When the COVID-19 pandemic landed onto Zimbabwe’s shores in March, many people did not think that it would have so much impact on the Zimbabwean society and economy the way it has. As infections and death numbers soared in countries such as Italy and Spain many Zimbabweans did not think that the pandemic would wreak so much havoc in the country to the extent of forcing organisers of business events to either postpone or cancel annual events.
Many stakeholders in the business events industry continued to nurse the hope that someday within the following months the pandemic would subside and enable them to roll out their events. However, as months rolled by, the country’s coronavirus situation worsened, dimming any hopes of resuming normal business events routine in the short term.
While the majority of stakeholders clung to hope, others sought practical methods of holding business events in the interim pending the natural end of the pandemic or its successful containment through a vaccine. They embraced the new business events normal of abiding by lockdown regulations such as social distancing, handwashing, gathering in numbers of 50 or fewer people and insisting on the use of face masks as well as employing eventing technology to host virtual events.
In an engagement with Business Events in July, Sunshine Corporate Communications Managing Consultant, Lenox Mhlanga advised businesses to move quickly and adopt technologies and ways of doing business during the time of the pandemic instead of waiting for the return to the pre-COVID-19 setup.
“Businesses and governments need to adapt to the changing nature of work by focusing on training people for the jobs of tomorrow. Talent development, lifelong learning, and career reinvention are going to be critical to the future workforce,” he said.
Virtual meetings
One of the business events organisers who seem to have heeded Mhlanga’s counsel is CEO Africa Round Table, a business leadership organisation, whose annual flagship conference, the Round Table, which was set for Victoria Falls in March, was among the first casualties of the pandemic. The organisation was not fazed by the postponement of the conference. On the contrary, it was galvanised to seek ways of continuing to bring together business leaders together. Consequently, it broke new ground by being among the pioneering regular users of meeting technologies such as Zoom to organise virtual business meetings. Since March it has hosted many leaders such as the Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Professor Mthuli Ncube and businessman, Shingi Mutasa among others.
One business event type which many would figure as impossible to hold in the virtual format is award ceremonies. Last week the Zimbabwe Agricultural Society (ZAS) demonstrated that it was possible to hold a virtual awards event when it held the second edition of its Agriculture Media Awards on 28 August which was streamed on YAFM 91.8 radio station Facebook page, Great Dyke TV and 263 Chat.
The Marketing Association of Zimbabwe (MAZ) normally marks the beginning of its Super Brand awards process by holding an event to unveil the top 200 brands for the year in May. This year the association had to make do with just posting images of past unveiling events because the event could not be held because of the coronavirus-induced lockdown. MAZ, however, managed to hold the event virtually the following month with video footage being posted on its Facebook page and its website to increase the reach of the event.
One of the most innovative virtual business events held in Zimbabwe during the coronavirus pandemic so far is the Zimnat Client Virtual party which was held for groups of 11 customers each over three Fridays in June. Team building consultant and master of ceremonies, Maimba Mapuranga, who hosted the event, described it as “arguably a first for a corporate to hold a virtual cocktail event (which was) complete with a proper programme of a few speeches from MD and the GCEO in attendance. Guests even said a few words.” Mapuranga underscored how such events enabled companies to engage and interact with their customers despite the pandemic.
“I realised that it is definitely possible to embrace this new normal and you can go ahead and host your clients on virtual platforms and still have a great time,” he said.
In-person events still possible
Apart from the virtual awards, ZAS also showed that, although large gatherings are remain banned under the lockdown regulations, it is still possible to hold safe face to face business meetings. ZAS had earlier during the same week held the 2020 edition of its Annual National Agribusiness Conference on 24 August under the new business events normal of hand sanitisation, social distancing, strictly observing the 50-people maximum attendee requirement as well as masking up.
Hybrid events
The new normal has not only given rise to the ascendance of virtual events as a solution to the lockdown restrictions on the number of people that can gather for events at a time. It has also seen business event organisers taking a keen interest in using the virtual format to complement the in-person format in their future eventing. The Zimbabwe International Trade Fair Company Chairman, Busisa Moyo and the company’s Marketing and Public Relations Manager, Stella Nkomo are on record as indicating that their company was considering adding a virtual component to their face to face shows. This would result in a business event format known as a hybrid event.
Late last month MAZ General Secretary, Gillian Rusike used the social media to appeal to the association’s members and stakeholders to contribute “any ideas to make the (2020 MAZ annual) conference a success in view of the COVID-19 parameters.” Apart from the appeal, the association also sent out a brief online survey asking respondents to respond to questions that would assist it to determine whether or not to complement its in-person conference with a virtual conference. If MAZ adopts the hybrid format for the planned annual meet, this would enable would-be attendees who either can not afford to attend the conference or can afford to attend but have coronavirus safety concerns to attend using a format they are comfortable with.
The adoption of the new normal by business events organisers points to the realisation that the coronavirus pandemic will not go away as fast as the world would wish. It is the realisation that even if a vaccine could be found tomorrow, things will not just snap back to pre-coronavirus settings. It will take time for the business events industry and the rest of the economy to adapt to the post-COVID19 era and its demands. Those players who have already begun to do so are putting a foot into the doorway of the future of the business events industry.