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<ul><li>As we enter a brand new year, our Trends series will help us crystal gaze into what the year holds for us.</li><li>In today’s feature, experts from the <keyword id="1784761" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="experiential">experiential</keyword> and live events industry tell us what lies ahead in 2021.</li></ul>The year 2020 was difficult for most mediums but mediums that operate on the frontlines of human engagement and connections were perhaps hit the hardest. Take for instance the experiential and live events industry which came to a complete standstill. The lockdown period saw the events industry innovate, giving way to a large number of webinars, online discussions and live chats and shows, just to make sure that the industry stays active. However, the effects were felt more adversely by the thousands of people who work in the industry as daily wage workers. The smaller agencies and businesses in the domain also struggled through the year. Currently, the organized experiential sector is pegged to be around Rs 7,000 crore in size. However, according to most experts from the industry, its actual size is substantially larger, if one would take into account the unorganized side of it. Therefore, it is imperative for the industry to not just innovation but to come up with disruptive ideas to future-proof itself and to make sure that more such pandemics in the future don’t cripple it. We reached out to some experts from the industry to understand their areas of focus for 2021 and the trends they think we should watch out for. Here’s what they had to say: <keyword id="52304" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Roshan-Abbas">Roshan Abbas</keyword>, MD, Geometry Encompass <div type="image" title="Roshan Abbas, President, EEMA" msid="80136966" hostid="261"></div> Brands will follow a live and virtual strategy to reach a bigger audience. Events will be produced as TV specials are with a live experience and a broadcast experience for the internet. The line between televised events and live events will blur even further. An incremental 30% revenue will be added to the space with these experiences. Brands will stitch social commerce into all experiences. Those who do it with the least amount of friction and the maximum engagement will emerge victorious. E commerce stores will become experience commerce stores using every trick in the event playbook to attract consumers. <keyword id="279820" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sanjoy-Roy">Sanjoy Roy</keyword>, Managing Director, Teamwork Arts <div type="image" title="Sanjoy K Roy - MD Teamwork Arts (1)" msid="80137240" hostid="261"></div> Even as the global economy contracts, artists and artisans try and break down the virtual ceiling, looking for innovations and possibilities to survive and sustain their livelihood. Perhaps, it is time to step back, reflect and view the world in crises and find, equitable and sustainable opportunities for all. ‘Intimate and focused’ could well be the new mantra to replace ‘bigger and brighter’. Solo performances could bring talent and excellence back to the spotlight. Innovation in social and cultural celebrations focusing on the arts to provide a sense of place, identity and tradition, are the need of hour. AI and virtual reality could help traverse the world instead of the flatbed or the cramped seat. As we look to 2021 with hope of a vaccine to solve our immediate predicament, the fact is that the road to recovery will be long and arduous. Those who have access to capital and have the agility to innovate will emerge stronger from the experience, the rest will need to reinvent their world. <keyword id="1586079" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Dalveer-Singh">Dalveer Singh</keyword>, Head of Experiential Marketing – APAC, Dialogue Factory <div type="image" title="Dalveer Singh, , Head of Experiential Marketing- APAC, Dialogue Factory" msid="80137187" hostid="261"></div> The year 2021 will be about sale, sale and more sale! We should ensure that nothing is able to distract us from the sole aim of advertising, which is sale. And this will start with brands, if they are able to sell more, they will be able to afford different partners. We, as agencies, publishers or people who create brand solutions have to create solutions single-mindedly keeping in mind strategies that will drive sales. And it is sales that will enable us to keep going in a big way and it will give us that boost we need to do what we want to do. This will help us come up with innovative ways of reaching out and doing things at scale. Everything will come back to the objective of whether I am able to create solutions that are saleable, sustainable and cost-effective, because in the end, whatever we do, it has to drive sales. And that is what will work for all of us. <keyword id="7410855" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Swaroop-Banerjee">Swaroop Banerjee</keyword>, COO, <keyword id="7281920" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Zee-Live">Zee Live</keyword> <div type="image" title="Mr. Swaroop Banerjee, COO, Zee Live" msid="80137204" hostid="261"></div> The pandemic of 2020 disrupted the way we live, work, and socialize. It gave way to a new normal, which every industry whether big or small adopted to maintain business continuity. The entertainment industry was no different too. Fighting against the tide, we too at Zee Live had to find new and innovative ways to keep our viewers entertained while meeting our business goals. Now looking ahead to 2021, adopting a virtual route will continue to be imperative. Maintaining a strong digital presence, including live/online streaming, pay per view in one’s business portfolio will be the way forward. With the pandemic still raging across the country, it is essential that we as the leaders in the entertainment industry should be able to provide our viewers top class entertainment while keeping their health and safety a priority. Keeping in line with this thought, we are bringing in our A-game as we continue to collaborate with the largest music icons and create live original content for Zee Live. 2021 worldwide is going to be about digital live entertainment and we will see a gigantic shift in this direction and we shall also see a trend where we will have a sizable arrest of audiences who would consume live entertainment,while audience will flock in large gatherings when safe. Therefore, we are investing heavily in this direction.” <keyword id="2289911" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sukrit-Singh">Sukrit Singh</keyword>, Founder, The Platform <div type="image" title="Sukrit Singh" msid="80137226" hostid="261"></div> The trend today in the experiential industry is to announce that WE ARE BACK (or will be). Noble and preachy, to say the least, from an industry that has ruthlessly culled its workforce. Global networks shutting down companies, entrepreneurs abandoning teams overnight –and I believe the worst is yet to come. The lesson of the past and the trend of the future isn’t technology or virtual – but the human story. I salute those who never hibernated, retrenched or bitched and moaned. I urge the industry leadership to ask themselves… Did we stand up for our teams? Is there anyone in our team who suddenly felt forsaken and abandoned? Did we hoard – at the expense of others? Or did we share whatever little we had? Doctors saved lives. Did we save livelihoods? 2021 is here! The date has moved; the year has changed but challenges remain. Let’s not hide behind the pandemic and rebuild our human capital – it’s the only asset we have had. Our crazy work culture and ethos is fueled by the passionate misfits who unconditionally stood by us as we built the industry. The big trend for 2021 is the change of guard and the emergence of a stronger, more committed experiential leader and organization. So goodbye – fly by night operator, good riddance ad-networks(neither of you were here for the people or the work anyway). In 2021 my generation (you know who you are) passes the baton to the next. Godspeed to them - build with your people - an experiential industry that can withstand the next pandemic.

Experiential: The trends to watch out for in 2021

<ul><li>Sanjoy Roy, Managing Director, Teamwork Arts &amp; President-EEMA writes how <keyword id="2192890" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Experiential-marketing">experiential marketing</keyword> events will become more and more rarified and niche events will become the norm once we resume normalcy. </li><li>He further pens down how innovation and invention can help define the moment. </li></ul> In today’s hyper-connected world where every second seems to be a race to the finish, the quantum of messaging pushed out has imploded! It's neither news nor views that make the NEWS, its fake news that finds more eyeballs and creates a lasting impression! Add to that whatsApp, gaming, streaming videos, online series, dating games and pornography and phew! it's worse than the 1100 TV channels that you had at hand to scroll through! How then will brands stand out and make a true impact? Digital’s biggest disadvantage is its lack of lasting impression because of the lack of the `touchy-feely’ factor which allows our brain cells to format what we know as, 'Memory’! The millions of images that pepper our screen and reflect off our eyeglasses tend not to have 'a sticky factor’ and fail to imprint itself it's our psyche! Santa Claus, a derivative of Saint Nicklaus adopted by Coca Cola to be its brand ambassador sporting the now-famous red Santa costume, denoted happy family, joyous times, celebration, gifts and more, was the perfect experiential Marketing roll out ever! Shah Rukh Khan’s 'come to Dubai as my guest’ personalized the experience and created a sticky factor – implanted a memory! Experiential Marketing events will become more and more rarified; A box at centre court or the finals of the T-20 is not nearly enough any longer. Tomorrow’s events will have to go way beyond this. Niche events where you fly 20 – 30 people to the Antarctic ice shelf for a sleepover and to watch a faultlessly choreographed contemporary dance act by a group of performing Penguins who invite you to their home for a meal of albatross and flying fish is what will be the norm. The rest will be streamed out to you which you will watch in fleeting moments between rushed taxi rides and your afternoon sandwich! But given COVID, will Physical Distancing, (I hate the word social distancing as its representative of age-old customs of discrimination on the lines of caste, colour or religion), allow for this. Perhaps not in the short run, but say in 12 months or 18 months once this disaster is in control and economies limp back and folks need that break, need the experience, need to feel alive, we will take steps to revisit our memories or make new ones! Marry history, culture and built heritage with tradition and the exotic, creating experiences that are both breathtaking, visually satisfying, a gastronomic delight, and offering up the pleasures of retail therapy, or occasions that allow you to bond together, feel the love, find peace, celebrate life itself or perhaps embark on an adventure that you will never forget! Most companies and event professionals tend not to think out of the box and prefer to copy, adapt or steal ideas rather than experiment, experience and invest in long term brand building experiences. The need of the moment is education and information – old advertising is long dead…. give way to the new! To do this you need daring corporate marketing managers to take the risk, young professionals to understand their clients and wow them not just with a stupendous set and fanfare music but by being able to embed them into the heart of the event. The event and experiential industry in is worth $1 trillion, it provides jobs, contributes to local economies, employs millions and yet we remain in the shadows, working under the radar, bringing in the riches in a form that isn’t recognized and cannot be tabulated. We have to nurture the young, celebrate the genius, bring in the design and throw out a faux copy of an outdated act, above all, we should want to be original and create that one occasion that will live on in people’s memories! Online or offline, innovation and invention will be the defining moment! - Sanjoy Roy, Managing Director, Teamwork Arts &amp; President-EEMA

Live Events V/S Virtual Live Experiences- Short term or long term

<ul><li>With a complete lockdown of the country and postponement and cancellation of all major events, close to 10 million people from the events industry are expected to be impacted.</li><li>While the industry is expected to see a loss of about Rs 3,000-5,000 crore for February and March, the impact April onward is expected to be in the realm of Rs 20,000 crore.</li><li><keyword id="279820" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sanjoy-Roy">Sanjoy Roy</keyword>, President, EEMA tells us why it has asked the government to intervene and what are the industry body’s recommendations.</li></ul> Since the <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="coronavirus">Coronavirus</keyword> outbreak, the experiential industry has been hit hard. With the cancellation and indefinite postponement of all major events, and with almost the whole of the country under a lockdown now, nobody knows when things will get back to normal. Considering the heat it is already feeling, the <keyword id="1167059" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Event-Entertainment-Management-Association">Event &amp; Entertainment Management Association</keyword> (EEMA) has written to the government with a set of recommendations, to help it out in wake of the Coronavirus outbreak. The industry currently directly employs close to 10 million people and indirectly, through sectors like food &amp; beverage, hospitality, tourism, advertising and marketing employs another 50 million people. And all these people are expected to bear the brunt. To understand the conversation EEMA is having with the government, and the recommendations it has sent to the government, we recently caught up with Sanjoy Roy, President, EEMA, who gave us a sense of the impending impact and their asks and expectations from the government. Edited excerpts: Q) Considering the kind of impact the pandemic is having on the events industry, what is the conversation you are having with them? What are your asks and expectations from the government? We are requesting for assistance from the government through various SOS measures including delay of tax pay-outs, moratoriums on loans and urgent pay-outs, tax reductions and collateral-free loans. While the industry is hopeful of the government considering some of these measures, the industry is conscious that the government is dealing with multiple emergencies at the same time while facing the pandemic. EEMA and some of the leaders of the industry would conduct online and offline education and mentoring programs so that those employees currently working for their companies and the professionals registered with EEMA could both avail of the program and benefit from the learning and get themselves ready for the oncoming economic revival. SOS Response Requested <ul><li>Release with immediate effect all Tax refunds that are due including income tax and TDS</li><li>To cover the cost of salaries/daily wages etc. for those infected by COVID 19 and unable to return to work.</li><li>Collateral free line of credit to be used for employees’ salaries and statutory dues.</li><li><keyword id="117489" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="moratorium">Moratorium</keyword> of payback on loans, interest for a period of 9-12 months.</li></ul> Industry Reconstruction Measures <ul><li>Pay all dues to companies who have executed work orders in this segment for the Government of India, the public sector and State Governments.</li><li>Zero or minimal-interest loans to be made available by the department of MSME for the financial year 2020.</li><li>Government-initiated projects should replace the need of Bank guarantees with corporate guarantees.</li><li>Loans to be provided for loss-making companies against future contractual work.</li><li>Instruct insurance companies to insure future events and activities against Covid 19 or similar medical/biological disasters in addition to existing natural disasters.</li><li>To cover the cost of salaries/daily wages of employees laid off for a period of 90 days at least.</li><li>Reduction of GST on entertainment and cultural events to 12% and the arts &amp; entertainment segment may be covered.</li></ul> We have had a series of meetings, both in the state and on a national level and we hope that the government is able to help out the industry. We feel confident that they will make a fair decision. Q) With so many events being cancelled, what kind of financial impact do you predict for the industry in the next few months? Who are the ones who are the most impacted in the industry? I think the industry is already seeing a financial slowdown that seems like it will grow quite exponentially in the months to come. The first two months will see a loss of about Rs 3,000-5,000 crore for February and March as projected by a survey of 200 MSMEs. With a young workforce, mostly those between the ages of 25-40, the impact will be felt severely by the 10 million people employed directly and indirectly. The impact April onwards will be in the realm of Rs 20,000 crore. Q) As an industry, experiential will see a complete lockdown. Will the use of digital see an unprecedented growth now, pushing agencies that weren't considering digital adapt to the changing times? We’ve already taken to digital with the live online concert organized on March 22 that saw artists across the country perform live to encourage people to adhere to the Janata curfew. But as of now, it’s a sense of the unknown and we have to make the best of these circumstances and ensure the best and safest way forward. Q) Do you anticipate this pandemic will lead to an eventual overhaul of how the experiential industry works? Change is constant and I think this will definitely push brands and marketers alike to reassess their approach to consumer engagement. While our industry relies a lot on the physical presence of people together, in such a situation we have to think of new ways to work around the obstacles placed in front of us and if we come out the other side with newer and more exciting ways to function, it will benefit us all. But without a major stimulus this segment along with the creative industries will be hard hit and it will be near impossible to start again. This will be the biggest tragedy as we are large employers within the unorganized sector. Q) Recently EEMA organized a live online concert, before the Janata Curfew. If things don’t change much, do you plan to come up with more such online concerts? Yes, depending on how the situation progresses, we feel that these kind of events have the power to bring people together and inspire support for those that are battling on the frontlines against this pandemic. We plan to organize the next one this week to encourage social distancing and help keep spirits up in these difficult times.

After AROI, the experiential industry writes to the government seeking support due to Coronavirus impact

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Mumbai, Mar 25 () The Events and Entertainment Management Association has sent out an SOS signal to the government seeking urgent intervention as the industry that employs 60 million people has comes to a standstill following the national lockdown. The association claims that of the 60 million staff, 10 million have been directly impacted, and their livelihood is at risk as all major national events are postponed or cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Losses for the first two months are already over Rs 3,000 crore, the association said. "Since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, the impact to their business has been unprecedented with multiple global and national events having been postponed or simply cancelled. "The adverse impact of this crisis on the events and experiential industry is expected to last for months while the impact in the first two months alone is pegged at over Rs 3,000-5,000 crore, at a minimum, as projected in a survey of 100 units in the sector," the association said. The pandemic has led to cancellations of conferences, both public and private, national/international meetings, incentives, conferencing, exhibitions (MICE) events, choking the lifeline of the industry. Besides the 10 million it employs directly, the events and entertainment industry indirectly provides jobs to another 50 million through allied sectors like food and beverages, hospitality, tourism, advertising and marketing industry. Sanjoy Roy, the founder and managing director of Teamwork Arts, and an official of the association, said the pandemic has slammed the brakes on our industry impacting the livelihood of millions. The industry is unable to pay the staff salaries, taxes, banks. "The situation is extraordinary and unless the government takes quick actions and support the industry, as much as 60 million people will be impacted," he said. Some of the major big-ticket events cancelled include the 13th edition of the IPL, the 21st edition of the IIFA, the India Gaming Expo, the India Fashion Week, Goa Fest, PU Tech, ITB-India, India Fintech Festival, Ultra Festival, India-South Africa cricket matches, India Today Conclave, the Meta Theatre awards, among others, Roy said. The events and entertainment management industry has been growing at a compounded rate of 14 per cent annually. Of this live entertainment and sports events have been the sunrise segment, and was expected projected to become a Rs 20,000 crore industry by 2025, according to a recent EY report. BEN ANSANS

Events, entertainment industry says Covid-19 hit 60 mln livelihoods; seeks urgent govt help

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<ul><li>As we come closer to the end of 2021, we take a look back at a few learnings from the year, and talk to experts from different industries about what lies ahead.</li><li>In today's feature, we bring you prominent voices from the <keyword id="2014281" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="ooh" source="Orion">OOH</keyword> and <keyword id="1784761" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="experiential" source="Orion">Experiential</keyword> industry who tell us about their expectations from 2022.</li></ul>For years, the Indian Out-of-home (OOH) industry has depended on traditional way of measuring the success of its campaigns which has led to marketers spending less on the medium. With the advent of the digital medium and the marriage of technology, almost all mediums have become more accountable, easily measurable. OOH, however, has taken it time to embrace data and technology. The industry has been long working on a measurement system that will help advertisers better understand the effectiveness of their campaigns and there is hope that in 2022, this system will be up and running, which will be that much-needed boost for the industry. Since the pandemic, OOH has suffered, and most experts feel this measurement system will help the medium get back in the game, and even help make it one of the most effective mediums. Meanwhile, another medium which suffered massive losses due to the pandemic was experiential and live events. The lockdown ensured that people are stuck at their homes. It led to the cancellation of many events. While things were slowly starting to get back to normal at the end of 2020, things came to a complete standstill again, once the country was hit by the second wave in April-May this year. There was hope of things slowly limping towards normalcy with the Covid numbers going down but the spread of Omicron again has put a question mark on the way things progress next year. To understand how things are expected to pan out for both the OOH and Experiential industry in 2022, we spoke to some prominent voices from both the industries and here are their predictions: <keyword id="939652" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="noomi-mehta" source="Orion">Noomi Mehta</keyword>, Chairman &amp; MD, Selvel One <div type="image" title="Noomi." msid="88546058" hostid="261"></div> Measurement to revolutionize Indian OOH There is hope that 2022 will be a standout year for Indian OOH. The industry association has been working on a common currency of measurement and there is hope that we will be able to launch it in the next few months. Once that happens, OOH will not just become more accountable with effective measurement, we will be able to prove that it is perhaps one of the most effective mediums, owing to its reach and impact. While business has been slow, there is hope things will pick up in 2022. We will see the coming together of digital and technology that will help make OOH much more stronger than its current form. <keyword id="2406965" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="atul-shrivastava" source="Orion">Atul Shrivastava</keyword>, CEO, Laqshya Media Group <div type="image" title="atul-main-image" msid="88546322" hostid="261"></div> The year of convergence of OOH and Digital The cliché is more apt than ever before: 2022 will be one of the defining years for both OOH and Experiential media. Needless to add, this is apropos the challenges that were 2020 and 2021. The application of technology and analytics will be the primary trend that we shall hope to see for both the verticals. However, important to point out that it will be the intelligent application of technology that will separate the men from the boys. Convergence between OOH and digital media will make its presence felt in India – and help OOH garner a larger, a more significant share of marketing spends, and indeed a more serious share of the brand managers’ mindspace. Experiential marketing must go/will go far beyond physicality and capitalise on the brilliant ideas and experiences that our agencies can conceive – and again receive the attention that it truly deserves. Overall, we hope that India becomes more democratic in its marketing processes – look at wider audiences and increases her per capita <keyword id="35666" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="advertising" source="Orion">advertising</keyword> spend – which lags significantly behind the more developed markets. Aman Nanda, Chief Strategy Officer, Times Innovative Media <div type="image" title="Image." msid="88546370" hostid="261"></div> Out of home to move Beyond just Brand Advertising OOH advertising has been primarily used for Brand marketing campaigns. Originally, the focus of OOH was to drive high impact and enhance brand awareness. While it still has the potential to do that, we believe now OOH is powered enough to drive tactical brand objectives. Whether it means to target only students near colleges, or to target CXO’s in the morning drive time or to drive sales to the nearest store – out-of-home media is now evolved enough to deliver it. DOOH and PDOOH are growing faster than any other advertising format as a result we are able to offer pin-pointed campaigns – ranging from few hours to multi-years and deliver logic and rationale for ad placement through programmatic and planning tools. OOH also helps now, like no other media, to deliver online response through phones. This ability of OOH to amplify the online activity and drive offline sales is being embraced by brands and will help OOH grow multi-fold in near future. Nandini Nayyar, Associate Vice President, <keyword id="2091244" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="kinetic-india" source="Orion">Kinetic India</keyword> <div type="image" title="nandini" msid="88547222" hostid="261"></div> OOH has seen a lot of disruption, integration, upgradation, and use of contextually targeted campaigns in 2021. A media that has shown high level of resilience and managed to bounce back with the caliber of allowing high consumer interaction as mobility numbers seemed back in order post the pandemic slowdown from the months of August onwards. Organizations like Kinetic India worked towards heavy data ammunitions to back the medium across cities and important touchpoints saw a lot of revival. DOOH, most importantly programmatic way of functioning in particular was in vogue across airports&amp; mall. Cinema as a touch point saw a huge boom with big titles releasing across movie theatres. Clients who were unlikely to advertise through OOH formats in the pre-Covid times reflected a sudden interest in the data backed OOH formats and with Digital, we saw brands advertising through OOH as second preferred medium for a continuous reminder. 2022 will also have its own trend in the OOH, where brands will be mindful of the Omicron and its effects and spends will again be partially dependent on the mobility numbers and seasonality across the cities for various categories. The OOH agencies will need to be cognizant of the situation, brand requirements, act flexible, be spontaneous with their bespoke data driven approach &amp; close on long term deals for better efficiencies across relevant touchpoints. Agencies will also need to move towards transitioning and educating their clients towards investing programmatically on digital OOH formats for the desired ROI. <keyword id="52304" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="roshan-abbas" source="Orion">Roshan Abbas</keyword>, MD, Geometry Encompass <div type="image" title="Roshan Abbas, President, EEMA (1)" msid="88546575" hostid="261"></div> Time for brands to build live experiences In a world of revenge travel and revenge shopping there will be a surge of live experiences. Tickets to concerts are selling out in minutes. NH7 Weekender early bird, India Bike Week, spoken all are returning slowly. It’s time for brands to take advantage and build live experiences. To keep these safe will be paramount so vaccine passes and apps are a must. We have relegated the virtual to the essential. So most knowledge-based events and experiences will have hybrid components to satisfy the remote audience. This will also lead to a surge of all on ground events having a broadcast component. Sanjoy K Roy, Managing Director, Teamwork Arts <div type="image" title="Sanjoy K Roy - MD Teamwork Arts @ JLF 2015 Curtain Raiser (3)" msid="88549459" hostid="261"></div> Hybrid events will continue to dominate 2022 will be dependent on the world opening up and dealing with new variants of Covid -19. Even as digital fatigue abounds and people long for on ground events, celebrations and conferences, there is wish to return to the old `normal’. This is unlikely to play out, hybrid events will continue to dominate with organizers trying to improve the virtual experience and convert these from cookie cutter formats to more endearing and immersive programs. Tech continues to power forward looking to create more opportunities to control our motivations and experiences by ensuring flawless online delivery. <keyword id="1586079" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="dalveer-singh" source="Orion">Dalveer Singh</keyword>, Head of Experiential Marketing - APAC, GroupM Dialogue Factory <div type="image" title="Dalveer Singh, , Head of Experiential Marketing- APAC, Dialogue Factory (1)" msid="88546762" hostid="261"></div> 2022 the year of taking ‘Store to the Door’ The experiential marketing space has been fast changing in the last 5 years and more so in the last couple of months and seems will continue to disrupt. The last two years have been a rollercoaster ride for this highly specialized practice. The biggest trend that we see unfolding in 2022 in this space will be to take the store experience to the door of the consumers across geographies including metros, mini metros, semi-urban &amp; rural cities. The store experiences could be in the form of any of these: AVATARS – Kirana store, General store, modern trade outlet, Pharmacy, Showroom, Mall or Multiplex etc. It will be all about bringing the brand and brand experiences closer to where the consumer lives. The store-to-door experience must marry the best of both physical and digital brand assets, thus creating strong hybrid experiences. All this needs to have a creative spin that surprises, entertains and drives both brand equity as well as brand sales. C ya @ the door!

What 2022 has in store for the Indian Out-of-Home and Experiential industry

<ul><li>With events across the globe getting postponed indefinitely or even cancelled in some cases, the experiential marketing industry is expecting the next few quarters to be very challenging. </li><li>We spoke to a few industry leaders to get a sense of how they feel this pandemic will affect the industry in the coming months, and for everybody the answer is the same, ‘How do you prepare for the unknown?’</li></ul>As the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the Covid-19 outbreak a pandemic with over 125,000 confirmed cases and 4,600 deaths in 114 countries, India has shut down its doors for foreign travellers. Just today the first death from Coronavirus in the country was reported from Karnataka, substantially increasing panic, with the government ordering closure of schools, colleges and multiplexes in cities like Delhi. While the hospitality and the entire service sector is expected to be impacted hard, the events and <keyword id="8901436" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="experiential-industry">experiential industry</keyword> is bracing itself for a few dismal quarters. With events across the globe getting postponed indefinitely or even cancelled in some cases, the experiential industry is expecting the next few quarters to be very challenging. While India has still not been affected as adversely as a few other countries, corporates are taking precautions and limiting their events. If media reports are to be believed, even big tickets events like IPL might have to be held without spectators for the first 15 days, which could affect the industry to a huge extent. AdClub’s Goafest 2020, which is a gathering of all advertising and media stalwarts and is looked forward to every year, is also postponed as several international speakers who were participating in the event have cancelled their trip to India. Facebook’s Global Marketing Summit, which was scheduled on March 9 in San Francisco is cancelled. In such a scenario, the experiential industry, which is all about creating experiences for people in huge gatherings, is obvious to face the brunt of this everyday-unfolding situation. We spoke to a few industry leaders to get a sense of how they feel this pandemic will affect the industry in the coming months, and for everybody the answer is the same, ‘How do you prepare for the unknown?’ <keyword id="8901438" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Event-and-Entertainment-Management-of-India">Event and Entertainment Management of India</keyword> (EEMA), the apex body of the experiential industry in India, recently sent out an advisory to all its members, putting together some protocols for venues that are still hosting events. The industry body set together guidelines around ‘Hygiene and Infection Control at Events’. Postponement and cancellation of many events With the government suspending travel visas and the general panic growing with each passing day, brands are refraining from organising events, which will hurt the experiential industry the most. Speaking about how the spread of the virus is already having an effect on the industry, Sabbas Joseph, Co-founder &amp; Director, Wizcraft International said, “The outbreak of the Coronavirus has caught the world of experiential marketing by shock. Multiple global events have been hit -- postponed or simply cancelled: IIFA2020, the Geneva Motor show, ITB-Berlin, the India Today Conclave, the META Awards, IMEX-Frankfurt, the Barcelona Mobile Congress…the list is endless. Additionally, product launches, promotions and activations, business conferences, business travel, MICE, exhibitions, trade shows have been simply put off or cancelled.” Adding to the list of cancelled and postponed events, Deepak Pawar, Managing Director, Midas Next added, “We had a few large events and activations for Colors, Mumbai Indians and IPL, but all of them have been canceled for now. We also had a couple of large exhibitions and conferences planned for the pharma industry and those have been postponed indefinitely. We were organizing an activation for Cadbury catering to tourists across the Himalyan belt. Since tourists are not allowed in India right now, we had to cancel that too. Similarly there was an activation planned for Lifebuoy about hygiene to avoid Coronavirus. Now since schools are also shut down, where will we do those activations?” Anticipating a few dismal quarters While India has yet not been as badly impacted as a few other countries, there are still new cases being detected everyday, with the current count being 62. As a step to contain the future spread of the virus, the government has suspended all existing visas, except diplomatic, official, UN/international organisations, employment, project visas until April 15. With it, many foreign nationals or companies that were supposed to come to the country for various events are having to cancel their travel plans. Moreover, the industry was already grappling with the effects of the economic slowdown, which was followed by riots in Delhi. Speaking about how all these factors combined will have a massive impact on the industry, Sanjoy Roy, Managing Director, Teamwork Arts and President, EEMA said, “Since February, we have postponed our festival India by the Bay in Hong Kong, India by the Bosphorus in Turkey, and another event in Morocco. In India, we have just postponed the Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards (META). And everything else we have in the pipeline is getting pushed back. There’s that unknown factor as to what is this going to result in. While there's enough information out there, the fact that the world has reacted in a particular way means that there is more to it than meets the eye. And anyway, the economic slowdown was already impacting the industry. The biggest effect was the Auto Expo. We saw around 50% of Auto Expo disappear and many of the major players did not come, and that's a big thing for most of the event companies. If I were to talk about how the industry will perform, the quarter figures are not out yet and we won't have a sense of it right now. But I am sure both the industry as well as the quarter figures will be dismal.” Agreeing with Roy, <keyword id="52304" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Roshan-Abbas">Roshan Abbas</keyword>, Founder and Managing Director, Geometry Encompass, added, “The worst hit is the experiential business. From large sporting events to film awards, concerts to festivals all have been postponed. With the 14-day quarantine, many international speakers are also cancelling. There is a sense of panic everywhere. In these times take part in spreading information and awareness. Verify your facts. Try work from home and remote working. It’s the best time to test it. Also the only hope is to try digital events and plan for the future, cut back on all expenses. This will impact Q2 and Q3 very badly.” Tackling the crisis by going virtual The experiential business is all about direct-to-consumer engagement. The business thrives on human contact and the assembly of people is an important part of the entire offering. However, whenever a crisis hits, the only way of bouncing back is by thinking out of the box and doing things a little differently. On how brands have been reacting to the entire situation and how that might lead to an overhaul in the way the experiential industry works, Joseph said, “Brands are resetting their plans, expectations, markets, delivery systems, marketing focus and logistics. This will force the experiential industry to change its method of working, composition of team structure, use of technology, data, global resources, innovation and physical space. Collaboration and Innovation are going to be the new drivers of the experiential economy.” Dalveer Singh, Head Experiential Marketing - APAC, GroupM has come up with a plan B for this predicament. His team is trying to figure out if the experience can be digitised through some virtual or augmented reality experience. He says agencies equipped with digital skills can manage to survive else, this unfortunate situation will push them to think how to take experiential beyond mass-gatherings. “One solution can be how much of the experience that we create by being physically there, can be converted into ideas that are virtual or digital. Now that's something which we as a team are planning to do and that is our plan B. Brands wanted to have physical events because virtual does not give the same amount of joy. However, today, in these circumstances, brands will be more open to doing these events digitally because that gives them reach. So marketers will be more receptive to doing things virtually. However, in this whole environment, how many experiential marketing companies are today equipped to shift from physical to digital to virtual? There are a few companies that have those skills. This means it's also an opportunity for companies to get those new skills in,” said Singh. Singh also suggested helping each other in this dismal times, especially the smaller parties and freelancers. “For putting together an experiential marketing piece, we work with a lot of freelancers across different companies. And in this whole game, I think the small agencies and freelancers are the ones who might be affected by the heat because you are the resources for them. So, we need to figure out how to protect these small agencies and freelancers who do not have deep profits and holding capacity when the times are tough,” added Singh. While things don’t look very bright right now, the industry is still hopeful that the festive season will bring about some respite.

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