May 15, 2020

Event Safety Alliance Releases Reopening Guide

The ESA has released updated best practices for getting events back up and running safely and efficiently.

We’re all eagerly awaiting the day when we can get back to designing, producing and delivering experiences to consumers– this week there’s a bit of good news on that front! The Event Safety Alliance has released their Reopening Guide to assist event industry professionals in bringing events back online safely and efficiently. It’s full of useful + timely information around messaging, operations, vendor management and more specifically related to building consumer confidence as we all seek to return to normalcy. It’s available for free and definitely worth a read if you’re looking to go live in Q3 or Q4 of this year. 

Stay safe out there!

–Garth Hill, Account Director, North America

The Day the Live Concert Returns

Dave Grohl discusses the innate human desire to connect and his optimism for the future.

In an article penned for the Atlantic, the former Nirvana drummer and Foo Fighters frontman shares a refreshingly normal take on what it's like to be just another guy in a crowd, advice he got from Bruce Springsteen after a legendary 4 hour show in Seattle, and why he’s sure we’ll all be back out amongst 20,000 of our closest friends soon!

Times like these may seem everlong, but we’ll all surely learn to fly again! In the meantime, enjoy some classic Foo Fighters content live from acoustic isolation, near Meshh HQ at a packed out Wembley Stadium, and by 1000 people in Cesena, Italy, a reminder of better times in an area that has shown tremendous strength meeting the challenge facing them through these past few months.

-Rob Hoffman, Projects Manager, North America

Get Some Fresh Air (safely)

Using live data to optimise service delivery and improve safety

For most users, broadband speeds have been consistent despite the increased strain of lock down usage. This is because broadband providers make good use of live data to prioritise resources and deliver the best possible user experience.

Most notably, with March's Call of Duty update patch, there have been a few spikes, as Matthew Hughes of The Register notes in his examination of UK broadband behavior during the pandemic. 

-Andrew Bacon, Global Technical Director

Keeping Calm and Carrying On Through Corona

Our fearless leader is not getting over excited as new industry standards begin to surface.  

It's been emotional, highs, lows, fearful, sensationalized and we still have a long way to go. Absorbing other people's drama and over use of exclamation marks has proved quite draining. That's why I am focusing on pragmatism, common sense and as much fact consumption as I can muster this week. 

There have been 2 standouts, the One Plan Events session on Stadium and Arena Planning with Willem Hagen & Paul Foster and the accompanying social distancing toolkit was informative and actionable. As a fan of common sense, The Unlimited Group piece on post Covid experiential by Andy Walton is a good thought provoking read that doesn't have any over dramatic flourishes or pronouncements. 

I don't have a crystal ball, nor does anyone else that I know. Meshh ( and I ) will make evidence based choices and take each day as it comes, even though that’s not exciting and does not warrant an exclamation mark !!!!

-Caroline McGuckian, CEO

Digital FOMO is nothing like actually missing out.

Better digital access to become the norm but will we still want to be there?  

With very little to do in the way of traditional socialising in the real world, my FOMO has translated to extreme consumption of content, here’s some highlights & reflection.

With attractions, venues, museums, zoos, exhibitions, sports teams and festival owners churning out free or discounted access, what does post lockdown look like?  If we’re looking at the positive (as I tend to do), it’s been a great opportunity to acquire new digital audiences… IBM Think had 90,000+ virtual attendees, a huge increase from the 30,000 people that physically attended in 2019!  The counter to that is, how do properties then convert those audiences to revenue or at the very least, continue the social good which has come to the fore? 

This Forbes article talks about IBM Think and how tech CMOs are addressing these challenges, one of which has to be; will digital ever truly replace physical when it comes to B2B relationship building and experiences?

-Duncan McIntyre, Managing Director, North America