History Makers International aims for Impact with rebrand

August 14, 2012 by Barry Walsh

New York City-based content conference History Makers International is rebranding as the Impact Media Summit.

The annual event, produced by Achilles Media, focuses on history content, as well as archive-based, investigative and social issue-oriented programming. It also includes an awards show component, which will now be known as The Impact Media Awards.

In a statement, Michael Katz, chair of the event and vice president, international programming and production at A&E Networks, said the rebrand reflects the organizers’ belief that “we have outgrown the old moniker and definition of the ‘History Congress.’

“This rebrand is an opportunity for us to focus on the benefits to attendees and broaden the scope of our program and in short, demonstrate that our annual event truly impacts our constituency,” he added.

Executive producer Vanessa Lewis told realscreen that the new moniker for the event was “also carefully chosen to encompass the types of content that our event deals with, content that exists to discuss important issues, historical events, cultural, economic and social issues that ‘impact’ the viewer.”

Lewis added that the rebrand had been in consideration for “a number of years,” as organizers are “cognizant that our audience is evolving and so too must our brand.”

In terms of content, Lewis said that the event will expand its focus on digital media, and that in addition to successful components such as the Decision Makers series, in which delegates get access to international commissioners, and the Visual Researchers program, socially responsible media will also be a “key component” for the 2013 edition.

The awards element will also extend its reach, with a category to be added for “documentary-style reality,” which Lewis says will recognize “a program or series that follows people within special living environments, or those which spotlight and promote social change in their subjects and/or audiences.”

The 2013 edition of the Impact Media Summit takes place from January 23 to 25 in New York City. For more information, click here.

Tags: History Makers International, Impact Media Summit, Michael Katz, Vanessa Lewis