As I write this blog post, it is the day that TOC Europe 2020 would have opened in Rotterdam. We were excited by the changes that we were making to the content, adding
theatres to the exhibition floor and the introduction of bitesize sessions for easily digestible information. Unfortunately, and rightfully so, as the pandemic has taken hold, we will have to wait and look forward to hosting this again next year.
Like many, I have read lots of articles and listened to many talks about how the world and the industry is changing and will change over the coming months. The one element that has stood out and is dominating discussions is the shift towards the consumption of content through digital channels.
TOC’s (very quick) journey to Digital…
2020 (easy for me say now) was going to be the year when TOC ventured into the Digital realm. We had
made some changes to our structure and with welcomed additions to the team, we really felt that we could support our Live events through a series of Digital offerings. What COVID-19 did was force us to deliver a 6-month digital operation fully functional in around 6 weeks. My thanks go to the TOC Team who have worked around the clock to make sure that this happened.
My biggest thanks go to those in and around the sector that have supported us by participating in our digital offerings to date. When we started to approach speakers, we were delighted with the feedback and commitment that we received and special thanks go to BIMCO, SeaIntelligence Consulting, maritime street, MSC, Traxens, Konecranes, Kalmar & Siemens who have agreed to speak in our webinars in H1 of 2020.
I won’t use this opportunity to pontificate about the benefits of digital, but I would like to spend the next part to talk about the one element that has sprung out for me in this digital age. It used to frustrate me that I would spend time with speakers, exhibitors, and supporters and let’s say an interesting debate started at our show in Singapore, could not be continued for another 6 weeks until we met again in Rotterdam and then from there it could be another 3 months until we were able to continue a dialogue in Latin America.
What Digital means is that we no longer have to wait to inform and debate when the critical issue arises. We can now collaborate with the industry and tailor and plan editorial and content packages that last over the course of the year (or longer) and make sure the industry continues to talk and showcase its work to each other – something that is vital during these times.
The power of face-to-face…
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Like most, and as we in the UK enter our 11th week (or maybe 12th, you start to lose track) of lockdown, you do miss the physical interactions that we used to have daily with colleagues, family and friends and being in the room with others.
There is no doubt that the day-day working lives that we all knew before the pandemic will have changed but one thing I have consistently heard is that when it is safe to do so, we all look forward to being back in the room with the industry and look forward to hopefully seeing everyone again at the next live TOC Event.
In the meantime, please do enjoy all the offerings from TOC Digital:
- View the recordings of our first two webinars here
- Download a case study of TOC Digital’s first webinar ‘The New “New Normal” Impact of COVID-19 on Global Supply Chains’ here
- Sign up for TOC Digital’s monthly newsletter here
Do keep a regular eye on the TOC Digital website – stay informed of our upcoming webinars and take advantage of our handy content library that we’ll be adding to over the coming months, plus contact information if you fancy getting involved with one of our future webinars – enjoy!
Sam
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