How Fragile We Are

It happened. MWC has been cancelled due to the threat of Coronavirus – after the withdrawal of companies like Sony, Amazon, Ericsson, Cisco, LG, Intel, Sprint, AT&T, and others.

We should applaud these companies and others for prioritizing the health and well-being of their employees, partners, customers, attendees, and the sea of humanity that could be impacted in Barcelona and every place enroute. That said, I can't help to think there is something more going on that will send shockwaves through the event, trade show, exhibition and association industries. The role of MWC for many of these companies is becoming largely irrelevant.

Gentle readers, please know this is not about the fall of the mobile device industry – by all accounts, it's thriving. This is yet another harbinger of things to come for the traditional trade show and exhibition business, regardless of the SIC codes you serve. Terrorist attacks, economic troubles, weather, and pandemics while certainly grave situations unto themselves, become convenient exit strategies for companies looking to build better relationships with their customers, partners, and prospects more effectively and efficiently.

I assure you not one of the companies that withdrew from MWC before its inevitable cancellation will be going out of business anytime soon. Innovation will still be sparked, partnerships will be made, product launches will still happen, countless consumers will still stand in line in the cold rain to purchase the latest mobile device, people will switch from one carrier to the next, and sales will grow.

What's most interesting to me is the strategies and approaches these companies will take as an alternate path to a centralized exhibition like MWC (Sony, let's do lunch). Some will host their own own proprietary events, some will adopt a regional structure, others will rely more on innovative digital and social tactics. The millions of marketing dollars will still be spent, but in other ways.

Am I forecasting the death of an industry? Absolutely not. What I am doing is imploring my dear friends and colleagues in the industry, whether you work for an association, a show producer, an agency, an exhibit house, or even a brand, to get out of your own way. Think and act differently. Adopt outside-in thinking. Together we need to re-invent events. The traditional models are old and stale, lack innovation, and are becoming less relevant. The world is moving forward. I believe we are past the point of an evolution, but require a revolution to reinvigorate the channel. Face-to-face events are not going away, but they are innovating and changing ownership. What will you do to innovate? What changes will you make today?