NGL Grantees
technology can help us to engage in
a more effective way and experience
and hospitality are crucial for the
success of an event. Katie and I will
focus on the experience touchpoint. In
particular I will bring my knowledge
about what people in their 20s and
30s expect from exhibitions and I will
show how user experience design is
changing other industries. I hope the
audience will have fun!
KT: Birmingham was amazing!
Everyone was so welcoming and
wanted to get to know each and of
the NGL winners. It was my first time
being in an international arena, so to
speak, and hearing what everyone
across the world is doing within our
industry.
CZ: One of the many aspects of my
job in Accademia Fiera Milano is to
help our students with their project
work so I am used to be the examiner
rather than the examinee. During the
workshop in Birmingham, we got to
brain storm and to know each other
better.
At the beginning it was challenging
to put together five different minds
with five different backgrounds
because each of us was feeling that
the issue he or she was addressing
was fundamental for the industry.
Angela and Eleonora at UFI made us
realise that we were all talking about
different aspects of the same topic:
H2H.
What can we expect from your
presentation in Bangkok?
KT: Fun! You can expect us to be
doing something different and not
your typical panel type discussion.
We want to make it fun and leave a
lasting impression for our audience.
CZ: Our presentation will take the
audience to the core of the exhibition
industry: H2H. We will show the
importance of a strategy that starts
from the customer journey but of
course we will do it from a Millennial
point of view, where data and
w w w.exhibitionworld.co.uk
Top, left:
Cinzia Zanin,
Research and
Development,
Fondazione
Fiera Milano
to move the industry forward.
CZ: During my research I was
amazed by the different approaches
to service design and how they could
be applied to exhibitions. I could say
more but I don’t want to give too
much away before the Congress.
What do you think is lacking most
in the H2H approach in the global
exhibition industry and how can
we fix it?
KT: The H2H approach is the
foundation of the global exhibition
industry but how we bring people
together has changed. As industry
leaders we need to change our
behaviours in order to create more
purposeful meetings/events.
CZ: I think that exhibitions are
complicated and sophisticated
machines that are composed by many
important parts. In order to make all
the parts work we need a storytelling.
In my opinion the understanding of
how visitors register and participate
to our exhibition is a good starting
point. In order to understand our
visitors we need to ask ourselves the
right questions.
How do you envisage the ongoing
mentorship post-Congress?
KT: I hope to have a mentor that
can help guide me as I take the next
steps in my professional career.
CZ: Today I am mainly focused
on our presentation in Bangkok
but I am very curious about the
mentorship programme. I have no
clue about who my mentor could
be but I am confident that UFI will
make the perfect match. I expect
that my mentor will share his or
her experience and will give me
the gentle nudge I need in order to
become a better professional.
Without giving away any secrets,
what were some of the conclusions
of your research and what was the
most striking/surprising issues/
trends you uncovered?
KT: It wasn’t necessarily anything
surprising it was more exciting
knowing that one issue that I have
been challenging for years now has
the data to supports it. Now my little
soapbox might get the attention for
the much needed change it deserves
Bottom, left:
Katie
Thompson,
Senior
Content
and Project
Manager,
The Design
Group, Global
Exhibitions
Informa
(USA)
What would your single piece of
advice be for delegates attending
the Bangkok Congress and what can
they be doing to engage with young
talent in the industry?
KT: Listen and observe what the
young talent is doing and saying. Let
the younger generation be a part of
the conversations and give them a
chance to sink or swim.
CZ: To involve us. Talent retention
is an issue for the exhibition industry
and there are many things we could
do to improve the situation. The first
thing is to share knowledge with
young employees and to give them
purpose. Education is key to success,
but I would also suggest to have a
talent lab where people in their 20s
and 30s from different backgrounds,
led by a mentor, work together on
specific projects that aim to find new
solutions for the challenges of the
future.
Issue 5 2019
27