Opinion
Identifying
Opportunity
Sam North, Inflection Point, Simon Berger, IM2 Group
and Phil Redwood of Fusion Insight investigates how
organisers are reshaping their commercial models in
the wake of Covid-19
Many organisers are rethinking
how their businesses operate.
They have been hit hard economically
and many companies have been forced
to furlough staff, and almost all of them
have had to either postpone or cancel
their exhibitions. Every part of their
business has been affected in some way,
and all of their customers (exhibitors)
have been financially affected by the
outbreak.
Three companies, Inflection Point,
IM2 Group and Fusion Insight,
recognised the potential shift in the way
businesses needed to adapt to the ‘new
normal’ and began talking to leading
organisers at the start of the pandemic.
Sam North, founder, Inflection Point,
explained that it was essential to gather
sales intelligence and share findings
with businesses. He said: “When
Covid-19 began to take its toll on the
events industry, we wanted to try and
‘do our bit’ by pooling best practice and
approaches to common problems.
“To do this we teamed up to carry
out 40 interviews and collate views on
topics including; financial resilience,
market insights, creating compelling
and safe events, digital responses, and
skills and talent, to help organisers with
their own nuanced response.”
Phil Redwood, MD, Fusion Insight,
who supported the research piece,
explained that there was a strong
desire by organisers to go back and
ask fundamental questions. He said:
“As the impact of decisions made now
may be felt for many years to come, the
people we spoke to were going back to
basics and asking themselves ‘what does
the market need from me in the short
term,’ but also crucially ‘what are our
opportunities in the medium to longer
term’.”
The first part of the study shows how
organisers want to assess the current
state of the markets their exhibitions
serve. It also reveals how important
it is to stay relevant, and the need to
tailor messaging to key people with an
interest in their shows. The research
also revealed how necessary it is to
share insights with respective markets
in a bid to stay relevant to buyers and
exhibitors alike.
Naomi Barton, group event director,
iGB Affiliate global series, Clarion
Events, who took part in the research
piece explained: “What’s really exciting
at the moment, is to see the speed
of innovation and different ways of
thinking in order to answer some of
these challenges. Ultimately, we want
to communicate as regularly as possible
with our customers as we help them to
navigate through this ‘next normal’.”
The study also revealed how it was
essential to take advantage of the
explosion in digital engagement.
According to Simon Berger, founding
partner, IM2 Group, who organises Mad
World Summit and Futr Summit, the
study highlighted that in the absence of
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