Opinion
While on holiday this year, we
stayed in Tuscany for a few
days. The hotel had panoramic views
over the vineyard, with the town of
Montepulciano framed majestically in
the background. It was the epitome of
Tuscan beauty and a delight to drive
into.
When we checked-in however, we
were given a long list of things that
were not possible due to the hotels’
coronavirus precautions. Among others,
the restaurant was completely closed,
and – somewhat more curiously – the
virus was also responsible for the lack of
air conditioning.
Now, it was clear that they’d decided
to run the hotel with three employees
rather than ten or fifteen. Having made
no money during the lockdown, it
was hard to begrudge them for taking
measures to run at a higher margin over
the summer, especially with so much
uncertainty in the future. They’d taken
stock of what they had to sell, cut back
their offering, and blamed everything
which had changed on coronavirus.
For the last six months the
exhibitions industry has also been able
to blame all their woes on the virus.
This is fundamentally flawed. Things
are not going back to ‘normal’. Putting
aside the economic environment, our
industry is not the same as my hotel in
Montepulciano. For all the positivity on
re-openings: customers are correctly
questioning payback given tight
budgets, and have valid concerns over
the size and quality of the audiences
we can deliver in person given people’s
hesitation to travel. The reality is tough.
So, what should organisers do about
this? While painful financially, they
could decide to sit this time out, wait
until the virus passes and restart
shows like ‘normal’. But our customers’
Transform now or
regret later
Mark Parsons, founder of Events Intelligence shares advice
for the vital metamorphosis of the organiser
expectations have fundamentally
changed. The recent months have
accelerated the digital transformation
of almost all industries. As customer
centric organisers, if we don’t mirror
the change in our customers, we
are likely to become irrelevant. The
question is not whether to transform,
but what to transform into?
What exactly needs to be done?
Although less than other industries,
we have been talking about the
opportunities of digital, data and
technology coming of age for years.
Now the transformation through digital,
data, technology and advanced analytics
needs to happen.
But what should an exhibition
(that has been historically analogue)
transform into? In most cases a
tradeshow creates value from bringing
communities together at a specific time
and place. While ‘virtual’ and ‘hybrid’
events are the current buzzwords, the
fact is that organisers need to build
events which blend digital and analogue
channels in innovative ways to meet
their exhibitors’ needs.
In a past article in EN, Paul Rodriguez
38 — September