Why have events become a new hotbed of innovation?

Events and entrepreneurship are two words increasingly going hand in hand, with the MICE industry keen to demonstrate the extent to which it is at the cutting-edge of innovation, technology and thought leadership.

Just last month, Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre (MCEC) forged a partnership with Startup Victoria, aimed at connecting the local startup community, experts and entrepreneurs with the events industry, to explore opportunities.

This has thus far produced a ‘Health & Wellbeing Pitch Night’, where the venue hosted presentations from startups that are improving health and wellbeing in innovative ways. For Stephanie Martin, head of sales at MCEC, and manager of the venue’s innovation team, the tie-up creates an opportunity for the venue to strengthen its knowledge in the innovation space.

“Our aim is to leverage this relationship and the expertise it provides to inform how we can innovate and ideate around new offerings and experiences that benefit our customers,” says Martin. “In turn, we offer Startup Victoria access to our venue, people, community partners, and the influence and expertise of ambassadors and thought leaders.”

Martin adds that MCEC has an opportunity to leave a positive legacy through the events it runs and it can achieve this through ventures like partnerships.

“When people gather, they exchange ideas and enter dialogues that can help to solve problems," she adds. "Events can create an environment that fosters collaboration and innovation to tackle the world’s problems, great and small.”

First-mover advantage

For Kai Hattendorf, managing director and CEO of UFI, the global association of the exhibition industry, exhibition and event organisers build and operate the meeting places and the market places for each and every industry and community. By serving multiple industries, he says the industry is often the first to spot the rise of new cross-industrial trends and topics.

“We can create events that focus specifically on these issues, and help them grow into their own industries,” he says. “It is a never-ending cycle of innovation. It is key for every event to evolve with the needs and expectations of the community or industry that the event serves.”

Hattendorf says UFI fosters this thinking through its ‘Next Generation Leadership’ grant programme, which selects five rising leaders from the industry from all over the world.

“We set them off on an eight-month mission to evolve our industry and this year the mission is to write a new ‘blueprint’ on how to operate events that help industries evolve, help businesses to trade and learn, and help every participant to benefit personally from being there,” he says.

Technology transfer

Tapping into cutting-edge technology is another reason for companies in the events sector to forge partnerships, as such collaboration can often be more cost-effective than building something in-house. Meanwhile, startups also gain access to the experience and customer base of established companies, allowing them to rapidly scale their products and businesses.

“This enables us to be more agile in responding to changing market conditions and adapting to new trends,” says Rachel Lunderborg, senior director, global process & technology at CWT Meetings & Events.

“Given the incredibly diverse array of meetings and events - from corporate employee gatherings, to industry trade shows and consumer-facing product launches, our industry reaches an extremely broad audience. This presents a tremendous opportunity to innovate and experiment with new and emerging technologies."

Given the growing focus on making events more sustainable, CWT says it is collaborating with a leading green tech startup to introduce some innovative solutions in this area.

Phil Boyle, SVP, managing director at Jack Morton Asia says brands are particularly eager to stay ahead of the innovation curve in the region, making events a prime hotbed for new ideas and concepts to be shared and discussed.

“It remains imperative for the events industry to also forge partnerships with entrepreneurs and tap into their regional startup sector, as startups are more willing to experiment with disruptive and impactful concepts for the greater innovation community in Asia,” says Boyle.

He adds that brands are also driving more business objectives with overarching event analytics to measure end-to-end event impact, which includes capturing guest sentiment and sales conversions, as well as sustainability reporting.

“The use of innovative technology such as AI, virtual and augmented reality, mobile event apps, and event management software are becoming increasingly popular in the Asian events industry,” he says.

“Consumers want technology that can not only enhance their experience and engagement, but which also individualises their preferences, and delights them with interactive displays, immersive installations and digital engagement tools that all lead to an extended takeaway.”