The Kaohsiung Protocol is a strategic recovery framework for the global events industry and considers the future of events after hard times during Covid-19 pandemic.
The Kaohsiung Protocol process by International Congress and Convention Association, ICCA, was finalized into a report that aims to guide organizations and companies into clear waters after the Covid-19 crisis. Based on the work done during the autumn of 2020, it was possible to identify micro- and macro-level trends that affect both users and service providers in the event industry. The report also recorded
key actions for different sectors as well as updated indicators. Participating industry players were gathered during the project, and the resulting Kaohsiung Protocol - Strategic Recovery Framework for the Global Events Industry was published in early December 2020. (Website of Business Finland 2021; Ouimet et al. 2020, 6.)
The Covid-19 epidemic has been a catalyst for rapid development in practically every industry. There is no turning back once the old ways of creating business have been transformed by swift innovation. While it is certain that face-to-face activities will reappear in the future, there is plenty of proof that they will be, and operate in a very divergent way. A systematic shift in how clients and suppliers cooperate with one another to give true value to all customers, participants, and stakeholders is required for the industry to prosper again in the future. (Ouimet et al. 2020, 6.)
Throughout the construction of the Kaohsiung Protocol framework's strategies, it was seen that four distinct elements emerged: engagement, technology, risk, and business.
Based on the findings, in the upcoming and seemingly more dynamic future, these four themes together include the most fundamental prospects and concerns across the whole event industry environment. Each of the elements must be treated as pieces of a larger whole by event professionals and their partners. Each strategy adds to the performance of others and supports building the entity. (Ouimet et al. 2020, 4.)
The study argues that it is not a question of face-to-face versus virtuality in the future of the events industry. Rather, it is all about forming networks and optimizing relationships to encourage professional and personal change, which supports socioeconomic advancement - independent of formats or platforms. People's preferences for gathering and growing together are evolving, and as an industry, embracing this change completely is needed. As a result, the Kaohsiung Protocol serves as a beginning point for adjusting to the new realities and benefiting from the changes. (Ouimet et al. 2020, 4.)
As mentioned, the report addresses four key themes that emerged from discussions with various actors. The definition of the themes has been influenced by customers, national and urban convention bureaus, meeting venue representatives and other conference service providers such as congress service offices and transport companies.
The four themes are Enhanced Engagement & Value, Digital Restructure & Hybrid Events, Shared Risk Management, and Innovative Business Models. (Ouimet et al.
2020, 4.)
Throughout the preceding decade of unprecedented expansion, the event industry has lost sight of its true purpose. If the events industry again wishes to frame itself as a channel for providing genuine worth to enterprises and the individuals who attend those enterprises' events, the excellence of the value transferred should again become a primary objective. This in short is what the first theme, Enhanced Engagement &
Value is about. The how, when, where, and which manner events are created become subordinate considerations. This is the most crucial mindset change necessary for the success in the future in the international events industry. Consumer centeredness, described as providing specific demands of consumers by tailoring the value interaction depending on subjective preferences, is a cornerstone for corporate development in the twenty-first century. (Ouimet et al. 2020, 16-17.)
The theme, Enhanced Engagement & Value, also mentions face-to-face events as only one of many ways to involve people to connect. The difficulty for B2B customers going forwards is to plan and coordinate all their events in a comprehensive perspective, such that live and virtual encounters support one another continuously, expanding reach and increasing commercial potential throughout the event ecosystem.
Similarly, the future potential for venues will be determined by how they rethink their identities outside tangible spaces. Several venues are already substantially investing in new infrastructures and communication relating to hybrid-virtual information exchange. (Ouimet et al. 2020, 16-17.)
The theme, Digital Restructure & Hybrid Events, expresses that for many businesses their largest issue as they build long-term strategies, is their culture. All degrees of management throughout industries must incorporate a digital mentality to thrive properly looking forward. The Kaohsiung Protocol project´s results have found this is true especially in the event industry, yet there seems to be significant resistance from the industry. For a long time, the event industry has considered technology as something that will replace face-to-face events. It is true that technology will substitute some in-person connection, particularly after Covid-19, but great possibilities for
event industry´s growth and better yet further achieving quality customer relations are centered on a digital future. (Ouimet et al. 2020, 18-19.)
As a virtual level of content and interaction is added to a face-to-face event via hybrid events, the experience of these events can be quite different. However, when done well, a hybrid or fully virtual event may attract spectators from all over the world and many of them may never have participated in person. Furthermore, the virtual events serve as advertising platforms for upcoming face-to-face events. (Ouimet et al.
2020, 18-19.)
Moving onto the theme Shared Risk Management the Kaohsiung Protocol suggests that contracts will have to represent even further realism and clearer objectives and obligations as events resurface and develop. Corporate boards and managers should place a higher emphasis on risk management than before. Based on the results of the study, customers want more transparency and cooperation in risk sharing in the future.
Therefore, the risk of organizing an event should be communal in some way to all parties so that no one carries the risk alone in a crisis. Event companies, venues and service providers that comprehend and respond to this successfully will prosper.
(Ouimet et al. 2020, 20-21.)
Similarly, much like with terrorism, we are witnessing a patchy response to health and safety issues across nations and companies. There is a need to properly organize, incorporate and communicate solutions as health and safety will most likely continue to be one of the top concerns of participants and consequently potential B2B customers. Again, the providers that do this best will win the race on customer acquisition. (Ouimet et al. 2020, 20-21.)
Finally, the Kaohsiung Protocol discusses a theme Innovative Business Models. Most of the proposals in this theme could be seen directed towards venues, destinations and other service providers that have put together products a customer can customize and purchase themselves. There are, however, some valid points that can be incorporated into a mindset in event management companies as well. Using digital resources to increase client, audience, and stakeholder networks, increasing, and clarifying the offering of add-ons as well as enhancing e-commerce abilities through for example
building an online presence onto a website, with easily customizable package choices could all lead to selling more content and products. (Ouimet et al. 2020, 22-23.) These actions mentioned are mearly scratching the surface on a path to better and more effective business in the events sector.
7 INTERVIEW RESULTS AND FINDINGS
In total ten semi-structured interviews were held, all individually, and data collected through coding transcriptions in a thematic manner as mentioned in chapter three. The interviews gave insights into usually quite hidden behaviors and thinking, visible only to the inside circle of companies. Six people that work closely with organizing events within their companies, as well as three event professionals were interviewed.
Identities of the people as well as companies will not be published as anonymity was requested from multiple interviewees or their higher management. However, to bring up some individual comments and to discuss them further all interviewees have been assigned designated letters from A to J.
To challenge the mentioned delimitations in chapter 2.2 and to provide data and knowledge from various viewpoints, different style companies were chosen to be interviewed. Three of the chosen companies were nationally operating and three have both national and international customers as well as business strategies from both fields. The remaining four companies were of larger scale, globally operating Finnish companies with offices and personnel around the world.
All interviews were similar in length and all participants had the same question content asked in the same order, see Appendix 1. The only separation with the questions was that the interviewees working in companies with events had questions asked from their perspective and the event professionals answered the questions from their perspective.
Together with the questions and their order, in a semi-structured manner free speaking was allowed for collecting deeper, broader information.
The interviews focused on internal events that companies hold and all interviewees had mostly arranged events ranging from 20 to 50 to hundreds of attendees. After the interviews transcriptions were made as planned and the transcriptions coded to achieve an easily understandable summary. In the end, results from the interviews could be summarized into six main themes that were significantly visible and signal B2B customer expectations and demands in the future.
The interview process was, what some could call, a lengthy procedure. In total over seven steps were taken from coming up with questions to the results. The whole interview process started with choosing interviewees as widely as possible. As mentioned, the interviewees represented a wide variety of business fields, offering maximized coverage and leading to more trustworthy results. The second step was to contact interviewees and to agree on interview dates.
During the second step, a third step was under way. It included estimating what subjects the interviews should focus on and what should be discussed. Based on the decisions, interview questions were designed. Opposed to the consideration in chapter 2.3, the questions in the end processed rather a diverse and open viewpoint from both local and multinational perspective than singularly from a local viewpoint. This was made possible by including both local and international companies as interviewees.
The semi-structured interviews were then the fourth step in the process. The fifth step came alive as transcribing the interviews started. During this step the whole of the data was heeded, and first thoughts gathered. The sixth step took things further, with creating preliminary coding to piece things together as themes. Then collecting themes from the preliminary coding, comparing them, and uniting them as larger entirety was done. This could be called the seventh step.
Step eight included opening the found themes and findings into a comprehendible text.
This allows the reader to make their own resolutions and use the results from this thesis to their benefit as they see fit.