AdvantageCS’ annual European Advantage Users Group (EAUG) Conference was held October 10-11, 2024 at Oxford University Press in Oxford, England. Over two days, dozens of representatives from European clients gathered to network and learn about the most recent publishing industry trends, ACS news, company direction, and upcoming features.
Day 1
After opening remarks from Director of Client Services Scott Ghormley, Director of European Operations Philippe van Mastrigt kicked off day 1 of EAUG with his annual Publishing Industry Trends presentation.
Philippe noted that the publishing industry in 2024 followed many of the same trends that were established in 2023 – with print subscriptions continuing to decline and digital hypergrowth slowing, it is still unclear whether the industry is at a peak or an inflex. Amidst continuous restructuring and ownership changes, publishers in 2024 worked to achieve a sustainable revenue model via product and geographic diversification, increased attention to younger audience engagement and first party data strategies for advertising. However, due to factors like GAFAM’s disengagement towards publishing, an industry-wide pause on audio content development, and the looming threat of AI disruption, the future for the publishing industry still seems quite challenging to forecast.
After Philippe’s presentation, VP and Chief Product Manager Dan Heffernan updated attendees on AdvantageCS’ latest company news, strategy, and direction. He highlighted new client acquisitions and an ambitious R&D roadmap for 2025, changes in how company leadership responsibilities are allocated, and the continuation of ACS’ steadfast company direction.
For the last session of EAUG day 1, Philippe moderated Clients ask Clients, a session that encourages the sharing of tips and best practices between experienced Advantage users. After a productive discussion, we concluded the day with a three-course dinner at the beautiful Cherwell Boathouse full of highly regarded networking!
Day 2
EAUG Day 2 started early in the morning with Executive Vice President, CTO, and CISO Matt Varblow’s Advantage Technology Update. This year’s technology update emphasized the engineering team’s dedication to improving Advantage’s integration support and reducing upgrade times to ensure a nimbler platform footprint.
Next up was Chief Solutions Architect John Sheehy, who received much fanfare from the audience for his presentation of Advantage’s most useful and interesting new features. In his Product News & Highlights presentation, John demonstrated several new features, celebrated the success of the new monthly release webinar series, and officially introduced Advantage’s very first AI assistant Porter.
For the final session of EAUG, Philippe shared Advantage UX optimization tips in a new session named Application in Action – a type of session intended to explore “large” Advantage topics from end-to-end. This year’s presentation was titled Leverage UX in Advantage, and Philippe shared numerous tips for optimizing Advantage’s UX that he gathered while conducting on-site application reviews for clients.
And with that session concluded, it was time to wrap up EAUG and say our goodbyes. AdvantageCS thanks everyone who attended EAUG 2024, and we can’t wait to see you again next year!
