AIPC CEO Sven Bossu shares some key takeaways from the association’s recent sales and marketing summit
We had our association Sales and Marketing Summit in Frankfurt, just before IMEX, and what a joy it was. Over 50 participants, from 42 organisations and 25 countries reconnected, shared experiences from the last two years and, most importantly, discussed the opportunities and challenges lying ahead. Here’s my overview of the key take-aways.
Back in business, but lack of staff
Everybody in the room agreed that we went from 0 to 100 when it comes to organised events. The speed of recovery is truly breathtaking and there is a real struggle throughout the full value chain to deliver the service levels required.
The key element is the shortage of staff. As one convention centre CEO put it: “the staff simply disappeared.” Figures from the US labour office indicated that in January alone, 4.3m people quit their jobs, with the biggest fall-out in the leisure and hospitality area.
The silver lining however is that people are looking for jobs with purpose, challenges and learning opportunities – and there is no sector better placed than the events industry to offer that.
Sustainability remains high on the agenda
Sustainability remains high on the agenda of policy makers and investors. Discussions at the World Economic Forum in Davos showed that sustainability – especially the ecological element – has become business.
When it comes to the event industry, global players like Informa (their head of sustainability, Ben Wielgus, was one of our speakers) are rolling out a clear set of requirements of what they expect convention centres to deliver when it comes to sustainability.
However, the momentum created by the pledge made at COP26 – to make organised events carbon neutral by 2050 – already pushed convention centres across the globe to create clear roadmaps, with some of them being far more ambitious.
Technology: where to invest
Eighty percent of the AIPC members say they will continue to make considerable investments in technology. The recent ABBA concerts in London – 400,000 tickets sold to see a performance by avatars – demonstrates the potential, also from a commercial point of view.
The key question is: what to invest in? The post-Covid consolidation is still ongoing and the technology offered continues to evolve at warp speed. And then there is the Metaverse: while nobody actually knows what it is, there seems to be a consensus it will have an impact on the event industry, especially when it concerns professional education.
At the same time, there is also an increasing concern about cyber security. Up to 64% of global leaders at the World Economic Forum expected they will experience a disruptive event within the next year, and there is no reason to think that convention centres will not be impacted.
That is why AIPC recently organised a webinar on the topic and will have it included in the agenda of the Annual Conference (3-6 July, Budapest).
In a nutshell
The great news is obviously that organised events are thriving again and that people are eager to attend face-to-face meetings. At the same time, there is uncertainty and there is the obvious challenge of staff shortages.
But if the past two years have showed one thing, it is that our industry is resilient and agile and will find ways to deliver the service excellence our customers expect.
