Media And The Virus: The Show Is Gone

Michael Hedges December 23, 2020 Follow on Twitter

As it rapidly spread throughout the world last spring, the coronavirus - now referred to as COVID-19 - wreaked havoc on events. Conferences and trade shows were postponed or cancelled. These events always offer keynote speeches and panel discussions with leading executives plus new goodies on display. On the side, probably more important to attendees, are deals, hobnobbing, more deals, dinners, parties, flirting and more deals, not to forget passing out CVs. All of a sudden, news reporters and editors found far fewer choice observation posts in key industries, including their own.

Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain was cancelled by organizers GSMA, Groupe Speciale Mobile Association, in mid-February. The annual gathering of the mobile technology world had been scheduled for the last week in February. The MWC has been the center for major product announcements in the world’s most watched industry. The 2019 WMC attracted nearly 110,000 visitors from nearly every country, a regular springtime economic boost for hospitable Barcelona.

Big exhibitors and participants had been withdrawing since the first of the month, citing health concerns. Reuters (February 13) called it a “mass exodus.” Facebook cancelled, meaning, as all trade reporters and editors know, there would be no news. In September GSMA pushed the 2021 MWC to the end of June next year, still in Barcelona.

Literally thousands of exhibitions, trade shows and conferences were cancelled in early 2020, though some were reset for 2021 or beyond. Not a few adopted virtual venues. These ranged from modest art shows and book fairs to automobile exhibitions and academic presentations. All of this was on top of disrupted sporting and cultural events.

For event and conference organizers - itself a large industry - spring (in the northern hemisphere) is the traditional busy season. All of a sudden travel restrictions, lockdowns and supply chain disruptions changed their business. Instead of renting halls, they are contracting cloud service providers.

Media-related shows and conferences were widely cancelled, postponed or migrated to “hybrid” formats. Big event organizer Reed Midem cancelled TV conference and exhibition MIP TV a month before it was due to be held in Cannes, France at the end of March. “In the current context, many of our clients have expressed concerns about travelling at this time,” said chief executive Paul Zilk, quoted by Broadband TV News (March 4).” Rescheduling MIP TV in the coming months is not feasible, so the most appropriate course of action is to cancel MIP TV for 2020.”

The related MIPCOM show, scheduled for October, became “a digital-only edition,” reported Variety (September 10). “It’s likely that ever-changing travel restrictions and mandatory quarantine periods for travellers in a number of countries have made staging the physical event in Cannes extremely challenging.” Earlier, Reed Midem cancelled the Midem music industry show set for June and offered some events virtually.

The World Association of News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) cancelled its annual World News Media Congress set for September in Zaragoza, Spain. The 2021 show in Taipei, Taiwan remains on the schedule and organizers expect to bring the big Congress back to Zaragoza in 2022. Regional Summits in Düsseldorf, Germany and Sydney, Australia were cancelled.

An other casualty was the annual US National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Las Vegas show scheduled April. The NAB show will return in October 2021. “We have witnessed growing concern and uncertainty over what the next six months will bring,” said NAB president Gordon Smith in a statement, quoted by Deadline (September 9). “Enough that there appears to be a good deal of reluctance around participating in large events in the first half of next year.” The regional NAB Show New York in conjunction with the Audio Engineering Society (AES) became a virtual event as the scheduled venue - the Javits Center - was briefly a pop-up field hospital for coronavirus patients. The NAB/RAB Radio Show planned for September was also scrapped for a digital event.

In the advertising world, Cannes Lions and Advertising Week Europe were moved to different years. Social Media Week London was also cancelled. The Austin, Texas media and music festival SXSW, popular with tech figures, was not held. The RadioDays Europe conference and expo scheduled for March in Lisbon, Portugal was first rescheduled for December then, again, to May 2021.

The short-term prognoses for conferences and trade shows is rather dim. In-person events will continue to disappear, COVID-19 only one reason. Executives - and their accountants - quite like shrinking that line on the spreadsheets. Virtual conferences without the heavy weight of airplane tickets, hotel charges and those fun dinners are far more cost efficient. Of course, shedding employees is even better.

It is possible, when economics turn happier, trade shows will come roaring back. It’s all about sales. Top executives certainly recognize the marketing and branding benefits of person-to-person contact. Video conferences are not equal and, not a minor point, employees being social beings like rubbing shoulders. It’s the same reason the office will not disappear.

In the longer view, the entire process will be reordered. Professional events and trade shows, eventually, will be reinvented for smaller, highly targeted audiences with shorter attention spans. The Tik-Tok show is coming, lunch from UberEats.

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