Ian Cummings, CWT Meetings & Events: long-standing preferred supplier agreements bring financial security to the customers. Credit: CWT Meetings & Events
ASIA - At CWT Meetings & Events, clients have sought the group's advice on many fronts since the pandemic started. From advising customers on postponements, cancellations to virtual meetings, it has been striving to support the best interests of customers and help them with their strategic events.
The focus has been to make the right decisions for teams and customers that vary by geography, client type, industry sector and potential return strategies.
Mr Ian Cummings, VP of Commercial, CWT Meetings & Events, said: "A lot will be different for meetings and events post COVID-19. It is likely group sizes will be much smaller, more local events, less travel, shorter lengths of meetings and hopefully reaching wider audiences via digital. Hybrid and virtual meetings may form a more significant part of a company's meetings and events strategy."
"There may well be health screenings before events and facilities' hygiene process may come under strict scrutiny within our industry.
"For sure, the slowest return will be seen in the mass gathering events involving sports, music, or events running into the thousands of attendees.
"Last but not least - clients could begin to focus much more around ROI of an event, or an ongoing programme of meetings & events. Once CWT M&E prove strong ROI, that will build internal confidence for customers to invest more in events programmes."
Mr Cummings said CWT Meetings and Events is well versed in delivering end-to-end meetings and events globally as it can adapt to customer requirements to scale down or up as conditions change. This helps with speed of delivery and keeping it consistent and simple.
Having long standing preferred supplier agreements in place bring financial security to the customers, whilst managing risk by partnering with International SOS helps to increase security for attendees.
He has advised his customers to pivot to virtual and hybrid events. CWT M&E can support them with virtual events in the short term, and then combine their meetings and events with hybrid and live streaming to reach wider audiences with cost effective solutions in the mid and longer term.
"We are making sure digital technology is used to the full as part of our customers' M&E strategy. There is still much more that can be done with digital in the M&E space.
Industries such as home delivery and logistics are less impacted by the conditions imposed around the world due to COVID-19 and are witnessing a huge increase in demand. Many cyber security, tech and pharma businesses are doing well.
"As businesses come out of this period of lockdown, those thriving businesses will also have demand to be fulfilled for won incentives, for example channel partners. We can already begin to consider some businesses that may be planning for 2021," said Mr Cummings.