The Future of Events - An interview with Stephen Brooks

For anyone who didn’t catch the ‘Future of Events’ Webinar, here is an Interview we did with one of the contributors Stephen Brooks. Stephen Brooks was formerly Chairman of the Mack Brooks Exhibitions Group one of Europe's largest privately-owned exhibition business with 45 trade shows per year in 4 continents in predominantly industrial sectors from rail, to print, to converting to metal manufacturing.
After leading its significant growth, Stephen exited the business in 2019 as Mack Brooks Exhibitions was acquired by RELX.

When do you think we will return to a ‘new normal’ after the Covid Crisis?

It depends on the virus. It’s very unpredictable. It also depends on media coverage and will vary from country to country. I’d expect events to take place again in most places from beginning 2021, sooner in some cases. But it really depends upon the virus. Covid 19 might go away, but things might get worse, and there are lots of possible scenarios in between these two extremes.

What do you expect to see permanently change as a result of the lockdown?

Remote working, Business travel, attending events? Fear of infectious disease will remain. Companies will endeavour to implement and promote infection barrier strategies. Management will be a bit more accepting (and staff feel a bit less guilty) about remote working, including for relatively junior jobs. I think there will be redundancies for staff in functions companies realise they don’t need. Globalisation and internationality has diminished and this will last for a time, especially for physical globalisation (digital is not adversely affected in the same way).

Which type of events will be affected in the short term by this crisis?

All events will be affected in the short-term. The ones that are ‘must-attend’ will do best. But, in the short-term, all events will suffer from reduced attendances. Certainly international attendance will diminish, though this may be compensated for somewhat by more local visitors.

How do you think there will be changes in the format of events? – social distancing, masks, non- contact.

Again, it depends upon the future of the virus but, as is the case in Asia since SARS, basic precautions such as wearIng face masks and using hand gels will be prevalent. Elbow-knocking‘ will become fashionable!

Do you think that the days of traditional ‘trade’ shows are numbered?

Yes, but not because of Covid. I think that ‘traditional’ trade shows were declining anyway before Covid. That’s not to say they’re finished, I just doubt they’re as important to younger people as they are to ‘baby-boomers’. The same is true of department stores and high street shops for example. But I don’t see large-scale traditional events disappearing quickly.

Blockbuster events like DRUPA, International Motor Show, Interpack, Hannover Messe, seem to survive on their own momentum and because of habit, do you think this crisis will break that?

I think old habits die hard. Old people are living and working longer so, although I see these events reducing, I think this will occur gradually over a long period. It’s generational.

Do you think there is a place for Virtual events? Summits? Conferences? Exhibitions?

No. There’s so much opportunity and flexibility digitally, and there are so many applications that already exist, with more to come. It depends upon format of course but I can’t see ‘virtual events’, as such, taking-off in the future any more than in the past.

Why do we attend events? Networking, Learning, knowledge, products? For many different reasons. But, in general, to be with other people. Humans desire to story-tell, to be social, to trade, to be consensual, and to engage in collective activity and structure. Humans crave third-party recognition, they’re motivated by a sense of common-purpose, mass interaction and leadership. They want to meet for the above and for many more reasons too. Rousseau explained it all a long time ago!

If networking is the key – can we do this with the need for exhibitions? Networking of itself isn’t enough. It’s a great reason but not sufficient a justification. It’s not enough of an invitation. People need something stronger to motivate them to get-together. For example, I go to watch football in order to to be with other people, in a sense ‘to network’. But I wouldn't go to a football ground just to network or to meet people.

Has this impacted on the saleable value of events?

Definitely. In future the value of events will be discounted because of the possibility of another unexpected virus shutdown. And it will be more difficult to make the case that events are recession-proof. But, more importantly, PE-backed acquisition of events was a bubble well before Covid hit. The multiples haven’t always made sense from an investor point of view. It‘s had the feel of a pseudo-Ponzi scheme. For twenty years or so, ever-increasing PE-backed valuations were driven by (a) an expanding bubble of accelerating valuations (b) executive bonus schemes (c) low interest rates (d) quantitive easing (e) an irrational commitment to economies-of-scale. Bubbles have to burst at some point!

Will event organisers change their behaviour regarding investment and launching new events?

Yes, I think that there will be a resurgence of new initiatives, maybe from 2022 onwards. The great thing about launching events is the opportunity for adaptation and flexibility. That’s not true for established events.

National Government has acted responsibly on limiting damage to the economy, but have the government recognised the importance of events to the National economies?

In some countries yes, in the UK no.

Will this crisis lead to the demise of some of the weaker events that were struggling?

Yes. There will be a shake-out. Many shows are postponing and rescheduling, rather than cancelling.This is bound to create a crisis of dateline clashes and too many events in too short a space of time. In addition there is likely to be an economic slowdown, severely affecting certain sectors and countries. So, some events will disappear.

What do we need to do to be well placed coming out of the crisis?

Run events where, how and when visitors want them. Don’t take the visitor for granted.
Will the crisis lead to rent holidays or different terms and conditions from venues to organisers to encourage business back? Yes, this is already happening in Asia.

Thank you, Stephen. If you missed the Webinar and would be interested to see the whole session you can watch it here: https://youtu.be/tzq-qwlds70