Cover Feature
Anthony Balarkas
those of us with children have another
thing to worry about whilst trying to
keep our business afloat.
“We have been hit pretty hard by the
COVID-19 crisis. Six concurrent events
over a fortnight in March were cancelled
or postponed, some days before we
were due onsite. Many more events due
to trade in April, May and June have
been postponed and as a freelance sales
resource, our cashflow has ground to
a halt. This isn’t set to recover for an
indeterminate period of time.
“There is potential that one of
the small business loans that the
government announced may be
applicable to us to keep us afloat but
we simply don’t know enough yet, and
obviously we have concerns about
paying it back. The concern we have
for our freelance sales community,
who have also lost expected income
almost overnight is huge. Some of our
employed sales associates, who work
full or part time within organiser
companies, are also facing dramatic
pay cuts and worse, redundancy. A dark
time for the exhibition industry.
“As four optimistic women, we’ve
been mindful to regularly reflect on
the things we are grateful for. Sharing
in this way on our team video calls
helps us reset and focus our minds
on the positive, and allows for a level
of buoyancy. We encourage each
other to focus on the things we can
control. Focusing on the future and
challenging ourselves to be creative
with our thinking enables us to pivot
our business in readiness to support
the new saleslandscape when we finally
(and we will) come through this.
20 — April
cannot be underestimated, having
multiple routes to reach key audiences
and customers is vital. When mapping
out a strategy, businesses need to
ensure contingency measures are in
place and examine how flexible their
marketing strategy is, and whether it
can be readily adapted in the face of
unexpected circumstances, without
causing major disruption to the bottom
line.”
Peter Jones
“In terms of refocusing ourselves,
we are planning for the now busy Q3/
Q4 period andbeyond for rescheduled
events. Early preparation and advanced
recruitment are Benchmark’s focus
right now and we encourage you to
reach out to us if you are skilled in
sales and facing difficult times. We
are hopeful that flexible, professional
freelance rebook specialists will be in
high demand come the autumn. Let’s
stand strong and prepare together
for when this wonderful industry is
thriving again!”
Keith Austin, CEO, Event Marketing
Solutions:
“We’re in the midst of an extraordinary
period of change in the events sector,
with multiple major events, exhibitions
and fairs having been postponed
or cancelled due to the spread of
coronavirus (COVID-19). Marketing and
events teams the world over are now
shifting their focus to ensure that when
this ends, they have plans in place to
still meet their targets for the year.
“In the last week alone, we have had
conversations with multiple global
brands looking to activate from summer
onwards, in a bid to counter the effects
of missing their key tradeshows and
exhibitions. Though advice currently
reassures us that this disruption will
be short-term, with many events
postponed for a few months’ time,
the reality is that this situation could
continue to push the calendar back. Yet
brand presence, product launches and
customer engagement will still need to
be maintained.
“Whilst the value of these shows
Anthony Balarkas, Freelance Events,
Marketing & VIP Project Manager
“I’m a freelance marketing and events
project manager, so I provide events
marketing services to sponsors of B2B
projects as well as consulting with
producers of conferences, webinars,
podcasts and similar digital projects.
“The government has announced
financial aid such as the wage bailout
for employees, loans to SMEs, and I
also noticed the business rates holiday
for retailers and leisure groups. For
freelancers like myself on the other
hand, there hasn’t been a great deal of
help so far.
“The events industry has come to a
standstill. Whether it’s your smaller
customer meet-up dinners to giants like
Cannes Lions, SXSW, or Advertising
Week - they’ve all been postponed
or cancelled altogether. As for digital
marketing and video, I think we’ll see
a saturation of webinars. The onus has
always been on events and B2B groups
to ensure their content output is unique
and informative. The virus outbreak has
magnified this, and in a crowded market
you have to be able to differentiate
your product from the next. Podcasts
will present an exciting opportunity to
connect with audiences.
“I’ve learnt that you cannot slip into
linear thinking. Anticipating what’s
going to happen next and getting ahead
of the curve has always underpinned