Across UFI’s conferences and gatherings in recent months we have seen the debate about the way how our industry is tackling digitisation.
At our UFI Shanghai Congress, we shared research by Jochen Witt’s jwc, showing that most organisers do not (yet) have revenue targets for their digital business – however, a majority of industry players is expecting to generate between 5 and 10 per cent of its revenues from digital business five years from today.
At the European Conference in Cologne, AMR’s Denzil Rankine stated that, while 80 per cent of industry revenues are based on selling floor space, this segment is expected to grow by only 2 per cent annually on average in the coming years – whereas he foresees an annual growth between 12 and 16 per cent on business related to digital offers and services and event technology. To his observations, very few players in our industry have in place what he calls a ‘data & digital strategy’.
A mixed picture, as there is a clear lack of comparable data on the implementation of digitisation activities in our industry. Or better – there was until now. We have used UFI’s Global Barometer to measure the pulse on specific implementations of activities that are by now commonly understood as elements of digitisation in our industry. So, for the first time, we can now provide everyone with an overview of comparable activities in this field on a global level – and add data to the debate about digitisation.
The UFI results show that a majority of companies around the world have responded to the accelerating process of digitisation in the exhibition industry. The UK, Germany, China, and the US can be identified as the exhibition markets who are currently most active in the digital transformation process. More specifically:
• Two out of three survey participants reported that they have added digital services/products (like apps, digital advertising, digital signage) around existing exhibitions. This is the norm already in Germany (100 per cent of respondents), and also widely established in Brazil (82 per cent) as well as in the US, Russia, and Thailand (73 per cent each).
• In addition, the companies in the exhibition industry are digitising themselves as well: Globally, 55 per cent stated that they have changed internal processes and workflows in our company into digital. The most advanced exhibition markets here are Thailand (73 per cent), China (71 per cent), and Germany (69 per cent)
• One in four companies participating in the survey reports that they have by now developed a digital transformation strategy for the whole company, with Mexico (58 per cent) and the U.S. (45 per cent) leading
• One in five companies has created a designated function (like a chief digital officer) in the upper/top management – led here by China (33 per cent) and Germany (31 per cent)
• Finally, also one in five survey participants stated that they have launched digital products not directly related to existing exhibitions – a development especially visible in the U.K. (50 per cent) and the US (36 per cent)
We hope this research will help in your respective discussions and strategic decision around digitisation. And, of course, we will not just stop here. UFI will focus more on this in the future, and has set up a Digital Innovation Committee to connect those in our industry who want to shape and lead this discussion jointly. The committee is chaired by Matthias ‘Tesi’ Baur, who also wrote on the issue in the last edition of EW. UFI members interested in joining the committee, just get in touch.
In closing, another piece of data that UFI is proud to report: In this issue of EW, you will find a lot about the success of this year’s Global Exhibitions Day. As an industry, we stood jointly on 7 June, and raised awareness. On Twitter alone, and on the day itself, this activity reached 3.1 million people all around the world.
