Marco joined a Virtual Lunch in the Exhibit Marketers Café with Marlys Arnold, an American trade show specialist and Founder of the Exhibit Marketers Academy, to discuss how to help the industry go back on track and share interesting perspectives and insights on how things are being handled both in Europe and the US.
We are about to restart, but what is still missing?
It has been a while since somebody started addressing the ‘reopening of events’, but now is pretty much on everyone’s mouth. In Europe, many countries (including France, Germany and Spain) officially confirmed that trade shows will be allowed to take place again, most of them between the end of August and September.
Despite the good news, almost none of the European countries had yet put in place clear guidelines and regulations. Most of the governments (Italy included) that stressed the need to reignite economy, travel and all the activities stopped due to Covid-19, have been vague or unclear about the restrictions (physical distancing, numbered tickets, limited entry, limited public transportation, etc.) regarding the restart.
Everybody on its own
With no hint from the European Union’s institutions, every country acted on its own and applied laws and regulations they thought were the best to control the virus spreading.
For instance, in Germany and France the reopening of big trade shows is subject to a new assessment of the epidemic, for fear of a second outbreak.
The situation in the US, as Marlys informed, is no better; every single state is acting on its own due to a complete lack of direction from the Federal Government.
Trade Shows reopening: profitable, yet abandoned
Even if Europe is not the only region affected by a generalized lack of clarity and conditions about the reopening, it should not make us happy.
Trade Shows and events generate more than three million jobs and a total estimated revenue of 303 billion dollars. These are important numbers, yet governments and politicians seem to underestimate the importance of the industry. This situation calls out for vision, long-term policies and special needs still unanswered to-date.
Looking for guidelines
Because of what’s happening, exhibitors and attendees are stuck on an unpleasant limbo. Show organizers have to make the call: cancel, or be cancelled? Either it is too soon and they do not want to cancel an event if it’s not necessary, or it is too late and they are carried away to the point – as it happened in the US – where exhibitors have already spent time and money to prepare for the show, but had more than one event cancelled on the very same opening day, right when they were setting up their booth.
What can we do about it?
UFI, the leading global Association of the exhibition industry, has been providing clear and precise guidelines about what markets will be allowed to reopen and the events scheduled in the future. Similarly to what other international and local industry associations have been doing, they are also trying to put pressure on governments in order to produce a comprehensive framework into which organizers, exhibitors and visitors can safely move.
https://www.ufi.org/industry-resources/coronavirus/
Our call in the crisis
If something positive can be learned from this uncertain and shaky situation, it is the contribution that industry professionals, agencies and trade marketing experts can potentially bring.
Where SMEs and also micro-companies struggle to make sense of confusing regulations, to find proper trade shows programs and are getting overwhelmed as a result, it is professionals’ true call and duty to help and guide them towards a rewarding, satisfactory reopening.
Click here to watch the whole Virtual Lunch episode:
https://youtu.be/IWWGemOXvuc
