The Age of Crypto
Oliver Thomas speaks to Charlie Nicosia , owner of Absolute Production Services , who explains how it became the first US-based corporate event production company to accept cryptocurrency as payment for services
w hat key challenges and opportunities has the pandemic presented Absolute Production Services ? At the very beginning , as other companies , we had everything inperson locked in and were looking at our biggest year for 26 years , and then everything came to a screeching halt . We pivoted and had to go virtual . Fortunately , we were dealing with virtual back in 2008 after the financial crisis , so , we had already had the virtual experience .
What appealed to customers was this fact that we had already been there . We ’ ve been there doing it for almost two decades . It was a no brainer for us to step up and make it happen for them .
It went from virtual to hybrid . And now we ’ re seeing it going back to virtual again with some of the lockdowns that are happening in the US because of the new variant .
Absolute Productions has become the first US-based corporate event production company to accept cryptocurrency . What made you take this step and what benefits do you think it will bring to your business ? I ’ m involved in crypto and got involved early . So , for me it was easy to understand and be able to implement this into the company . The second part was trying to educate and inform our customers and make it easy for them to do . Over the last 24 months , we ’ ve seen a number of customers coming to us asking if we would accept crypto .
Therefore , it was all about customer service .
We have a relationship with CoinFlip ( a bitcoin ATM operator ) where they ’ ve been spectacular at figuring out how to make it really simple and easy to use cryptocurrency . It was about making customers understand that this is another easy way to advance what you ’ re trying to do and offer up another solution that folks were looking for but just didn ’ t know how to do it .
How can cryptocurrency be used by stakeholders within the exhibition industry to develop events ? Being able to offer stakeholders and consumers in the exhibition and events industry additional ways to pay for goods and services will not only make it easier and more convenient , but it will also help drive new engagement experiences like the use of NFTs or opportunities within the Metaverse .
This is all new and continuing to develop from an engagement and user experience perspective , but it is being driven by the next generation of industry professionals . Having been a part of many industry-changing platforms over the last three decades , it ’ s extremely exciting to be a part of this evolution as well . It ’ s what we live for as forward-thinking professionals , always charging ahead to see what ’ s next .
Now it ’ s just a matter of how to integrate it . How do you make everyone feel comfortable ? Yes ,
“ Over the last 24 months , we ’ ve seen a number of customers coming to us asking if we would accept crypto ... it was
all about customer service .”
Above : Charlie Nicosia
there ’ s navigation to do . There ’ s different fees and different ways of handling it . But coming from our side of the industry for 30 years , and being able to implement the new technology , meant we were there to step up and make that happen .
What trends or themes do you see impacting the events industry in this upcoming year ? Smaller can be more impactful , and bigger is not always better . It ’ s really about looking to define who you ’ re going after and searching for their goal . Customers are very concerned and cautious with the dollar spending right now . It ’ s not necessarily about the bigger bang for your dollar but zoning in on the quality of the consumer engagement .
We ’ d rather be smaller and tighter and have a better ROI and experience for consumers than something that ’ s going to be off the charts and go over budget . Currently , trade shows are downsizing because of what ’ s going on with Covid . We need to think about how we can continue to make shows more efficient yet utilise their dollars in a way that ’ s going to get them the results they need . EW
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