Self-innovations for the industry recovery

Fu Bingbing

The centrepiece of Melbourne’s new South Wharf development is the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre （MCEC） - Australia’s most versatile convention and exhibition facility. The MCEC boasts 52 meeting rooms of various sizes， a grand banquet room， a spectacular entry level foyer， and a 5550+ state-of-the-art plenary that can be divided into three self-contained， acoustically separate theatres.

Sitting alongside and internally linked to the convention center， the MCEC features 30，000 square metres of purpose-built clearspan exhibition space， meeting rooms， a 466-seat auditorium and the Clarendon Room with spectacular views over the Yarra River.

Here we specially have Peter King， CEO of MCEC and vice president of AIPC be with us today for an interview on this edition of our Column to explore the current situation in Melbourne’s exhibition industry under this very pandemic.

Self-innovations for adaption to lock-down

Peter King tells the reporter that although they have been facing with the fact their revenues has almost gone from a record year to zero ever since the pandemic due to the lockdown period， they have still stayed optimistic and confident in the future. ？

As far as Peter King is concerned that when MCEC is able to reopen its doors， the world will be operating and it will be completely different and so too will the needs of the customers. Peter King also explains that they need to unlock the power of their people， they will create a new business and re-launch the strategy driven by putting people into multi-functional groups and throw them new initiatives to explore. ？

In addition， Peter King states that they decide and need to create new products and services –value add’s to their customers’ base – and build and discover new partnerships. “people who have never thought to talk to them and who we have never had to consider in the past.” Peter King says. It remains an untapped source of the future growth. ？

“While our doors were closed， we launched new products including our new Virtual Events offering， we partnered with Film Victoria to film a Hollywood blockbuster in our exhibition bays and worked with Village Cinemas to host a drive-in cinema over summer. We previously were so busy our team’s time was occupied 110% by BAU and event delivery – we had no capacity to innovate. During 2020 and 2021 we found ourselves with 100% of our time available to drive innovation. That’s something we want to retain and balance alongside our BAU. ” Peter King sighs. ？

Well preparations for the physical recovery

Peter King understands much better that they know people still desire for the face-toface meetings. Where the opportunity for them exists， exploring how they can share the event experience with a wider audience， who exist outside of their physical venue. “ Virtual events are unquestionably here to stay， also create a new revenue opportunity for our business and is a chance for MCEC to help our customers reach more people than ever before. We have the technology and expertise to bring those virtual and hybrid events to life and are continuing to do a lot of work in this space to ensure we offer market leading products.” Peter King says with great confidence.

Peter King points out that they have been working incredibly hard over the past years to ensure that when events return， they will be able to do so safely. With their VenueSafe Plans in place， they can again host anything from a small meeting to an exhibition. As restrictions begin to lift， they have some promising signs for face to face exhibitions to start back quickly that they have a couple still hopeful of delivering in the pre-Christmas Day. ？

Positive responses to customers’ changing needs

Peter King tells the reporter that they are very realistic， the business won’t return to the same pre-coronavirus levels any time soon， but they all know how important the event industry is to the wider economy. They are still very lucky to have the loyal customers who continue to support and grow with them， even in these difficult times. Peter King is confident that Melbourne will bounce back as it has been a leading events destination for a long time. Their reputation as a world-class venue still remains and they have worked to retain our competitive advantage and respond to the changing needs of their customers.？

Peter King shares with the reporter that they have a new business strategy which focuses on four key priorities：

1. The business sustainability through the customer experience.

2. Activating pride in MCEC and generating value for their community.

3. Continuing a commitment to being unconventional through exploring new markets and ideas and

4. Building a future-focused workforce and culture.

“We have been working hard to ensure they can be delivered safely when they do return – Venue Safe Guidelines document is extensive.

We believes that a significant part of the traditional business will come back over time– the need for people to meet face to face and learn and be entertained is critical to the human psyche. Our future focus is how do we adapt to meet？the unfulfilled capacity. ” Peter King adds.

Great significance to the economic recovery

“We host more than 1，000 events each year， each one like no other. We have beautiful spaces， innovative menus and the best people in the business. Our team are not just the best at what they do， they’re the best at doing things no-one else has done before. All this comes together for moments that will stay with you long after your event.” Peter King briefs.

“As Melbourne’s largest public assets – we know MCEC will play an important role in our city’s economic recovery. MCEC is more than an incredible event space. We are home to unconventional experiences that bring people together. ” Peter King highlights.