Exhibitions and the Great Reset
his really is an exciting time to be launching into the new role of Guest Editor at Exhibition World . By any measure it ’ s been a lousy year for the global business events industry and the challenges obviously aren ’ t over yet . But thankfully , the vaccines seem to be working , the industry is reemerging , and confidence returning .
Almost the entire global business community has taken a big hit . Most economies are bouncing back strongly , but they are doing so from the steepest downturn any of us has ever known . This isn ’ t just a recovery . It ’ s a reset .
I ’ ll be in the Guest Editor ’ s seat here for the next six months and it promises to be a hugely interesting half year . There are many questions to be asked and , anyone who tells me that they know all the answers will be treated with serious scepticism .
This magazine is unique in that it was launched with UFI with a global outlook from day one . During my time as UFI ’ s managing director , I was fortunate to be able to engage directly with that global readership and I ’ ve seen Exhibition World on CEO ’ s desks across the world . We ’ ll be talking to key people in all regions about how the industry is bouncing back and what changes they see .
While virtual events generally haven ’ t really worked for the trade fair component of business events , they are transforming other segments of the industry . And it ’ s clear that there will be a critically important digital stream of activity in many previously simple exhibition businesses . These can be complicated and expensive to implement and even more challenging to monetise profitably . Will that create a two-tier industry ? Will we see a world where a small number of large businesses dominate B2B marketing with a sophisticated mix of face-to-face , digital and data offerings ? Others , perhaps nimbler and more entrepreneurial but with a simpler business model , would then launch traditional events into new market niches or , perhaps , new-style events into old market niches vacated by the ‘ big boys ’. And , if that happens , is it a problem or a good and welcome injection of a new dynamism into a mature industry ?
Among other important questions I am particularly concerned whether the companies which support our industry around the world still have the capacity to build the stands , ship the freight , and provide all the services we need to organise fairs once allowed ? They ’ ve been decimated by the crisis and are struggling to hire the right people as markets reopen .
You will , I hope , have your own questions and people you ’ d like to hear from . Feel free to let me know what you ’ d like us to do . I can ’ t promise to oblige but your ideas and concerns will be at the heart of what we do .
Paul Woodward Guest Editor Twitter : @ ExhibitionWorld
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www . exhibitionworld . co . uk Issue 3 2021 5