Create higher value with physical--virtual twin enginess

Celion Su

Informa Markets is the worlds leading platform for virtual and face-to-face exhibitions， holding over 50 B2B and B2C trade events all over the world， covering a wide range of industries such as beauty， life science， maritime， nutrition， agriculture and more. After merging with their biggest competitor in the event space， UBM， the company has become the worlds largest trade event organizer in terms of events business volume. It is also an industry leader in practicing sustainability. Under the new normal of a post COVID-19 era， how will this giant organizer break through challenges and move forward？ Overseas Exhibitions magazine invites Charlie McCurdy， CEO of Informa Markets， to share his views.

Reporter： Please briefly introduce the core business concepts of Informa Markets and its exhibition recovery across the world.

McCurdy： Informa Markets creates platforms for buyers and sellers in a diverse range of specialist markets around the globe， providing opportunities to engage， experience and do business through face-toface exhibitions， targeted digital services and actionable data solutions. We bring the industries we serve to life， unlocking opportunities and helping them to thrive 365 days of the year.

In China， we have seen healthy recovery in our exhibitions since July 2020， with most of our events returning to the show floor with the safety and security of our guests prioritized under the Informa AllSecure Standards. AllSecure is a detailed protocol of health and safety measures developed collaboratively with industry associations， event organizers and venues， along with input from health， government and local authorities in order to provide the highest levels of hygiene and safety at our events.

Around the rest of the world， a return to in-person events has been slower， but we have transitioned quickly and adeptly to digital solutions to connect our communities， which have been instrumental in the recovery of our industry and the industries we serve. Building on many years of experience in digital services， we are now able to offer new ways to participate in our events and broaden reach， through virtual and hybrid experiences. We have expanded our audience and media solutions to help customers reach highly targeted and qualified audiences. And we have grown our databases to offer customers more qualified leads and more connections.

Reporter： The Asia-Pacific region has been growing quickly regarding the exhibition industry. How do you comment on the Chinese exhibition market development in recent years？ What is the role of the China market for Informa Markets？

McCurdy： Our business in the Asia-Pacific region makes up a healthy portion of our total revenue， and we are dedicated to continuing our investment in the region. China in particular has been a strong market for us—our top 10 most successful events in the APAC region are all in the area. We are experiencing a healthy return of live events during 2021， and see enormous growth potential for the region in 2022 and beyond. We have recently promoted Michael Duck， a member of our leadership team in Asia， to EVP， Corporate Development across our entire business， thanks to some of the great partnerships， joint ventures and market evolution we have seen in Asia， and most specifically in China.

Reporter： Informa Markets scored its highest points in Dow Jones Sustainability World Index 2020. Please share the secrets of your long-time sustainability success.

McCurdy： Sustainability is a core guiding value for our business. It is our ambition to be a champion of sustainable practice within the exhibitions industry and the specialist markets we serve. Our parent company has made a commitment to tackle climate change by becoming a carbon neutral business by 2025， and we have a 12-point checklist， known as the Sustainability Fundamentals， which helps us ensure all of our events are being run with a focus on both environmental responsibility and social responsibility.

In January this year， we announced the launch of Sustainable Events： Big Initiative Group （SEBIG）， with the support of exhibitions industry peers， to work together on major sustainability and environmental projects that have positive impacts and support the continued development of the events industry. By working across the whole of the events ecosystem， we believe we can more quickly meet the growing expectations of our audience， and lead meaningful change throughout the industry.

Reporter： According to your observation， what trends are occurring in our industry in recent years？

McCurdy： Prior to COVID， geo-adaptation was a growing trend and becoming increasingly popular among well-established events. I believe as travel and gathering restrictions lift around the world， the exhibition industry will continue that focus， expanding their key events in other regions of the country to support global connections with potential customers and reach their growth targets.

For the past several years， our industry has looked to increase their investments in transformative digital and data products to improve the customer journey—that transformation has clearly been accelerated in the wake of the pandemic. We were well along that journey already， and with our existing digital know-how， rich first party data， and global scale， I believe we are truly at the forefront of a multi-channel approach that leverages the value of both physical and digital formats to create multiple touchpoints for connection and market access throughout the year. Deep insights into supply-side participants and their products， and buy-side participants and their intentions， gives us a competitive advantage， but I believe other organizers are coming with us on that journey， and that will continue to be a key trend moving forward.

Reporter： What factors do you do you think will contribute to the sustainable growth of the global exhibition industry in the following years？ As organizers， how can we re-create the value of exhibitions？

McCurdy： I believe that a focus on digital—both enhancing existing digital solutions and weaving digital opportunities into inperson experiences—will allow us to re-create and enhance the value exhibitions organizers provide. Ive always seen the hybridization of tradeshows as a natural evolution： we are offering our customers the experience they have come to expect in their day-to-day lives. The opportunity to connect with and research products and suppliers online before making their purchasing decision， the option to participate virtually if they are not able to be there in-person， and the opportunity to continue the connection all year-round are going to be critical to our industrys growth moving forward.

On the other hand， the power of face-to-face will always be important—in-person interactions are really not replicable in a virtual format. Qualifying suppliers and potential customers in the B2B world is not a one-click experience—it requires deep understanding and relationship building in most cases. That is the tactile experience you get at an in-person event.

We feel that they are really twin-engines， and it is those unique elements that helped us come to the decision to pursue a multi-platform model moving forward.