After having suffered an unprecedented and unexpected disruption from Covid-19, the question arises - what does the future behold for the Event industry and how can you aim to reposition your business and your career for what lies ahead? At OK Roger, we aim to share some perspectives as food for thought in a series of articles, beginning with this one.
Solitary Confinement is considered an extreme form of imprisonment with detrimental psychological effects. While the impact of social distancing may not be as severe as jail, to the extroverted professionals in the event industry, it is downright torture. The industry thrives on staying connected.
Making social connections is a fundamental human need.
“People who feel more connected to others have lower levels of anxiety and depression...” - as per Dr. Emma Seppala, quoted Jane Brody in a NYT Personal Health article
Social media outlets like Facebook, Instagram and Zoom may help alleviate the current pain associated with isolation; they will never replace the need for in-person communication. The demand to get out, travel and network for reasons both personal and business, has steadily grown across all parts of society. This growth shall surely resume - as mankind slowly wins the early battles and eventually the war against the Corona virus.
While this pent-up demand to socialize continues to bottle up, there is also a substantial hesitation to start gathering in groups again. The event industry and event planners must bridge any gap between safety and the desire to gather. Whether it’s for business conventions, concerts, trade shows or weddings, everyone involved must first recognize:
"There will be a new normal for the event industry" - Julius Solaris, who runs the popular Event Manager Blog
Real world circumstances will always create new trends in the event industry and there is no doubt Covid-19 has made its impact. As unfortunate as Covid-19 is, many argue (McKinsey, Accenture) that it has accelerated many of the trends that were already in motion. As industry leaders, staying informed and proactive to any situation is a fundamental key to success. Change will always create opportunity, if you are prepared to evolve.
"It's not the most intellectual of the species that survives; it is not the strongest that survives; but the species that survives is the one that is able best to adapt and adjust to the changing environment in which it finds itself" - Darwin’s Origin of Species
While we are not in the business of strategy consulting, we are experts at connecting and assisting professionals with information and options. This allows our clients to be better equipped to make decisions specific for the needs of their business.
We aim to generate articles directly related to the event industry, offering perspective on current concepts and trends from other event industry leaders. We trust the topics presented will challenge out-of-date practices and help generate new standards. OK Roger values past experience while venturing into the new future; and we hope our articles will inspire innovation.
"Our goal is to provide inspired ideas & resources, highly focused on helping event industry professionals evolve" - team OK Roger
Some example topics that we aim to dive deeper into
We recognize the deep challenges faced by the event industry and the broader hospitality sector. We are committed to helping by imagining & creating a better future - a future which promises to bring people together in ways that wasn't thinkable before. Our species has always risen up from every calamity, because we learn & adapt.
We thank you for accompanying us on this journey and look forward to having a discourse, so we can together generate new ideas, as well as refine existing ones.
