Introduction： Headquatered in Cologne， jwc is the globally leading management consulting firm for the trade fair and conference business. It provides consulting services in the areas of strategy and business development， pricing of trade fair services， mergers， and acquisitions， planning and construction of venues， as well as business intelligence. jwcs clients come from Europe， Asia， Middle East and North America.

Recently， the reporter interviewed Jochen Witt， President and CEO of jwc GmbH， former President& CEO of Koelnmesse and President of UFI， to look into the future of our industry through an experts eyes.

Content and matchmaking should be at the heart of digital offerings

Digitalization， or more specifically， the emerging of online exhibitions， is by far most discussed phenomenon in the exhibition industry in the New Normal. Witt once compares online exhibitions as ‘virtual meals. He explains， an exhibition is per definition an event where people meet physically， where haptic and sensorics， touch， smell and feel etc. are key characteristics. No online event can deliver this proposition； the term “online exhibition” is， therefore misleading， it is an oxymoron and can indeed be compared to a virtual meal.

“I dont believe that ‘online exhibitions will thrive after the pandemic， unless the online event becomes part of an omnichannel business model， a model which we have explained in extensive detail in our latest industry review.” He says.

Meanwhile， Witt tells the reporter that since many years， jwc has placed a lot of emphasis on digitalization. He firmly believes in certain principles when it comes to digitalization. First， digital offerings should go beyond the physical event and run 24/7. Second， content and matchmaking should be at the heart of digital offerings and need to be tailored to the specific needs of the stakeholders. Thirdly， professional data management and AI must support physical and digital activities. Exceptions may apply but for the most cases these three principles will be valid.

Huge market development drives Asia exhibition market growth

In the past years， the Asia exhibition industry has been booming. Remarking on this， Witt comments that the trade fair business traditionally follows market developments. “With the main growth markets shifting east， the trade fair business will follow.” He forecasts that China will continue to be the main growth driver of the global exhibition industry.

“The Chinese exhibition market has outperformed all other relevant exhibition markets globally over the last ten years and we believe that this trend will continue.” He points out that provided that the pandemic is kept under control， the Chinese exhibition market will recover quickly from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Some shows that took place in 2021 already recorded higher attendance than their pre-crisis editions but saw no international participation. The effect on show size is minimal as many international companies participate in shows through their Chinese sales offices or subsidiaries. In addition， Chinas growing domestic market is helping to drive event participation and compensate for reductions in international participation. Witt also adds that the venue development in China will contribute to this trend： currently 35 venues with an overall capacity of 3.3 million m2 exhibition space are under construction and 12 more with a total capacity of 1.5 million m2 are planned.

“Our cooperation with Chinese exhibition companies has been excellent so far.” Witt says gladly. In the area of venue planning， jwc developed the Master Plan for the largest venue globally， Shenzhen World， and supported management in organization， pre-opening， marketing and operations， all over a period of 6 years .

Deep understanding of the customers is important

According to Witt， digitalization， data management and AI will be key focus areas for both organizers and venues alike.

He particularly observes that these are foremost strategic topics and to a lesser extent technical ones. To prepare for the successful implementation of these subject matters， the industry needs to gain a deep understanding of the customer and stakeholder needs in the respective business segment it serves.

One of the main hurdles to overcome is the level of investments required to realize these topics. Witt anticipates a growing divergence between innovation-driven companies who are investing significant amounts to harness the huge potential that digital offers and companies who will be trying to focus their resources on getting their core business， i.e.， physical events， back on track.

Witt says that another important aspect is the question， how investments into digital can create an appropriate return. The potential options to monetize digital offerings are vast and depend on the show sector， show character and region. He believes that a “one size fits all” model will not provide the best solution. Instead， applying a platform model with possibilities for individual adaptations is likely a cost-efficient way forward.“The most important step is to best identify which kind of offerings would be valued by different customer groups， and their respective willingness to pay.” Thereby， different monetization options do not exclude one another， but can be used in conjunction.

Restore trust in industry stability

Concerning the challenges in retaining and attracting talents in the exhibition industry after the pandemic， Witt observes that during the pandemic， the exhibition industry， which has always been highly stable and secure， has proved to be very volatile， resulting in lay offs and furlough schemes in many countries and companies. It will take time to restore trust into the stability of the business； at the same time， digitalization， data management and AI require a workforce transformation to more ITsavvy employees and a new consistent approach to pricing， sales and marketing. “This will lead to changes in processes， organization and culture， all in all significant challenges for many companies in our industry.” He concludes.