Insight
The panel discusses geo-adaption at International Confex , 2 March
to move your show to another location overseas . Once you have this information , make your customers aware of the key changes , so that there are no surprises .”
Other challenges are all cultural related aspects . My former shows were in the food sector and there are not many things with such a deep cultural reflection of our societies , and therefore also the way we do business , than what we eat . What is seen as “ healthy ” food in Europe might not be seen as healthy in other countries .
“ Choosing the right venue ” is another challenge , added Diego from DWTC . “ As the location aspect and convenience factor is a growing , demand from visitor target groups , a modern venue in a desired , wellconnected and safe location are aspects of an event concept that have become more important than ever . Clearly the venue as a quality pillar of a well-defined event concept is not a nice to have anymore . It is the essential to stand out and to outperform the competition .”
Furthermore , I was curious about my panel guests ’ opinions as to whether we are now in a time in which organisers should use the ( not so new ) tool of geo-adaptation to diversify and grow their business .
“ Geo-adaptation [ known previously more often as ‘ geocloning ’ -ed ] was always a good tool to grow the business independently if this is done by a small or a large organiser . It is just extremely important that the market is chosen well , and enough research is done through local knowledge to determine which aspects of the concept need to be adapted ,” said Damion .
Even in geo-adaption we can
Garcia Newell business development director Europe / DSV Fairs & Events manager
see different approaches not only between small and large organisers but also between German and English organisers , for example , was the panel ’ s consensus . While German organisers often jump across continents with their event concept , English organisers often geo-adapt their events in much closer , sometimes even neighbouring countries . This indicates that these two cultures rate the balance between event cannibalisation vs . bottom line profitability differently .
So , what was each panellist ’ s geo-adaptation approach and from which starting point do you start your geo-adaptation process ? These are two of the first questions any growth strategy should answer when using the tool of geo-adaptation .
Garcia from DSV rounded up our discussion by giving his tip to investigate the logistics aspect of a launch abroad as early as possible to avoid potential stumbling blocks that are hard to overcome at a later stage . Damion added that building a diverse team that carries deep knowledge in the target market and that has created a cross-border team identity is another key factor that should not be underestimated . The entire panel agreed that diversifying the event business is a highly recommended approach in these times of fundamental change .
It was a great experience to be part of International Confex 2023 and to moderate a panel that brought so much knowledge and experience of growing and launching events worldwide together . Geo-adaption might not be the newest concept , but it has not lost its relevance to grow an events business . It might vary depending on if it ’ s done by a large or a small company , but it is challenging in both cases and there is nothing better than a good challenge ! In the end we are event people – right ?
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