PA Life publisher Forum Events & Media Groupย has successfully held its first virtual events, establishing a blueprint for B2B networking and conferences in the ‘new normal’.
In recent weeks we’ve hosted two full-day conferences โย PA Life LIVE, which brought together Executive and Personal Assistants for a full day of learning, and theย Hotel Designs LIVE event, aimed at hoteliers, interior designers and architects.
Both digital conferences also featured โsupplier pitchโ sessions, allowing delegates to hear about products, services and solutions relevant to their upcoming projects.
We are also delighted to confirm that the PA Life Summit, which takes place on September 7th, and the next instalment of PA Life LIVE on September 30th, will run as hybrid and virtual events, respectfully.
In addition, Forum Events & Media Group has hosted two B2B networking Summits for the security industry, with over 550 individual meetings taking place.
All these virtual events attractedย professionals from the likes of Amazon, Asprey London, Associated British Foods, BNP Paribas, Department of Work & Pensions, Essex County Council, HSBC, JP Morgan, Legal and General, London Stansted Airport, Manchester Airport Group, Matalan, Marriott International, National Trust, NatWest Markets, Pret A Manger, Royal Mail, Sodexo, Tesco Mobile, United International Pictures, ViacomCBS and many more.
With live events unable to take place for the foreseeable future due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Forum has expanded its cutting-edge proprietary software to create a new interface with live video meetings. This has allowed the company to create a virtual Forum platform, taking the events experience virtual. These events allow procurement executives to source new solutions, and give suppliers the opportunity to discover new clients โ and ultimately, keep industries talking.
In addition to the virtual meetings, delegates had the opportunity to โattendโ streamed webinar sessions hosted by industry experts.
โThe COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown restrictions associated with it have had a major impact on how we, as a nation, do business,โ said Forum Events & Media Group Managing Director Sarah Beall. โExhibitions are postponed, traditional conferences and networking events are on hold for the foreseeable future. But the wheels of commerce must keep turning and businesses need to connect, particularly during these unprecedented times as companies look for practical solutions to their challenges during the pandemic.
โLike many of our colleagues in the events sector, we have a goal to #GetBritainMeeting. The events industry is a ยฃ70 billion sector that employs 700,000 people and is currently on its knees, with no โgo dateโ yet from the Government about when we can host live events.
โThe events industry is full of forward-thinking individuals who are more than capable of making controlled, organised events and exhibitions COVID-secure. But with no greenlight from the Government, we cannot sit back and wait. We are creative and innovative thinkers and, like many other events businesses, we have taken our events virtual.
โThe success of our first virtual events has proved that business connections can still be made in an online environment. Over 550 meetings in two days shows the potential โ and weโre looking forward to hearing back from our guests about the business deals that are made as a result of this event.โ
Further virtual events are on the agenda at Forum and for PA Life, while going forward the company is also planning โhybridโ events allowing delegates to choose whether they attend the events in person or via a digital option.
