Feature
What does the future hold
for the exhibitions industry?
The first Exhibitions Think Tank (ETT) has launched its final report, which
gathered the insights of more than 150 global industry professionals to set out
recommendations for the future direction of the exhibition industry
Two global surveys and
close to 100 online
sessions have culminated
in a report that will be used
as a resource to support
the industry in adapting to
changing customer demands
since the arrival of Covid-19.
The ETT report covers six
key categories – the value
proposition, exhibition
set-up, digital services,
HR, commercial strategy,
and marketing and
communications – and
focuses on why and how each
of these needs to change, as
well as offering solutions to
take forward.
The report concludes
with recommendations for
managing and delivering
change to achieve success
and ensure the industry
doesn’t fall back into old
habits.
Matthias Tesi Baur, from
MBB- Consulting Group,
the organisation behind the
ETT, says: “This report is a
resource of the combined
skills of 150 people from
the exhibition industry. It
spotlights that change in our
industry is inevitable and
undoubtedly needed, which
puts us all on a mission to
define this change, before
this is done by others.”
Key findings
While the report covers
detailed results across the six
categories, it also highlights
some key findings about the
nature of change across the
industry.
Health and safety is not the
only focus – While Covid-19
is a health crisis, focusing on
health and safety alone will
not bring about the holistic
change needed to tackle the
issues caused by the crisis.
Covid-19 has made
existing issues more
urgent – The arrival of the
global pandemic highlighted
that change is long overdue
in many areas, such as
digital services, and that
this change needs to be
accelerated to adapt to new
demands.
Holistic change is
needed – Areas of change
are dependent on each other,
meaning it’s not possible to
solve challenges in one area,
while ignoring challenges in
other areas.
Ways to influence change
– Key ways to influence
change include creating a
more diversified workforce
in terms of skills, moving
towards more customercentric
strategies and placing
more emphasis on digital
services and hybrid events.
A need to embrace
change – Success will only
be achieved if the industry
embraces change and avoids
falling back into old habits.
The ETT comprised 20
working groups, spanning
five continents and four
languages. Using an
online crowd-intelligence
communication process they
discussed how change could
be achieved, integrating
feedback from the wider
industry gathered through
online surveys. The research
included four phases:
» Defining the areas of
change.
» What exactly needs to
change in each area.
» What a new solution looks
like to customer target
groups.
» How the exhibition
industry can manage this
change.
Phase one highlighted 35
potential areas for change,
which were grouped into
nine key categories by the
ETT working groups. Six of
these categories were then
taken forward in phases two
and three. The results of all
four phases are presented in
detail in the final report.
Continuing the discussion
Following the launch of the
report, MBB-Consulting
founded the Exhibitions
Think Tank Club (ETT
Club), with a goal to continue
the discussion around
innovation and networking
in the industry.
Tesi Baur adds: “The
Exhibitions Think Tank was
the first of its kind in an
online format, and I want
to thank the team leaders,
participants, media partners
and supporting companies
for the great contributions,
discussions and insights.
“We had countless skills,
ideas, input and inspiration
throughout the process, and
everyone involved loved the
opportunity to network and
come together on a global
scale to share ideas and
innovate.” EN
Visit www.
exhibitionsthinktank.com to
read the report
50 — September