Tech
Silver linings
Could the Covid-19 lockdown lead to a surge of digital
events? Stuart Wood investigates
he events industry
is facing an
unprecedented
challenge.
Never before have we seen a crisis
on this scale – and the extent of it is
just coming into focus. Countries all
around the world are in lockdown,
enforcing social distancing and
quarantines in an attempt to
curb the spread of Covid-19. The
worldwide event calendar has been
put almost entirely on hold, and
there’s no way of knowing when
normality will resume.
Our industry is still in the ‘shock’
phase of this pandemic. But once
the dust settles and we have all
begun to adapt to life under the
coronavirus, there are many ways
we can make ourselves useful.
UFI’s Kai Hattendorf rightly points
out (p10) that events will be one of
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Issue 2 2020
the key drivers in rebuilding the
economy in the aftermath – but
what about right now?
Streaming and virtual events
offer one answer to that question.
During an extended period where
many of us are working from home,
and communicating with friends
and colleagues through video chat,
could our industry see a permanent
shift towards digital?
Jason Anderson, Digital Director
at agency Avantgarde, thinks so.
“There is an appetite for people to
be involved in virtual spaces, but
connecting to real people,” he says.
“Covid-19 has the potential to shift
the whole market in this direction:
it might make exhibitors more
comfortable with a purely online
offering.”
It’s a tantalising prospect. Up to
now, virtual events and streaming
have served as more of an add-on
than a replacement. But in this
age of necessity, where businesses
are trying to retain and provide as
much value as possible, it would
only take one big player to turn the
tide. If IMEX Frankfurt went purely
digital, how many imitators would
spring up in its wake?
“Moving an exhibition online is
a real alternative to cancelling,”
Anderson adds. “There’s more
opportunity for the pre- and
post-event communications. Some
virtual event technology now has
the capacity for users to show
off virtual stands. This means
exhibitors, as well as visitors, can
try and replicate the value of a face-
to-face event.”
The decision to move online
shouldn’t be made lightly, however.
Anderson is keen to stress that
streaming your event, or staging
it in a virtual space, requires a
different set of skills: “You need
to be more skilled at telling your
story in a virtual event, because its
so much easier to jump between
Virtual Exhibition Booth 1 and
Virtual Exhibition Booth 12. You’d
better be sure you’re saying
something interesting.”
Looking to the future
It might be difficult for some event
businesses to look to the future at
the moment, given the dire straits
caused by high-profile cancellations
w w w.exhibitionworld.co.uk