Hyve Group plc today announces a trading update for the year ending 30 September 2021, prior to entering its close period ahead of its preliminary results announcement.
 
Trading
The Group delivered a strong trading performance in the fourth quarter of 2021, contributing to full year revenues of c. £55m. This was underpinned by the quality of the Group’s portfolio and return of events in the UK and US, which were possible for the first time since February 2020 thanks to the relaxing of COVID-19 restrictions. During the quarter the Group ran 11 shows in total across the UK, US, Turkey, Ukraine and Russia.
 
The Western events performed better-than-expected, driven by the significant pent-up demand for in-person events, coupled with strong customer relationships maintained throughout the pandemic. As expected, the events were at a smaller scale than their pre-pandemic levels as a direct result of the international travel restrictions that remain in place.
 
While the return of events in the UK and US is a great step towards resuming a full schedule of events globally, there remain COVID-19 associated disruptions, as evidenced by the recent reintroduction of restrictions in Shanghai. This resulted in two of the Group’s Chinese events that were scheduled to run in August having to be postponed.
 
There are three encouraging trends emerging from those events which have run since markets have reopened. Firstly, many of the Group’s events have seen an increase in like-for-like customer spend, with customers who attended both 2019 and 2021 events spending comparatively more, acknowledging the unique potential offered by market leading in-person events to rebuild networking and trading post-pandemic. Secondly, there is a direct correlation between event performance and the amount of time that has passed since restrictions have lifted, i.e. events continue to recover as markets and communities normalise. Thirdly, the Group is seeing an increase in visitor density, meaning the number of visitors per exhibitor is higher post-pandemic and therefore delivering increased value to exhibitors.
 
Strong performance achieved by returning UK and US events
During the quarter the Group ran its first Groceryshop event since acquiring the Shoptalk and Groceryshop businesses in December 2019. Groceryshop took place in September in Las Vegas and performed in line with expectations. The event brought together the e-commerce retail community, facilitating in-person networking and face-to-face interaction in a COVID-19 safe environment.
 
Also in September, the Group ran its first in-person events in the UK since the outbreak of the pandemic, including Autumn Fair. The event received extremely positive feedback from its customer community, which benefited from the pent-up demand to trade, network and learn.
 
Improved balance sheet and net debt better than expectations
The Group continues to maintain its strong liquidity position and has significant cash headroom. Net debt at the period end was £80m, an improved position compared to that expected under the scenarios previously presented. This was due in part to timing differences, strong cash collections for upcoming events, continued cost control and cash management and £87m of insurance proceeds secured since the start of the pandemic.
 
Omnichannel rollout continues
The Group continues to develop and refine its omnichannel strategy. Shoptalk Fall Meetup is scheduled to run in October ahead of the Group’s first Shoptalk in-person event in March 2022. The Group also ran a successful trial of its facilitated meetings programme in September, introducing Curated Meetings at Autumn Fair. Work is now underway to integrate a full facilitated meetings programme at Bett in January 2022 and Spring Fair in February 2022.
 
Mark Shashoua, CEO of Hyve Group plc said:
Q4 has been a very positive step on the road to recovery, with events returning for the first time in the UK and US and exhibitors at many of our events increasing their spend compared to pre-pandemic levels. Groceryshop was run for the first time since its acquisition which was a landmark moment, while Autumn Fair achieved positive customer feedback.
 
We have delivered strong performances wherever we have been able to hold shows. Our omnichannel rollout continues at pace with the successful trial of our Curated Meetings programme at Autumn Fair, and we look forward to our next fully online networking event, Shoptalk Fall Meetup, taking place in October.
 
The achievements of this quarter are the culmination of the tireless efforts made throughout the pandemic by our teams across Hyve. As we look ahead, we are in a much stronger financial and operational position and are excited to continue to connect vibrant industry communities, through our unmissable in-person events, online platforms and productive facilitated meeting programmes.
 

Hyve Group plc today announces a trading update for the three-month period from 1 April to 30 June 2021 (“Q3”).
 

Trading

Q3 has been the Group’s busiest trading quarter since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Performance in the period was in line with management expectations and in line with the revised scenario detailed at the Group’s interim results announcement in May.
 
18 in-person events ran during Q3, bringing the total number for the year to date to 28. The increased number of events in Q3 reflects the continued momentum across the Group’s Eastern markets, primarily Russia, China, Turkey and Ukraine. The Group also successfully ran its first Top 10 event since the COVID-19 outbreak, MosBuild, and whilst impacted by international travel restrictions, it achieved a like-for-like revenue increase of 15% from customers who were able to attend in both FY19 and FY21.
 
In May the Group ran Shoptalk Meetup for Women, its second digital event using the Retail Meetup platform, acquired in December 2020. As was the case for the first Meetup event in March, Groceryshop Spring Meetup, the event outperformed expectations by more than 10%.
 

Launching Shoptalk to a European audience both in-person and online

Building on the successful Shoptalk brand and formula, Hyve has announced the launch of Shoptalk Europe, a new in-person event to debut at ExCeL London 6-8 June 2022. Shoptalk Europe will bring Shoptalk’s outstanding customer experience and industry leading format to a European audience. The event will showcase the Group’s omnichannel strategy by incorporating Hyve’s innovative facilitated meetings solution. Following high demand for Shoptalk Fall Meetup taking place in October 2021, this online event will now be expanded to include a European audience. This will complement the Shoptalk Europe in-person event when it takes place in 2022.
 

Insurance claims

In July, £2.1m of further insurance claims have been approved in respect of cancelled FY21 events, bringing total insurance proceeds confirmed since the pandemic to £87.0m. This includes £56.3m received in respect of FY20 events (policy cap: £62.0m) and £30.7m confirmed in respect of FY21 events (policy cap: £50.0m).
 

Strong balance sheet and liquidity

Net debt at the period end reduced to approximately £73m (31 March 2021: £92.4m) after the receipt of further insurance proceeds, continued tight cost control and an increase in bookings for upcoming events. As reported at HY21, the Group maintains its strong liquidity position and has visibility of significant cash headroom.
 

Mark Shashoua, CEO of Hyve Group plc said:

Q3 is traditionally a strong trading period for the Group and it is extremely encouraging that Hyve has successfully run more events in the quarter than in the entirety of the first half. Many of the Group’s key markets in the East have been open for a number of months now and, combined with the continued pace of the vaccine rollout in our Western markets, this gives the Group continued confidence when looking ahead to the final quarter of FY21 and beyond.
 
“During this period of disruption, the Group’s market leading events have proven highly resilient and are well positioned to gain customer market share. Continued confidence in the future of omnichannel-enriched in-person events has seen the Group announce the launch of Shoptalk Europe, to bring the winning formula of the Shoptalk brand to a European audience.
 
“The market leading quality of the portfolio, strength of the balance sheet and growing omnichannel offering provides confidence that Hyve is well placed for success as markets continue to reopen.
 

For further information please contact:

Hyve Group plc Mark Shashoua / John Gulliver	+44 (0)20 3545 9400
FTI Consulting Charles Palmer / Emma Hall / Chris Birt / Jamille Smith	+44 (0)20 3727 1000

 

About Hyve Group plc

Hyve Group plc is a next-generation global events business whose purpose is to bring together and connect entire sector ecosystems from all corners of the globe. We meet our customer needs to learn, network and trade via both market leading in-person and online events. Hyve Group plc is all about globally consistent best practice and unrivalled quality. Our vision is to create the world's leading portfolio of content-driven, must-attend events delivering an outstanding experience and ROI for our customers. Hyve’s market leading portfolio of global brands include: Shoptalk, Spring Fair, MosBuild, Bett, Mining Indaba and recently acquired Retail Meetup, a ground-breaking digital platform enabling online networking and trade to take place at scale.
 
Where business is personal, where meetings move markets and where today's leaders inspire tomorrow's.
 

• Robust financial position after further insurance proceeds and ongoing cost management
• Ran 12 in-person events in H1 despite the ongoing disruption caused by COVID-19
• Strong customer rollovers reflect pent-up demand for market leading events
• Well positioned to emerge from the pandemic a stronger business with an omnichannel strategy

Mark Shashoua, CEO of Hyve Group plc, commented:
“Hyve is focused on emerging from the pandemic a stronger business, with a robust financial platform and strategy in place to meet pent-up event demand, while accelerating our omnichannel offering. Since the outbreak of COVID-19 we have secured insurance proceeds totalling £84.9m, achieved cost savings above our projections and ensured we have sufficient liquidity to make the most of the opportunity in front of us as markets begin to reopen.
“Having run events in Russia, Ukraine, China, Turkey and India in H1, we are optimistic that events in Western economies will run in the second half, in line with our modelled scenarios. Continued customer rollover for Western events provides confidence in the pent-up demand for market leading in-person events, which Hyve is well positioned to serve.
“COVID-19 has provided Hyve an opportunity to reset, renew and evolve. We are enhancing our already market leading in-person events by significantly building out our capability to deliver bespoke facilitated meetings programmes at a number of our events in FY22. Our quality-focused portfolio is optimally positioned to deliver an even greater return on time and money for our customers than before the pandemic.
“We continue to evolve our omnichannel strategy, enabling us to strengthen our existing brands, monetise online events and offer customers multiple opportunities to learn, network and trade throughout the year. Our recent acquisition of Retail Meetup is tracking ahead of expectations, demonstrating a successful monetisable model for future virtual Meetup events. With the speed of vaccine rollouts providing optimism and the strong liquidity headroom we have created, we enter the second half with the right talent, portfolio and omnichannel strategy to meet pent-up demand now and into FY22.”
 
 

Financial headlines4	Six months to 31 March 2021	Six months to 31 March 2020
Volume sales	39,400 m2	288,900 m2
Revenue	£10.4m	£90.6m
Headline profit before tax1	£27.6m	£19.4m
Profit / (loss) before tax	£18.7m	£(168.7)m
Headline diluted earnings per share2	8.5p	10.9p
Diluted earnings per share2	5.9p	(120.2)p
Interim dividend per share	Nil	Nil
Adjusted net debt3	£92.4m	£157.2m

 

• £10.4m revenue (2020: £90.6m) reflects multiple lockdowns across our geographies
• Headline profit before tax £27.6m (2020: £19.4m)
• This is after including £49.0m of insurance proceeds⁵ in respect of cancelled events. The income from insurance proceeds is recognised when confirmed, not in the period in which results from the cancelled events would have been recognised had they taken place.
• Statutory profit before tax of £18.7m (2020: loss of £168.7m)
• Adjusted net debt reduced to £92.4m (2020: £157.2m) following continued cost control, rights issue in May 2020 raising £126.6m and the receipt of insurance claims to date
• Hyve maintains a strong liquidity position with visibility of significant cash headroom under our modelled scenarios

Strategic highlights​

• Ran 12 in-person events in Russia, Ukraine, China, Turkey and India during H1
• Acquired Retail Meetup in December 2020 and ran successful Groceryshop Spring Meetup event in March performing 10% ahead of expectations
• Completed exit of Central Asia with disposal of Kazakhstan portfolio - 25 non-core, regionally focused events
• Portfolio now consists of 75 market-leading, bigger, better events (100 pre-pandemic)
• Successfully secured confirmation of £49.0m of insurance proceeds in the first half of the year. An additional £13.9m has been confirmed since the period end. Including £22.0m confirmed in FY20, total insurance proceeds are now £84.9m:
  • £56.3m for FY20 events (policy cap: £62.0m)
  • £28.6m for FY21 events (policy cap: £50.0m)

Accelerating omnichannel

• Evolving our in-person offering via facilitated meetings
  • Carrying out trials in FY21 to rollout facilitated meetings prior to launching at BETT, Spring Fair, Mining Indaba and Autumn Fair in FY22
• Monetising our offering online
  • Secured acquisition of Retail Meetup in December 2020 for initial consideration of £18.5m, with an earnout valued at £3.4m at acquisition, to accelerate omnichannel strategy
  • A first of its kind digital networking format and technology with proven monetisation adding four high quality digital events
  • In March 2021, the Group ran its first virtual Meetup event, Groceryshop Spring Meetup. It saw high levels of customer participation with 8,884 online meetings taking place over the three-day event, proving that online events can cater to customer needs and be monetised
• Ran more than 80 virtual events, of varying formats, during the first half to keep our customers engaged and connected with their communities online

Outlook

• Hyve is currently trading between the two modelled scenarios presented in December 2020, "Recovery"⁶ and "East/West"⁷
• In either scenario, Hyve maintains its strong liquidity position and has visibility of significant cash headroom
• Our outlook for net debt at the year end remains in the range of £100-120m, even having completed the acquisition of Retail Meetup in December
• With restrictions remaining on international travel and lockdowns still ongoing in certain markets, disruption to the event schedule continues
• The Group is encouraged by the pace of vaccine rollouts in countries such as the United Kingdom and United States
• While the near-term outlook remains fluid, Hyve is cautiously optimistic as it continues to see strong pent-up demand for its market-leading events through continued strong rollover of customer deposits and sales
• Hyve expects a gradual return of customer participation as international travel resumes and restrictions are lifted

> Download the full report (PDF format)
> View interim results presentation (PDF format) 

1. Headline profit before tax is defined as profit before tax from continuing operations and adjusting items, which include amortisation of acquired intangibles, impairment of goodwill, intangible assets and investments, profits or losses arising on disposal of Group undertakings, restructuring costs, transaction and integration costs on completed and pending acquisitions and disposals, tax on income from associates and joint ventures, gains or losses on the revaluation of deferred/contingent consideration and on equity option liabilities over non-controlling interests, and imputed interest charges on discounted equity option liabilities – see note 3 to the condensed consolidated interim financial statements for details.
2. Headline diluted earnings per share is calculated using profit attributable to shareholders from continuing operations before adjusting items – see notes 3 and 6 to the condensed consolidated financial statements for details. The weighted average number of shares used for basic and diluted and headline basic and diluted earnings per share for March 2020 has been restated as a result of the share consolidation and rights issue which took place during 2020, in order to provide a comparative measure. As a result, basic and diluted and headline basic and diluted earnings per share for March 2020 have also been restated.
3. Adjusted net debt is defined as cash and cash equivalents after deducting bank loans. This is therefore prior to any lease liabilities recognised on the balance sheet.
4. Results from continuing operations only. Results for the six months to 31 March 2020 and year ended 30 September 2020 have been restated throughout the Interim Results to this effect.
5. The gross proceeds from insurance claims under the Group’s cancellation insurance policies are recognised in the income statement when the receipt of the proceeds is virtually certain. Of the £49.0m recognised in the period, £34.2m is in respect of FY20 events cancelled in the prior year and £14.8m in respect of FY21 events.
6. 'Recovery' scenario is our base case and assumes that events in China, Russia, Ukraine and Turkey are able to go ahead in FY21. However, they will be smaller than in previous years with a largely domestic customer base. This scenario assumes that events in Western markets will take place during the second half.
7. East/West' scenario is our downside case and assumes that no Western events take place throughout the year.

 
Enquiries:

Mark Shashoua, CEO / John Gulliver, CFOO	Hyve Group plc	020 3545 9000
Charles Palmer / Emma Hall / Chris Birt / Jamille Smith	FTI Consulting	020 3727 1000

Trading

In the first half of FY21 the Group ran 12 in-person events, held in Turkey, Russia, Ukraine, China and most recently in India. This brings the total number of events run since the onset of the pandemic to 24. As previously communicated, while domestic attendance remains high, events are running at a significantly reduced scale given the ongoing international travel restrictions in place due to COVID-19.
 

Revenue for the first half is expected to be approximately £10m; this includes revenue from Groceryshop Spring Meetup which performed more than 10% ahead of expectations.

Groceryshop Spring Meetup

The acquisition of Retail Meetup in December 2020 brought to Hyve a first of its kind commercial proposition, which connects the entire retail and grocery ecosystems and offers opportunities to network and trade, at scale. The Retail Meetup product is a key part of the Group’s omnichannel evolution, providing Hyve with a flagship digital format.
 
In March 2021, the Group ran its first virtual Meetup event, Groceryshop Spring Meetup. It saw high levels of customer participation with 8,884 online meetings taking place over the three-day event, proving that online events can both cater to customer needs and be monetised.
 
In the second half of FY21 the Group has one further Meetup event scheduled, Shoptalk Meetup for Women (11-13 May 2021), with registrations tracking in line with management expectations. Two additional events will follow in FY22, Shoptalk Fall Meetup (19-21 October 2021) and Shoptalk Europe Meetup (dates tbc). Online events are scheduled to be complementary to in-person events, giving Shoptalk and Groceryshop the opportunity to meet customer needs at multiple points through the year.

Insurance claims

In March, £15.9m of further insurance claims have been approved, £5.0m in respect of FY20 events and £10.9m in respect of FY21 events.
 
In its trading update in January, the Group announced it had received confirmation of a further interim payment of £8.4m which has now been received.
 
To date insurance proceeds total £71.0m, £22.0m of which was received in FY20 and £49.0m of which has been received or confirmed in FY21. In total, £56.3m has now been received or confirmed in respect of FY20 events (policy cap: £62.0m) and £14.8m has been received or confirmed in respect of FY21 events (policy cap: £50m).

Disposal of Kazakhstan events portfolio

Hyve today also announces the disposal of ITECA LLP, the operating company for 25 of the Group's non-core, regionally focused events in Kazakhstan, to ICA (JV) Limited, a company owned and operated by a former consultant to Hyve in the region. This completes the Group’s planned exit of its business in Central Asia.

In the financial year ended 30 September 2020, the Kazakhstan events portfolio generated revenues of approximately £2.1m and reported an operating loss of approximately £0.6m. As at 30 September 2020 gross assets were approximately £7.6m and net assets £2.8m.  

The Group’s current expectation for consideration receivable is between £4.8m and £5.8m over a five to seven year period. The amount of the consideration and timing of payments varies by reference to the performance of the Kazakhstan business.

Outlook

Hyve is currently trading between the Group’s two modelled scenarios, “Recovery”⁽¹⁾ and “East West”⁽²⁾. In either scenario, Hyve maintains its strong liquidity position and has visibility of significant cash headroom throughout FY21 and FY22. H1 2021 net debt is expected to be approximately £92m.
 
With restrictions remaining on international travel and lockdowns still ongoing in certain markets, disruption to the event schedule continues. However, the Group is encouraged by the pace of vaccine rollouts in countries such as the United Kingdom and United States and while the near-term outlook remains fluid, Hyve continues to see strong demand for its market- leading events and a gradual return of customer participation.

Mark Shashoua, CEO of Hyve Group plc said:

Hyve is currently operating between our two modelled scenarios. The Group has run in-person events in five Eastern markets during the first half. While the outlook remains fluid, the pace of vaccine roll outs in the United Kingdom and United States provides optimism that events in Western economies will run in the second half and with growing confidence from calendar year 2022 in line with our recovery scenario.
 
The continuing strength of customer rollover for Western events is proving there is pent-up demand that will be fulfilled as and when restrictions are fully lifted.
 
We remain active in delivering on our strategic goals, including managing our portfolio, and are pleased to have found a good home for the 25 legacy events in our regional Kazakhstan portfolio; we wish the business success in the future. This concludes a key strategic aim to exit the Central Asia markets.
 
Our focus on developing our omnichannel strategy positions Hyve well for recovery as markets re-open. We are focused on driving growth via in-person market-leading events as restrictions lift, and online as we progress the Group’s digital evolution. As a blueprint for future growth, in March we successfully ran our first monetisable virtual Retail Meetup event, Groceryshop Spring Meetup, with exceptional online turnout and engagement, providing a proven model for our next two virtual Meetup events to follow.
 

1. ‘Recovery’ scenario assumes that events in China, Russia, Ukraine and Turkey are able to go ahead in FY21. However, they will be smaller than in previous years with a largely domestic customer base. This scenario assumes that events in western markets will take place during the second half.
2. ‘East-West’ scenario assumes that no western events take place throughout the year.

For further information please contact:

Hyve Group plc Mark Shashoua / John Gulliver	+44 (0)20 3545 9400
FTI Consulting Charles Palmer / Emma Hall / Chris Birt / Jamille Smith	+44 (0)20 3727 1000

 

About Hyve Group plc

Hyve Group plc is a next-generation global events business whose purpose is to bring together and connect entire sector ecosystems from all corners of the globe. We meet our customer needs to learn, network and trade via both market-leading in person and online events. Hyve Group plc is all about globally consistent best practice and unrivalled quality. Our vision is to create the world's leading portfolio of content-driven, must-attend events delivering an outstanding experience and ROI for our customers. Hyve’s market-leading portfolio of global brands include: Shoptalk, Spring Fair, MosBuild, Bett, Mining Indaba and recently acquired Retail Meetup, a ground-breaking digital platform enabling online networking and trade to take place at scale.
 
Where business is personal, where meetings move markets and where today's leaders inspire tomorrow's.

Shoptalk has a strong history of speaking up for women – where did the passion to really make a stand for this issue originally come from?

At Shoptalk our goal has always been to lead the dialogue on the transformation of retail and to serve as a catalyst for change. Our leadership team recognized early on the importance of using our events as a platform to advocate for women in the industry. Women account for the lion’s share of consumer purchases, yet only 12% of Fortune 500 retailer and consumer brand companies have a woman CEO. By amplifying women’s voices and raising their profiles, we can drive meaningful change to achieve gender equality in the industry.


It’s a bold move to arrange an entire event focused on women, and it must be something you thought about for a long time. What was the deciding factor to make it a reality?

We made an even bolder move in November 2019, when we decided to feature a 300+ all-women speaker line-up at Shoptalk 2020. It was particularly bold since we’d already confirmed 60+ men to speak. We asked these men to nominate a woman colleague to take their place on stage and were overwhelmed by their support. We were disappointed that COVID-19 prevented us from holding this ground-breaking event but knew we needed to act. The recent dire statistics surrounding women in the workplace (for example, labor participation rates for women have dropped to levels last seen in the late 1980s) confirm that the industry needs Shoptalk Meetup for Women.


What has the reaction to the event been from the industry?

It’s been inspiring to see both women and men jump at the chance to support this initiative. For women, the opportunity to network with other like-minded individuals across different company types and job functions has really resonated. Specifically, we’ve heard from women in tech and data-centric roles that Shoptalk Meetup for Women provides a sense of community and a realization that they’re not alone in typically male-dominated positions. Men have advocated for women leaders in their organizations by recommending them as Experts for our popular Ask-an-Expert program, and by speaking up about their accomplishments in our Original Content series on The State of Women Working in Retail.


You’ve had to do a lot of research on this subject. What was something you learned that really inspired you?

Something that really inspired me is the opportunity Shoptalk has to move the needle for women working in retail. In our series on The State of Women Working in Retail, we surveyed 330+ women in our community. An overwhelming 84% of women said mentors or champions have been either “important” or “very important” to their careers. When we interviewed Monica Turner, the President of North America Sales at P&G, she spoke candidly about how she views mentoring and sponsoring young people as her “life’s purpose.” By providing a place where women at all levels of the organization can connect to provide or receive mentorship, we will play a meaningful role in the development of future women leaders.


How do you think Shoptalk Meetup for Women will change the landscape for women in retail and ecommerce?

Shoptalk Meetup for Women will change the landscape for women working in retail and ecommerce by creating a community of insightful and accomplished women who can help each other achieve their goals. We hope that connections participants make during the event lead to new business, professional development and career opportunities that will last long after the three days in May.

Find out more about our Shoptalk Meetup for Women online event taking place between 11-13 May 2021 here

The past 12 months have presented some of the most significant challenges to businesses across the globe and Hyve is no exception, with the majority of our in-person events unable to go ahead. Since our events are a vital part of many business’s marketing strategies, as well as a key platform for innovation and growth for major industries, it was vital to continue to bring our communities together.  

Since the start of the pandemic, our teams have organised more than 100 webinars for our customer communities, and these have been well received. For three of our largest and most in-demand events, we took things a step further and created multiple-day virtual experiences to maximise community engagement.  

Here, the teams from Bett, Mining Indaba and Spring Fair tell us how they did it.  

Overcoming challenges  

Simultaneous to the immediate hurdles of digital upskilling and systems procurement, our teams were also having to entirely rethink their event agendas and content.

Hyve’s in-person events cater for three fundamental customer needs: learning, networking and trading. To date, the vast majority of online events have offered an enormous amount of learning opportunities, which are fantastic for engagement and brand advocacy. To ensure our virtual events were relevant for their respective communities, they had to create a holistic digital experience for customers which answered multiple needs.  

The additional challenge our teams faced was addressing the new needs of customers, as they too were tackling their own challenges brought about by COVID-19. Not only had the format changed, but the disrupted landscape meant that the narrative also needed to be entirely reconsidered. 

Digital firsts 

A tailored approach was taken for each event based on research with our customers and feedback on how Hyve could best support them at this pivotal time. Eve Harper, Event Director for Bett, said: “For BettFest we decided to use a combination of on-demand and live content to ensure that our global audience could participate. This mixed model also allowed us to replicate how our educator audience is working with its students, so it was a tried and tested approach among this customer community and one which we knew was manageable for them to fit around their even more demanding than usual day jobs.” 

Elsewhere we introduced technology such as green screens and augmented reality to bring events to life. Live panel debates, online product showrooms and event ceremonies all helped to enrich the event experience and recreate some of the vibrance that comes with a live event.  

 

A larger scale  

One of the main benefits that comes with digital events is scale. For all three events there was an opportunity to welcome new customers for whom time or travel had previously been an obstacle. As such these events reached new levels of attendance and an increased international audience, which in turn will help to build on the customer experience of future events.  

In addition, customers told us that they were able to absorb significantly more information – both in terms of finding new products and watching more content such as webinars and panel discussions.

It was inspirational and has really given me so much food for thought. Everyone could experience the whole show where most like myself can usually only have one day in real time. - Spring Fair @Home attendee 

The buzz of live events is unbeatable  

Digital events are capable of achieving brilliant engagement, but nothing compares to the buzz of physical events. Whether it’s a festival, sporting event, concert or market-leading exhibition, the energy and excitement which is generated by people coming together is unbeatable.  

Missed it last year but now loving #BettFest. The chat and alternative views with links are something else. This is what I’ve been missing, although I do miss sitting with close contacts and hearing their views. - BettFest attendee 

One way that our teams tackled this challenge and generated some of the atmosphere of a live event was through recognising and celebrating members of the community.  

@Bett_show so nice to hear educators being acknowledged for the tremendous work they have done in supporting their students & colleagues during this crisis. - BettFest attendee 

Key to retaining the buzz which is synonymous with Hyve events was securing an unmissable line-up. This was particularly true at Mining Indaba Virtual, which featured three African Presidents on the agenda – must-see content for this customer community.  

The virtual event was the next best thing to actually being in Cape Town. - Mining Indaba Virtual attendee 

For those events which facilitate retail, such as Spring Fair, there’s an addition challenge which Content Editor Emma Wilder explains: “In our customer community, everything is about touch and feel and that’s something you simply cannot replicate online. Retail buyers need to experience the product in real life to really understand if it’s right for their customer or not, equally that’s an essential part of the sale for an exhibitor.” 

Our future is omnichannel  

The changing nature of customer behaviors means we need to evolve our business and this has created a clear vision for our future which revolves around an omnichannel model. Looking ahead, we will be taking an ongoing, year-round approach to supporting our customer communities across the numerous global industries we serve and offering opportunities to learn, network and trade both online and in person.  

In addition to continuing to bring back our in-person events, we will also be creating engaging digital opportunities for our customer communities to come together. We will be enhancing our digital capability to level-up both our in-person and virtual products. 

Joanna Kotyrba, Head of Marketing for Mining Indaba explains an already planned further digital event for the African mining business community: “our inaugural Mining Indaba Virtual Investment Programme will run 30-31 March 2021, a two-day programme of highly targeted and optimised investment meetings. Alongside virtual meetings, we will be running the much-loved Mining Indaba Investment Battlefield online. The Investment Battlefield pitches Africa’s hottest junior mining companies against each other, offering them the chance to win an exhibition package to next year’s Mining Indaba and guaranteeing exposure to our investor community.” 

Disrupting an industry 

Hyve has, and always will be, a company that spearheads change and disruption. We believe that in many industries and geographies, the changes brought about by COVID-19 will have a lasting impact on how people do business. The acceleration of our omnichannel strategy will ensure we are best placed to support our customers and continue to be their number one choice.  

Our future will feature a mix of in person and online activity, with both prioritising quality and continuously striving to provide the highest return on investment and time for our customers. By gaining a deeper understanding of our customers’ needs through the improved data we are able to generate from digital events, we are creating world-class experiences for our customers and introducing them to brand new ways of doing business.