Insight: Issue 122 | Wed 08 Feb

Hot off the presses

We’re back, and as ever we’re hitting you up with more current news-y items than the great Trevor McDonald himself. This week we’re armed with a bounteous roster full of juicy goss, tasty tidbits and jaw-dropping exclusives – all new, all fresh, and all straight from the horse’s mouth.

Hitting the headlines this week we’ve got:

UK exhibitions industry bouncing back better than other geographies; Visitors to Manchester Central exceed 92,000 in last quarter; Isla appoints CTO to develop carbon measurement platform TRACE; The struggle for content engagement; and Samsung’s new digital signage champions sustainability.

UK exhibitions industry bouncing back better than other geographies

It looks like the post COVID bounceback has been a strong one for the UK exhibitions sector, as latest UFI research has indicated it’s recovering far quicker than many other countries.

The bad news is, findings show that the industry in the UK is facing major concerns surrounding the national economy and global economic pressure. This differs from the international outlook, which research indicates that issues lie in management structures and digitalisation.

The bi-annual UFI Global Barometer, a survey which this year encompassed 357 different companies from 56 countries and regions, reveals global as well as nation specific findings.

Some of the UK focused figures this year included:

 – Operating profits are better than 2019 for more than half of UK organisers  (compared to 31% globally)
– 90% of companies expect normal levels of operations from June 2023 (only Brazil, Turkey and the US expected better and compared to 80% globally)
– Average revenue for participating UK companies was 104% of 2019 levels (compared to Europe 85% an world 74%)
– Key issue for UK organisers: state of the economy in home market and global economic developments (both 18%), followed by internal management challenges and digitisation (both 15%)

Jump on over to exhibitionnews.uk to get your fix of all the stats.

Visitors to Manchester Central exceed 92,000 in last quarter

Sterling work Manchester Central! Last quarter they achieved a whopping 92,000 strong attendee turnout.

From October 1 – December 31 2022, the venue saw a 77% increase on the previous quarter – and with events like Vivid Experiences’ Christmas Party World bringing in over 26,800 revellers alone – it’s easy to see why.

Delegate spending was also on the up, as it’s reported that the in the three month period the venue has contributed £21.1m to the Manchester economy, going ways to bolster the recovery of the region.

Despite the cost of living crisis, it signals the ongoing recovery of the Manchester venue, and CEO Shaun Hinds is positive it will continue.

“The venue continues to demonstrate impressive growth and recovery, and looking ahead, we are forecasting that we will welcome up to half a million delegates at Manchester Central in 2023. This a figure we perhaps may have doubted earlier in the year at the height of economic turbulence but once again, it confirms the strength of the events sector post-Covid and the intrinsic, important nature of our venue in the Greater Manchester city region and across the North West.”

Isla appoints CTO to develop carbon measurement platform TRACE

A warm welcome to Malcolm Leach – Isla’s first chief technical officer and developer of groundbreaking carbon measurement platform TRACE.

Through real time impact reports, the new tech harvests carbon emissions and waste data from live, hybrid, and digital events.

Fresh from his role as CTO at finance broker Funding Options, the 30 year veteran will provide technical leadership as well as developing the trace team and lead new-data driven product features.

Leach looks forward to working as part of the Isla team:

“Tackling climate change has always been important to me and I’m excited to bring this into my professional life by joining the fantastic team at Isla in their mission to help accelerate the event industry’s transition to a sustainable, net-zero ready future.”

The struggle for content engagement

Struggling to engage your audience? In a world full of content, capturing and maintaining user engagement is becoming increasingly difficult for event planners. With the sheer amount of content available, how do we connect with users in a digital landscape where the attention span is at an estimated average of 8 seconds?

We’ll do a quick rundown for you.

1. Create high quality pieces 

Quality over Quantity – audiences still want well-written and informative items

2. Make it sharable

Audiences are more likely to engage with content that includes social sharing buttons, meta descriptions and image tags

3. Optimise for search

Make it easier for users to find you on Google using keywords, meta tags and titles

4. Use visuals

Visuals are powerful – make info easy to digest by breaking up blocks of text images/videos/infographics

5. Experiment with different formats

We don’t all consume content in the same way – try long form articles, podcasts or videos

6. Add interactions for an immersive experience

Try quizzes, polls and interactive videos – as well as engaging it’s a great way to get feedback

7. Make use of analytics

Tools like Google analytics can help you understand how your audience are engaging through metrics like bounce rate, time on site, and click-through rate

Samsung’s new digital signage champions sustainability

Behold the future of digital signage.

Samsung have unveiled a range of new smart and outdoor LED signage at this year’s ISE that is energy efficient, travel ready, and oh-so sustainable. The unveiling is part of the company’s environmental mission that applies eco-conscious principles to all it’s products.

Samsung’s fresh range of smart signage all come in at 28.5mm – 40% slimmer than previous models. This reduces the number of shipping containers needed by more than 20% for transportation. Other sustainable traits include an automatic screen brightness adjustment feature that helps users manage their power consumption automatically.

Outdoor-wise, Samsung have designed a range of screens specifically for the sports industry and spectacular locations. The XHB series – most recently installed as an electronic scoreboard at the stadium of US baseball team the New York Mets – are half as thick as previous models and have cut power consumption by more than 15%. Not only that – they can produce a peak brightness of peak brightness of 8,000 nits – sunnies on!

Hoon Chung, Samsung Electronics’ executive vice-president of visual display business comments; “We are committed to minimising our environmental impact, as part of our journey toward a more circular economy. We are excited to showcase our vision for smart signage, while unlocking incredible new opportunities for businesses at ISE.”

Well, we’ll stick a fork in it for this week folks.

Catch all your lovely faces next time for some more top drawer events dispatch.