From radio presenter to digital guru: Adam Piperdy advises "now is the best time to invest in soft skills like graphic design, copy writing and video editing. Our industry is beginning to attract this new wave of creative talent".
After hanging up his headphones as a radio presenter, Adam Piperdy launched Unearthed Productions, an AV production company working on large-scale festivals in Singapore. But in the last 12 months, he was able to leverage his broadcast experience in a whole new way.
“During Singapore’s ‘Circuit Breaker’ lockdown, we converted our warehouse into a green screen studio and started running virtual events,” Piperdy explained.
As the pandemic dragged on and the need to connect virtually became ever more important, interest in the studio grew. With demand outweighing supply, Piperdy approached Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre to launch the Hybrid Experience Centre in October 2020, a ‘plug and play’ space for virtual and hybrid meetings. What started as a three-month pop-up has become an enduring partnership, and a second studio was added in January 2021, which has now hosted more than 70 events.
“A lot of people pay lip service to collaboration, but we have to put rivalry aside so we can come together and make some money... And if we can’t get profit, let’s at least get market share.”
Former radio presenter Piperdy collaborated with Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre to launch the Hybrid Experience Centre in October 2020, which has grown to two studios and hosted more than 70 events.Piperdy is also working with PCOs, AR/VR providers, local artists and catering partners to create more immersive experiences.
“A lot of the virtual engagement techniques we used for B2C events are now being employed for B2B — like sending wellness kits to attendees of a virtual medical conference or allowing viewers to share emojis on-screen — because there’s a human behind the screen and we’re all consumers.”
Keen to share his experiences, Piperdy hosted a ‘how to’ webinar in March on hybrid meetings, and recently led discussion around this new MICE gambit during the Asia-Pacific Council for Hotels, Restaurants and Institutional Educators (APacCHRIE) virtual conference.
“Now is the best time to invest in soft skills like graphic design, copy writing and video editing. Our industry is beginning to attract this new wave of creative talent… We’re no longer a bunch of operations and sales people anymore. This will make our industry a little more vibrant in the future.”
Unearthed Productions has a young and dynamic team (the average age of the events team is 30), which helped Piperdy make the swift changes he needed to thrive in the digital world.
“Sharing a vision is important... I see myself as the driver of the bus, but I need the right people onboard,” he said.
“It’s about enabling the team to learn together and instilling an entrepreneurial mindset. Covid-19 has uprooted a lot of traditional thinking. Now is the time to experiment, to collaborate, and be open to new learning opportunities.”