Eyes & Ears of Europe

What Eyes & Ears of Europe does

Eyes & Ears of Europe is a nonprofit industry association (eingetragener Verein under German law) founded in 1996 and headquartered in Cologne, Germany. It serves the European audiovisual media industry with a focus on design, promotion, and marketing of television, streaming, and related media. The organization aggregates more than 100 member organizations spanning major public and private broadcasters (RTL, ProSiebenSat.1, ZDF, ARD, SRF, Disney, Deutsche Welle, ARTE, VOX), production companies, creative agencies, and educational institutions across Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. It is governed by an elected Executive Board and led operationally by CEO Corinna Kamphausen with a staff of approximately 11 people.

The association's core offerings are the annual International Eyes & Ears Awards (running continuously since 1997/98, with the 27th edition held in October 2025 and the 28th announced), the annual EYES & EARS Conference featuring keynotes and case studies, the Academy program of professional development workshops (including on-demand offerings), the New Talents platform for students and emerging creatives, a monthly eNews newsletter, a Job Board, and a podcast. Events have historically been held in Cologne and Munich, most recently at the ASTOR Film Lounge at ARRI in Munich, and in 2025 the awards were co-located with MEDIENTAGE MÜNCHEN.

The business model is membership-driven. Revenue derives from annual corporate, personal, supporting, and institutional membership dues, fees from conference attendance, award submissions, and Academy workshop participation, and publication fees from job board postings. The association is member-governed and has no venture capital, private equity, or parent company involvement. Its technology footprint is limited to standard web publishing, email marketing, and video/social media distribution tools.

Name

Eyes & Ears of Europe

Legal name

Eyes & Ears of Europe e.V. (Vereinigung für Design, Promotion und Marketing der audiovisuellen Medien e.V.)

Website

https://eeofe.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Eyes & Ears of Europe is a Cologne-based nonprofit association founded in 1996 that serves 100+ European broadcasters, agencies, and educational institutions with annual awards, conferences, and Academy programs for audiovisual media design, promotion, and marketing.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Cologne (Köln)

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: Annual membership dues from corporate members (broadcasters, TV stations, production companies, agencies), personal members, supporting members, and educational institution members. Provides access to networking, events, awards, and Academy programs.
2. Event Participation: Revenue from conference attendance, award submissions, and Academy workshop fees. Annual EYES & EARS events and Academy workshops generate participation fees.
3. Job Board: Publication fees for job postings on the association's website, reaching media industry professionals.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Eyes & Ears of Europe is a non-profit industry association that delivers member services to the European audiovisual media community, including an annual International Eyes & Ears Awards competition, the EYES & EARS Conference, the Academy training program, a job board, and a newsletter. Its members are broadcasters, TV stations, production companies, creative agencies, and educational institutions engaged in the design, promotion, and marketing of audiovisual media.

Product overview

Eyes & Ears of Europe is a media industry association offering a unified platform of interconnected services for the audiovisual media community. The core offering centers on the International Eyes & Ears Awards—an annual competition celebrating excellence in design, promotion, and marketing—complemented by the EYES & EARS Conference that brings together creative professionals for keynotes and case studies. Additional services include the Academy for professional development and training programs, the New Talents program for emerging creators, an eNews newsletter for industry updates, a Job Board for recruitment, and a Podcast series. These products collectively serve members across the European media and creative industries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• EYES & EARS Awards: Annual international awards for design, digital, promotion and cross-media campaigns in audiovisual media
• EYES & EARS Conference
• EYES & EARS Academies
• Eyes & Ears Inspiration Award

Products and services

• International Eyes & Ears Awards Annual international award competition recognizing excellence in design, promotion, and marketing of audiovisual media, featuring categories including Design, Digital, Promotion, Cross-Media Campaigns, and Craft. Targeted at broadcasters, production companies, creative agencies, and emerging talent.
• EYES & EARS Conference Annual conference event featuring keynotes, case studies, and masterclasses on design, promotion, marketing, and emerging technologies for audiovisual media professionals. Held annually in Germany, typically in Munich or Cologne.
• Academy Educational program offering workshops, training sessions, and on-demand courses on topics including AI in marketing, key art design, and digital media skills for audiovisual media professionals.
• New Talents Platform for students and graduates to showcase audiovisual projects and receive recognition at the annual awards ceremony.
• Job Board (Jobbörse) Employment listing platform where member companies post job vacancies in the fields of motion design, graphic design, and creative media production.
• Podcast Audio content series covering topics related to audiovisual media, industry trends, and creative discussions, including the Filmpuls Podcast and association podcasts.
• Membership (Corporate, Personal, Educational Institution, Supporting, Starter) Annual membership tiers that provide access to networking, awards, conferences, Academy programs, the job board, newsletter, and exclusive member events. Categories include Corporate Membership, Personal Membership, Non-Profit Educational Institution Membership, Supporting Membership, and Starter Membership.

Named customers10 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• FEEDMEE and Kürten & LechnerminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFEEDMEE (design and brand communication agency) and Kürten & Lechner (full-service specialist for print, POS, and outdoor advertising) formed a partnership to develop new AI-based retail concepts. FEEDMEE delivers stories and visuals through their HUMAIN unit, while Kürten & Lechner ensures high-quality execution at point of sale and outdoor advertising.
• SMP AmsterdamminorOthersSMP Amsterdam (music production company founded by Dutch composer Martijn Schimmer) became a member of Eyes & Ears of Europe. SMP creates international award-winning music for TV, Film, and Advertising. Martijn Schimmer is known for composing music for The Voice, The Floor, and other global formats.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• European Broadcasting Union (EBU): The world's largest alliance of public service media organisations, including many of the same broadcasters (ARD, ZDF, SRF, ARTE, DW) that are Eyes & Ears members — provides comparable industry-association services at much larger scale and broader scope.
• ACT – Association of Commercial Television in Europe: Trade body representing Europe's commercial broadcasters at EU policy level; shares many of the same corporate member organisations (RTL, ProSiebenSat.1) as Eyes & Ears of Europe but focuses on regulatory and policy advocacy rather than creative recognition.
• EGTA: European association of TV and radio sales houses; operates a parallel industry-association model for broadcasters' commercial teams, with conferences and awards (egta Awards) covering the sales and advertising side of audiovisual media.
• International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (International Emmy Awards): Global organisation running the International Emmy Awards, with a comparable member-based structure for television professionals and a similar mission of recognising excellence in the medium across countries and categories.
• MEDIENTAGE MÜNCHEN: Europe's largest media industry conference; Eyes & Ears co-located its 2025 awards inside this event after nine years apart, making it both a venue partner and the dominant conference competitor for the same German-language media audience.
• Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity: Global benchmark awards and festival for the creative communications industry; draws the same European agency and broadcaster marketing leaders and dwarfs Eyes & Ears in scale, prestige and sponsor economics.

Direct peers

• Promax: Global association for entertainment marketing, promotion and design professionals — the closest international counterpart to Eyes & Ears of Europe, running its own annual Promax Awards and conferences serving broadcasters, streamers and agencies worldwide.
• Prix Europa: Pan-European media awards competition recognising excellence in television, radio and online productions; targets the same European broadcaster and producer audience as Eyes & Ears Awards and overlaps significantly on award categories.

Regional players

• Bundesverband der Film- und Fernsehproduzenten (BFFP / Produzentenverband): German producers' trade association covering the same production-company segment that forms a core member base for Eyes & Ears of Europe; competes for the same producers' membership dues and industry representation in the DACH market.
• Screenwriters' Association (VS Verdi / Verband Deutscher Drehbuchautoren): German trade body for screenwriters and audiovisual creators; addresses a different craft role within the same audiovisual ecosystem that Eyes & Ears of Europe serves from a design/promotion/marketing angle.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/EEOFE
• Instagraminstagram.com/EEOFE
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/eeofe

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Eyes & Ears of Europe