Well , what a year . We know our industry moves quickly and , given that we have been unable to run events , you would have thought it would have slowed down in the past 12 months . But it has been quite the opposite . We have never been busier , working harder to adapt to the new world we now live in and this has been combined with a year of undulating emotions . I believe that the pandemic has generated more positives than negatives , but of course it ’ s been incredibly tough to not be doing what we do best – connecting people face-to-face – and we have all had to make some tough decisions . Like all exhibition companies , we have had to make some structural changes , which has meant losing talented friends and colleagues . For me personally that ’ s one of the hardest parts to get over . However , we have been working tirelessly to adapt and to be ready for the future , developing an incredibly ambitious growth plan that we are starting to roll out across our European markets . It is a combination of growing our existing portfolio of events ,
365-day digital focus
Matt Benyon , CEO of Easyfairs UK and Global , says there have been positives to come out of the pandemic , with a year-round digital focus being one of them
launching new events , continuing to focus on the digitalisation of our industry and acquisitions . As a result , we are focused on the future , and it felt very good recently to be able to re-hire one of the people who we sadly
“ We have never been closer to our communities than right now , understanding their needs and working with them to give them a strong route to market .” had to let go previously . I sincerely hope we will be able to welcome back others in the months ahead . The biggest positive has been the wake-up call to elevate our digital presence and offering to the communities that we serve . I strongly believe that physical events will always have a leading place in the strategy for our customers , and the launches we have both planned and already have underway highlights this point . That said , we have been forced to become experts in digital , whether events or other offerings . I don ’ t believe that running
physical events at the same time as online events is necessarily the way forward , but I do believe that it is time to properly connect our communities 365 days a year and this has complete focus from us . We are now ensuring that we provide a strong platform for these communities throughout the year through physical and digital events , a high-level suite of digital products and content , and much more . It has also meant that we have never been closer to our communities than right now , understanding their needs and working with them to give them a strong route to market . We have built even greater trust with them providing them with a safety net of conditions when they commit to our events . Meaning that forward bookings have continued to come in throughout this period . At Easyfairs , we see a continued bright future for our wonderful industry and with the light at the end of the tunnel getting ever brighter , it is only a matter of a short period of time before we will all be back to doing what we love most .
Matt Benyon , CEO of Easyfairs UK and Global
March-April — 49