Research commissioned by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), global exhibition association UFI and the Professional Convention Management Association has tackled the challenge of imagining what the events industry might look like both through the rest of this pandemic and into the future in a post-COVID-19 world. “Reimagining Business Events – Through Covid-19 and Beyond” emphasizes the need for organizations to be adaptable, that situations can change quickly, and that a reliable backup plan in the form of a technology solution like hybrid or virtual events is a good insurance policy.
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“Business events companies must be more open to leverage useful technologies in order to continue creating impactful experiences. ”
What the report concluded
“Moving forward, professional event organizers and planners must reimagine business models: from customer experience and content delivery to operational considerations like revenue streams, manpower, and supplier relationships. Business events companies must be more open to leverage useful technologies in order to continue creating impactful experiences. They must be more agile and adopt a growth outlook not only to survive this period but also to prime themselves for recovery.”
COVD-19 has levelled the playing field
Technology is another key takeaway from the white paper, arguing that Covid-19 has “levelled the playing field” and highlighted key vulnerabilities in the way the event industry has conducted business for so long. Encouragingly this has forced the sector to experiment with things like content structure, delivery channels, technology integration and interactivity.
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““As the COVID-19 situation remains highly dynamic, an agile approach with safety at its core will enable business events to continue even amidst uncertain times” ”
Embracing emerging technology is the key to survival
Looking towards the future the report finds that in the emerging market landscape successful events will be those that are able to successfully blend the emerging technologies sweeping the industry with the community and personal connection that has always made events such a powerful tool.
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