“So my message is in whichever realm, be it going into space or going into the deep sea, you have to balance the yin and yang of caution and boldness, risk aversion and risk taking, fear and fearlessness. No great accomplishment takes place, whether it be a movie or a deep ocean expedition, or a space mission, without a kind of dynamic equipoise between the two. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.” — James Cameron
With all ‘Plan B’ Covid restrictions across England being scrapped from 27 January 2022 and a general easing of the rules on event capacities, passes and social distancing across Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the pandemic was over and we can all get back to putting on maskless in-person events.
However, we only need to look at IMEX Frankfurt’s decision to delay its April outing by another five weeks, Portugal now requiring a negative Covid-19 test for entry into business events, Russia reporting record Omicron cases, plus Italy reinstating its outdoor mask mandate, to realise that the European events scene may not be out of the woods just yet.
Speaking to European meetings and event organisers recently, a colleague was struck by how many used the word ‘hope’ to describe their future plans. One planner with a congress scheduled for May told her, “hopefully we’ll be fine by then. We just hope another variant doesn’t emerge.”
‘Hope is not a strategy’ is an adage that has long been used in military circles, in relation to national security, although who uttered it first remains unknown. My favourite use of the phrase comes from Titanic director, James Cameron in his keynote address to NASA in 2004 (as quoted above).
It particularly resonates today because even if France’s Prime Minister, Jean Castex follows Boris Johnson’s lead and loosens Covid restrictions from February, planning meetings, incentives conferences and exhibitions (MICE) anywhere in Europe will still come with a high degree of risk, which will need to be factored in.
Sponsors, attendees and exhibitors will either be risk-averse or risk-takers, fearful or fearless, cautious or bold. And as we move into this ‘post pandemic’ climate we need to accommodate and balance both this ying and yang, in order for events to succeed.
As planners, your ‘great accomplishment’ may well be to forge ahead with MICE plans in the face of potential new variants and an endemic virus, likely to remain ever-present in the population like the flu or chickenpox. But just as the Consumer Technology Association discovered when forced to shorten this year’s CES show in Las Vegas, if big-name sponsors and exhibitors withdraw their in-person participation, not having a ‘Plan B’ will leave you floundering.
Contingency event planning requires both a hybrid and a ‘worse-case’ online-only strategy, complete with allocated budget, agile technology partner, flexible content and programme design, plus a support team who can step-up whatever the scenario.
You’ll require content formats that will engage and stimulate audiences, whether they’re in the physical room or not. So consider what should be live, pre-recorded and on-demand, and how formats should be presented (panel discussions, video, audio, presentations etc).
If in-person audience numbers decline and virtual registrants soar, you’ll need on-stage presenters able to engage both audiences, a venue willing to adapt, and potentially an Emcee in the virtual space to act as studio anchor, ready to curate a different viewer experience.
The question of choosing between in-person or online is no longer valid. Planners need to plan for both, with the ability to scale-up or scale-down the online or in-person elements accordingly.
The global pandemic has proven that hope is most definitely not a strategy. For event planners, hybrid flexibility is now the only contingency strategy that will truly protect against future disruption.
