by Mike Morrison
It’s July 2022, and I’m not real sure what that means when it comes to tradeshows, events and experiential marketing industries. I do know, however, that we are definitely in the crawl, walk and run phases in our attempt to come back from the devastation seen in 2020 and most of 2021. In our show interviews of late, we seem to have that symmetry with guests saying the same things like:
- Omnichannel is ever present and will not be going away for some time.
- Companies are struggling with labor and hiring enough workers.
- Inflation is killing “the machine” in all aspects.
- People are busier than ever, despite the issues we are seeing.
- No one knows how long it will last, if it will get better or worse or what.
- If that’s hard to understand, don’t feel alone. We feel the same way!
The most complicated time in the history of live events is happening right now. We’re also dealing with cultural changes as the F2F world seemingly is struggling with an identity crisis. People have done business a certain way for such a long time, but now they are being told that if they keep doing things the same way, they or their business, will die. That is a tough pill to swallow for many. So tough to swallow, that many of them said, “Enough, I quit!”
Not everything is gloom and doom, though. We’ve had many conversations with guests who have stated they are busier now than they were pre-pandemic. They have less staff, less capital, less product and more challenges, but they still are managing to survive, keep the doors open and actually make profit.
One of the things we noticed is the busy show season this summer. It’s traditionally a down time for shows and events, but it’s now seeing shows happen due to COVID-related issues pushing dates out later in the calendar year. Mask mandates removed in most places and the urgency to get back to business is driving this trend. It will be interesting to see how far it goes and how the remainder of the year plays out. I’m sure it being an election year has nothing to do with anything (wink wink).
The podcast is rolling along, approaching our sixth anniversary this summer. It’s hard to believe we have been doing it this long! Why not come onto one of our shows and talk about topics you’d like to talk about? Hit us up now!
