WEBINAR ON EXHIBITION BUSINESS WITH THEME “THE NEW NORMAL FOR EXHIBITION BUSINESS POST C 19”

Key Speakers for the session:

Denis Delforge – CEO, Brussels Expo

John Blaskey, MD, The Exhibiting Agency UK

Balvinder Singh Sawhney, Asst. Sec. General, FICCI

Amit Panjwani, Director, CII

Naveen Seth, Principal Director, PHDCCI

Ashish Jain, Jt. Dep. Dir General, FIEO

Sudeep Sarcar, CEO, India Expo Center And Mart Ltd.

MQ Syed, MD, EXHICON Group

Babar Khan, Exhibition Industry Professional

Moderated by : Sachin Manoccha, Group Editor, Mice Affairs, TheAssociationNews & Trav Buzz.


The web conference was well attended by Exhibition Industry players from India and outside locations too. The panel with the global presence of speakers from the Exhibition domain added great value to the forum with key issues pertaining to Exhibition Business.


Key Takeaways from the session:

A: 

Technology/Going Digital- 

 

ü  TIME TO WORK ON 3 R’s - It’s time to Reboot Redesign and Reinvent

ü  Digital Events are there as support mechanism not as a replacement

ü  Technological Solutions are specific for Conference Business right now. And can’t replace fully exhibition business.

ü  Restrictions on Human contact. Leading to a search for solutions

ü  Technology shall play an important role going forward like Pre-arranged meetings with Exhibitors, restricting visits to exhibitions without appointments.

ü  Exhibitions are experiential with on spot products and display, Touch & Feel factor, establishing buyer and seller relationships and hence helping sales of products.

ü  Hybrid Model which shall be an added value to the current scenario is what future exhibitions shall be aimed at

ü  Disruptions are here for Time Being. As they say, it’s a RESET Button, So Disruption time is to Upgrade and work towards Sustainable Model to Exhibit

ü  Exhibitions in India are mostly driven by MSME. So time calls for implementing the Hybrid Model for MSME Exhibitors. Make the supply chain alive by getting on to the hybrid model.

ü  Start with Domestic Exhibitions in physical space and get International Buyers & Partners through Digital platforms being travel restrictions in place for time being.

ü  Hybrid Model shall also, help to expand the reach of an event bringing together attendees from various locations and limitless.

ü  Digital is termed as the sleeping beauty of Exhibitions.

 

 

 

How to attract Visitors and Exhibitors post Pandemic with Social Distancing Measures in place

 

ü  Going forward, one of the SOP’s to be followed by Organizers will be turning Exhibitors Centric, Work on Visitor Profile, Tailor-Made Solutions for Exhibitors to invite their preferred set and profile of buyers. Business Matching will be the “NEW SOP”.

 

ü  Health & Safety Budgets shall be increased going forward from Venues as well as organizers' perspective. 

 

ü  The time also calls for Involving Government and ask for the more aggressive implementation of Domestic market schemes. Approaching Government for support policies related to virtual platforms or events even cannot be ruled out.

 

ü  Relaxed Payment Policies, Focus on building confidence not profits, shall benefit all in the supply chain.

ü  Collaboration and Cooperation will be the new formula, Venues and Authorities shall play a major role going forward to rebuild the trust and confidence in getting back business on track.

 

ü  Listening to the Market Leaders. Active Listening is the need of the hour to collate worthy information for a new business model.

 

ü  Best time to use digital space to interact with your past clients, exercise relationship building with potential clients too, so interaction must go on for the time being in lockdown period which shall ease and benefit once the business is back to normal. Strengthen your consumer's database.

 

Venues have started working on a mechanism to position themselves as a safe place for exhibitions. Apart from techniques easily available including Heat cameras, quarantine pods, sanitizer stations, tracking tech apps for registered visitors Brussels Expo, a part of Brussels City has started the initiative of using UV-C, which is already in use by Hospitals, Banking sectors at large. There are some apprehensions of UV lights being dangerous but using it with a cylinder housed in a box does not allow exposure of light and hence objective is met. It a trusted method already in use but not the final answer. UV-C can be a game-changer for Indoor Spaces in the near future.

 

 

Managing Business & Demands

ü  3 C’s Theory to the Rescue: Co-locate, Collaborate, & Consolidation. Small Organizers and even show organizers from tier 2- Tier 3 cities may look at collaborating with Large Players or even Association, Federation shows, with similar product lines. This shall, in turn, lead to lesser venue costs, and help in bringing more traffic.

 

ü  The flexibility of payments and contract terms are few of the answers, which can be tried by various players in the industry.

 

ü  Innovation and New Ideas are the need for the hour. Youth Will be Game Changer. Reaching out to Youth can be worth a try, Engaging with them through competitions to get new ideas will be the right methodology in present times.

 

ü  Industry leaders predict by Diwali (Festival of Lights in India Nov. 2020) things shall change and bring back favorable business times for exhibition business.

 

ü  Exhibitions shall play a vital role in reigniting the Economy. Covid will also open doors to live Marketing feeds for many players so be Ready to welcome New Era.

 

ü  It’s also time to rethink and revamp the business model with the use of more nature-centric and organic material in Exhibition Space.

 

ü  Nature Centric products, More circulation of fresh air, Organic material, Holistic & Non-Damaging Methods & techniques may be looked at.

 

 

 

Key Insights of Indian Exhibition Industry

 

Industrial exhibitions are the catalyst for promoting trade and commerce. The Indian exhibition industry organizes over 550 events annually with revenues of over Rs. 23,900 CRS. While direct exhibitor spends on space rental and exhibition services is Rs. 3,250 crs the balance Rs. 20,650 crs arises out of indirect spending by participants on travel, hospitality, and tourism. Government revenues, both GST and Income tax, generated by the exhibition industry through its various components is estimated at Rs. 3,100 crs . Most importantly, the exhibition industry facilitates trade and business transactions for exhibitors worth over Rs. 3 lakh crs, supporting the growth of all industry, besides generating government revenues estimated at around Rs. 19,500 crs. Industrial exhibitions in particular play a vital role in promoting trade, with an exhibitor spend to the business generation multiplier as high as 1:12. This is a large output for industry and significant revenues for the government, which the country cannot forgo. The industry also generates employment of over 120,000 people, engaged by various stakeholders both in the organized and informal sectors, with a large number of them being self-employed. The exhibition industry comprises three major stakeholders – Exhibition venue owners; Exhibition organizers & Service providers; and Exhibitors.