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Recognising opportunities!
Ulrike Tondorf is Brand Activation & Engagement Lead at Bayer AG and the new columnist for tw tagungswirtschaft. Photo: Ulrike Tondorf
Ulrike Tondorf is Brand Activation & Engagement Lead at Bayer AG and the new columnist for tw tagungswirtschaft. Photo: Ulrike Tondorf
Kolumne von Ulrike Tondorf, Brand Activation & Engagement Lead bei der Bayer AG
The world of experiential communication is undergoing profound change. Driven by megatrends such as digitalisation, sustainability and demographic change, the industry is facing the challenge of adapting to new framework conditions while at the same time seizing and exploiting the opportunities that present themselves. In my role as Brand Activation & Engagement Lead at Bayer AG, I was able to intensively accompany the developments in the Future Meeting Space innovation network as one of the research partners and am happy to provide a brief insight into the key findings and recommendations for action from last year's research.
The Future Meeting Space innovation network
The innovation network Future Meeting Space was founded in 2015 by the GCB German Convention Bureau and the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering IAO. The central aim of the initiative is to strengthen the role of experiential communication as a driver of innovation and a key instrument of corporate communication. In the spirit of trend research, the network anticipates relevant developments in the event ecosystem and derives conceptual, technological and spatial requirements from them. The innovation network develops topic-specific, differentiated recommendations for action for various stakeholder groups and regularly tests them in the real-life laboratory with practitioners.
The 2024 research phase: Upcoming Opportunities
How can we ensure agile and effective project planning for customised, customer-oriented experience communications in a constantly changing environment? All participating stakeholders in last year's research phase had a vested interest in answering this challenging question. The involvement of all project areas involved is a relevant factor in ensuring a holistic perspective. It was therefore important for us to include the business perspective in this project again this year - together with other companies - in order to ensure this. The resulting research-based outcome takes into account a comprehensive approach that considers all relevant options for all parties involved. Our aim was to recognise emerging trends and their assumptions and implications for all stakeholders in order to identify opportunities at an early stage. To do this, we first identified 13 megatrends as driving forces and assessed their effects on the event ecosystem. These trends were evaluated based on their impact of change on processes, services and products and so-called hot spots were identified.
Die 13 Megatrends
The Future Meeting Space innovation network has identified 13 megatrends: Digitalisation and connectivity, sustainability and neo-ecology, individualisation and self-realisation, health and mindfulness, new work and work-life integration, demographic change, lifelong learning and knowledge transfer, security and data protection, automation and artificial intelligence, mobility and autonomous driving, diversity and gender shift and urbanisation and smart cities.
On this basis, we ultimately identified opportunities in the research project and developed suitable ideas that have the potential to sustainably change the ecosystem of experiential communication.
Megatrends: the driving forces
At this point, I would like to talk about five of the most important megatrends that are already having a significant impact on all of our work.
- Digitalisation and connectivity have fundamentally changed the way we communicate and collaborate. Digital experiential communication brings people together without the cost of travel and accommodation. This encourages broader and inclusive participation and brings more voices and perspectives to discussions. Online formats offer the ability to dynamically adapt content in real time and respond to the audience. Online formats require less logistical effort than physical events. This leaves more resources for visual and content-related experiential communication and interaction with participants. The content can be designed to meet the needs of the participants. They also help to reduce the carbon footprint as travelling is greatly reduced. This is an important aspect at a time when sustainability is becoming increasingly important in corporate strategy. Digital tools enable a comprehensive analysis of participants' behaviour and engagement. Event organisers can collect valuable data to optimise future events and respond better to the needs of their target groups. The future of communication is already being shaped by these digital formats, which promote inclusion, flexibility and innovation.
- Automation and artificial intelligence (AI) increase both efficiency and personalisation in companies. Automated processes enable repetitive tasks to be completed faster and without errors, which saves resources and increases productivity. AI-supported analyses provide anonymised insights into the behaviour of participants. This leads to more targeted customisation in the development of experiences and higher customer satisfaction. AI also supports the creation of content. This optimises the creative process and increases the relevance of communication. Overall, automation and AI promote more efficient planning and data-supported decision-making in terms of the customer experience.
- The megatrends neo-ecology and sustainability have become increasingly important in recent years. More and more people and companies are recognising the urgency of integrating environmentally friendly practices into their everyday lives and business models. In the face of global challenges such as climate change, resource scarcity and biodiversity loss, it is crucial that we rethink the way we live and do business. The earth has limits - and our current lifestyle not only jeopardises future generations, but also the current environment. Integrating environmentally friendly practices into project planning is an essential step towards minimising our ecological footprint. Through targeted measures such as resource conservation, waste management, sustainable mobility, energy efficiency and awareness-raising, each of us can contribute to sharpening sustainable behaviour and involving employees and all stakeholders in the process. Sustainability is not just an option, but a responsibility that we bear towards our planet and future generations.
- Individualisation and self-realisation play a decisive role in tailor-made experience communication, as they take into account the needs and wishes of the participants. At a time when authentic, meaningful experiences are important to us humans, it is essential to create experiences that cater to individual needs. The thesis that personalised content and individualised experiences are essential tools for communicating experiences shows how important it is to address participants directly. Customised experiences create a deeper connection with the audience, which not only increases satisfaction, but also increases the likelihood of reaching participants in the long term. Their feedback is of great importance here, as it enables developers to continuously improve and customise the experiences. This not only promotes self-realisation, but also engagement and loyalty to the brand. Individualisation and self-fulfilment are not just current trends, but fundamental elements in creating sustainable and meaningful experiences. By specifically taking individual needs into account and actively incorporating feedback, we can ensure that our messages and experiences resonate with participants in the long term.
- demographic change is a key challenge that can be positively influenced by diversity and gender shift. The variety of perspectives that arise from different experiences and points of view in our projects promotes innovative solutions to the challenges posed by this change. Organisations that foster diverse teams are often more creative and adaptable and are better able to respond to the changing needs of society. Intergenerational collaboration also creates a valuable exchange of knowledge where each generation can contribute its strengths. Overall, the promotion of diversity and gender shift, coupled with inclusion and cross-generational collaboration, are crucial to successfully overcoming the challenges of demographic change. This will enable us to create a vibrant society that is worth living in for all age groups.
Conclusion: Recognising and exploiting opportunities
The changes in experiential communication offer numerous potentials for market change and therefore opportunities to make it fit for the future. Through the targeted integration of digitalisation, sustainability, individualisation, health and flexibility, we not only have the potential to optimise our experiential communication, but also to map the individual needs of participants in a more targeted way. So let's effectively utilise this potential for success in the changing world of experiential communication.
Ulrike Tondorf
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