainable and get insights into Ströer's goals and campaigns.

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scoopcamp program

The program of this year's scoopcamp, our conference for the journalism of the future, is online! Find out now which speakers, panels and keynotes you can expect at scoopcamp on September 14, 2023. Hatice Kahraman from CORRECTIV, Mathias Douchet from The Telegraph, Nashua Gallagher from Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Maylis Chevalier from Vocento and many more will be there. Get your ticket now! Click here for the program.

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Storytelling Funding – Application start

We bring together Hamburg's creative storytelling scene with impact projects. In our Storytelling Funding, you work in teams to create a digital content strategy that focuses on the impact of the projects and gives them the appropriate attention. Do you want to participate in the Storytelling Funding as a storyteller or with your project? Apply here now until August 21!

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Workspace Funding

We have a new program! Are you looking for a workspace with your start-up or your concrete project idea in the field of content & tech and would you like to exchange ideas with other bright minds? Then apply for the Workspace Funding. Work for 6 months for free with your laptop in our space in the Speicherstadt and become part of our community. You can also use meeting rooms in the Space and participate in events.

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Media Lift – Batch 5 started

Welcome Batch 5! With our kick-off on June 13, we started the first phase of Batch 5 of our incubator Media Lift. The start-ups Anymate Me, Penemue, oneGuide, fuse.space and Lit-X are part of the program. Over the next few months, the teams will receive mentoring from our mentors, coaching sessions and workshops to further develop their prototypes. You can get to know the five teams and their exciting business ideas here.

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New Leaders’ Forum

Together with the Hamburg Ministry of Culture and Media, we organized the New Leaders' Forum as part of the Hamburg Media Dialogue on June 6. We discussed the influence of influencers as a news source with 30 young managers and media professionals from Hamburg media houses and content companies. Stefan Apfl, founder of the journalistic digital publisher hashtag.jetzt, gave an exciting keynote speech.

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KAI – our virtual influencer

Introducing: KAI - our virtual influencer. KAI provides you with the most important news from the world of AI and its applications in the content industry every week on our social media channels. Her writing is done by ChatGPT and then minimally curated by an editorial team to make sure she's always bringing you the best quality. You can get to know KAI here.

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Journalism Camp

At our Journalism Camp on May 12 and 13, the leading innovation drivers from the industry came together with the goal of encouraging, inspiring and making journalism fit for the future. We are incredibly impressed by the passion and perseverance shared by all speakers and participants at our Journalism Camp. Here you can find our review of the Journalism Camp.

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Digital Tour

On May 8, we co-organized the Digital Tour at dpa, where 20 representatives from Danish media companies visited. We presented dpa's DRIVE project and aiconix's technology as well as our start-up programs, Media Lift and Scout & Match. We also talked about how Hamburger Morgenpost uses the text-to-speech technology from our Media Lift Alumni BotTalk for their articles. Here you can find more information about our programs.

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brand eins made it in Hamburg

In recent years, the business magazine brand eins has established itself as an outstanding independent and critical voice in the reporting of business topics. brand eins proves time and again that it is taking unusual paths on its digital transformation journey. We tell the company's multifaceted story: from intensive community projects, to corporate publishing, to its own book publishing house.

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nextMedia x nextReality x OMR Festival

Together with nextReality.Hamburg we invite you to a warm-up breakfast on May 9 as part of #OMR23! We want to start the festival with you in a relaxed breakfast atmosphere and then go to Europe's largest online marketing event together. Our get-together will take place with a panoramic view on the 13th floor of the IntercityHotel Dammtor, right next to the festival grounds. We are looking forward to seeing you! Register here now!

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Journalism Camp

From journalism start-ups to magazine takeovers – at our Journalism Camp, you’ll get inspiration from the industry’s leading innovators. For two days, you are able to exchange ideas with creative minds, learn all about start-up potential in journalism, network with like-minded people and shape the journalism of the future together with us. Register now for the Journalism Camp!

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Start of application for Media Lift

You can now apply for Batch 5 of our incubator Media Lift. With Media Lift we support your innovative business ideas at the interface of content and tech. Whether you're a student, a startup, or an employee of a media or digital company, we'll take your prototype to the next level. Click here for more information about the incubator. Apply now until May 21!

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Start of registration for AI & Media

Content generation with the help of various AI tools seems to be the topic of the moment. That's why we'll be discussing content automation with you at AI & Media on April 27. We will present two examples from the areas of editorial content and moving images. AI & Media is organized with the Artificial Intelligence Center Hamburg (ARIC). Click here to find out more about AI & Media and to register for free.

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Start of Registration for Innovator Circle #3

Our two-day training program Innovator Circle is back! On April 18 and 19, we will focus on product management. We bring together product leaders and product thinkers to find solutions to their challenges. The Circle offers you a mix of trustworthy sparring, insights from speakers and exclusive exchange with 30 participants. Register here now!

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New Program: Scout & Match

Our new Scout & Match program has been launched. With Scout & Match, we identify the needs of companies in the content and tech industry and match them with suitable start-ups. We start the program in 2023 with a focus on publishing houses with brand eins, StoryDOCKS, NOZ Digital, Carlsen Verlag, FUNKE, DER SPIEGEL and Jahreszeiten Verlag. Find out more about Scout & Match here.

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A look into the year 2030

As part of our Content Foresight program, we have created a white paper to understand the growing importance of content for retail. It takes a scenic look at the year 2030, extrapolating current technologies and trends so that suppliers and consumers can prepare today. Download our whitepaper and learn how content will change the retail industry of the future.

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Prototyping Lab Kick-Off

Together with three partner companies and twelve students, we launched the Prototyping Lab 2022 on October 20. Over the next three months, the teams will solve challenges from the content industry with AI applications. The challenges were set by RMS Radio Marketing Service, Carlsen Verlag and Jahreszeiten Verlag. Read more about the three challenges from this year's Prototyping Lab here.

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Innovator Circle

Two days of exclusive sparring for the content industry - the second edition of the Innovator Circle will take place on November 8 and 9 in Hamburg with the topic "Rethink your Audience". Together with the participants and selected speakers, we will be addressing various questions relating to the topic of "audience" in the content industry. Register here now!

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City of Content-Tour

Come with us on a tour through the City of Content and visit five Hamburg companies that were successfully founded in the Hanseatic city: NDR, Podstars by OMR, Rocket Beans and two other Secret Stops. Our bus tour on November 25, 2022, offers you the opportunity to get exclusive insights into the companies, expand your professional network and exchange ideas with other content creators. Apply now!

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Storytelling Funding

Our Storytelling Funding moves into the second phase! Creative projects with a focus on sustainability, social business or digitalization are invited to apply. You can expect a funding of 6,000 - 7,000 €, which you can invest with the storytellers from our storyteller pool. They will help you to make your project digitally successful with good stories. Apply now until November 21!

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nextMedia.Session #6

Are synthetic media our future? We discussed this at our nextMedia.Session on Tuesday, September 20. The sixth edition of the session was held in cooperation with MOIN Filmförderung Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein. Tatjana Anisimov from RTL Germany and Pascal Schröder from Gipfelstürmer Film gave exciting talks with concrete use cases. You can read the results of the session here.

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Survey about influencers

Influencers are polarizing: Some stand out for their well-researched content, such as YouTubers Rezo and maiLab, while others are more likely to cause scandal. We have taken the discussion about influencers as an opportunity to gain insight into what the audience expects from influencers with a representative survey. If you want to know more, check out our blog!

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Media Lift Graduation Pitch

With the Graduation Pitch, we celebrated the conclusion of the 4th batch of our incubator Media Lift on Monday, September 12. The five teams showed what they have worked on in the last months and how they have developed their business models. We would like to thank everyone who attended. You can find a review of the Graduation Pitch here.

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Advisory Board

For almost two years now, we have been working with over 30 influential players from the media and digital industries to further develop Hamburg's innovation ecosystem. Yesterday, we met with our advisory board in the beautiful premises of Carlsen Verlag. With the help of working groups in the advisory board, we were able to work out the needs, challenges and wishes of the content industry and develop our programs accordingly.

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scoop Award 2022

Jack Riley is the recipient of the 2022 scoop Award. As VP of Business Development & Revenue Strategy at HuffPost and BuzzFeed News, he has excelled in digital pioneering and entrepreneurship in the media business. Over 2020, Jack has helped HuffPost grow profits by 21 percent with new revenue streams. We're looking forward to Jack Riley and his keynote at this year's scoopcamp. You can secure a ticket here.

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New Leaders’ Forum

On August 18, we invited young managers to the New Leaders' Forum. The topic "How much attitude do media need?" was discussed, using climate communication as an example. Ulrike Penz, Chief Sustainability Officer at G+J, provided exciting input. Read more about the New Leaders' Forum and Ulrike's keynote here.

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We made it in Hamburg!

We tell the success stories of diverse companies that have made it in Hamburg's content industry. Whether it's Podstars by OMR, Rocket Beans TV or NDR’s talk show format deep & deutlich, we take you on a journey through the City of Content.

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scoopcamp – Save the Date

This year's innovation conference for media will take place at the beach club "Del Mar" in Hamburg's harbor on September 8, 2022. With a full-day program, the scoopcamp is dedicated to three exciting focus topics around the future of journalism in an increasingly digitized world: Digital Revenue, Audience and Creator Economy. You can secure your tickets here.

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Content Foresight 2022

Two days of workshop on the topic of content and commerce: We successfully launched our Content Foresight innovation program. Together with the five participating companies we worked out what the potential for innovation of digital future technologies for commerce looks like. In August, we will continue with the second module - we are already looking forward to it!

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Songtradr takes over musicube

Good news from our former Media Lift team musicube. The Hamburg-based start-up has been acquired by Songtradr, the world's leading B2B music company. musicube's music AI solution provides comprehensive metadata for music labels, publishers, rights holders and others looking for song discoverability tools.

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Content meets Commerce

In our 2022 Content Foresight program, we are working with Carlsen Verlag, Pilot, Blish, RMS Radio Marketing Service and Stein to develop the content of the future at the interface to commerce. Livestream shopping on Instagram, trying out products with augmented reality or buying NFTs of the new collection - there is enormous potential for innovation in digital future technologies for commerce.

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Four prototypes that are changing the content industry with AI

After three months of interdisciplinary collaboration, the 20 students in this year’s Prototyping Lab presented their findings at the Reveal. With the support of their partner companies, they have developed remarkable prototypes.

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Programs

We support start-ups, develop prototypes and strengthen innovation skills and knowledge.

Media Lift

The Content & Tech Incubator

We support your innovative business ideas with €15,000, personal coaching, co-working spaces and a diverse pool of mentors. Whether you are a student, start-up or employee of media and digital companies – we take your prototype to the next level.

Workspace Funding

Workplaces for start-ups in new community space

You want to work on your business idea in an innovative and networked environment without office costs? With the Workspace Funding, we offer free workspaces for startups and founders in the field of content and technology.

Innovator Circle

Two days of exclusive sparring for the content industry

We bring innovation drivers into a trusting exchange, offer inspiring impulses and a framework for individual development. At our Innovator Circle, you can make relevant contacts, gather lots of ideas for new business models and products, and get practical suggestions on how to successfully position yourself and your company for the future of the content economy.

Storytelling Funding

Good projects need good stories

We bring together Hamburg’s creative storytelling scene with sustainable projects. As a team they create a digital content strategy that focuses on the impact of the projects and gives them the attention they deserve.

Scout & Match

We match international start-ups with Hamburg media companies.

In the program Scout & Match, we identify the needs of companies in the content and tech industry and match them with suitable start-ups. This way, companies can experiment with technologies and shape new business areas with a low cost and resource expenditure.

Prototyping Lab

6 universities, 12 students and 3 companies

Whether in a publishing house, a media company or an agency – artificial intelligence can change the future of media. We bring companies that are keen to experiment together with talented students from Hamburg’s universities and let them develop prototypes together in the Prototyping Lab. 

Content Foresight

Gemeinsam den Content der Zukunft entwickeln

In der Reihe Content Foresight von nextMedia.Hamburg und dem Cross Innovation Hub der Hamburg Kreativ Gesellschaft erarbeiten wir gemeinsam Antworten auf Fragen der Zukunft. In den letzten Runden beschäftigten wir uns mit Commerce, mit Mobilität und mit der Schnittstelle Content & Health.

At our events we develop ideas and discuss topics surrounding the future of the media industry together with international experts and important players in Hamburg’s media and digital scene.

nextMedia-Event

nextMedia.Starter - Product Owner

In each nextMedia.Starter edition, we focus on a new career field and introduce you to three fascinating people from Hamburg’s media and digital scene and their career paths.

19th

of January 2022

Blog

Network

Media innovations – and the industry as a whole – thrive on an open, cooperative network. So do we. Here is a selection of our partners and supporters:

Our partner

We work and think together with these and other companies, exploit innovation potential, design business models and shape the future of the media and digital economy in Hamburg – and beyond.