Business events: analog is the trump card

Scene Interlaken, January 30, 2024: After a break of several years, a change of ownership and a postponement of one year, the 18th Alpine Symposium. Until the enforced corona break, this business event had a fixed place in the diaries of many leaders from all industries. The event was founded over 20 years ago by Oliver Stoldt, Managing Director of Premium Speakers, a leading speakers' agency that he also set up himself. This has resulted in a global network with personal contacts to politicians, business leaders, economists, scientists, actors, entrepreneurs, athletes and artists. The idea behind the Alpine Symposium was obvious: he wanted to offer participants experiences that would inspire them both professionally and personally, Oliver Stoldt once said when asked what prompted him to found the business event, which takes place at the Victoria-Jungfrau Grand Hotel & Spa.

A new start with a new team

The concept worked. Prominent speakers such as Carla Del Ponte, Uli Hoeness, Dieter Bohlen, Guy Verhofstadt, Peer Steinbrück and many more inspired the guests at the Alpine Symposium. Before the enforced pandemic break, the event was regularly fully booked. Everything was fine, you might think. However, it became increasingly difficult to find sponsors whose visitor contingents ensured full halls. This is not only due to economic considerations: Corporate governance regulations of companies also increasingly restricted visits to such business events. However, Thomas Dürr from Act Entertainment AG, an event agency that is one of the largest in its field in Switzerland, still believed that such an event could continue to function even after the pandemic. "The Alpine Symposium has always appealed to me," says Thomas Dürr, who has also created the Greenfield Festival, an open-air rock festival, in Interlaken. Oliver Stoldt sold "his" event: the new owner is now Alpensymposium AG under the management of Act Entertainment. Together with Iris Huggler (Huggler Consulting GmbH) and other experienced managers from the event industry, Thomas Dürr has set himself the task of "giving the pearl of business meetings a new shine".

Indispensable business events - with the right positioning

The International Alpine Symposium is just one of many hundreds of business events that take place somewhere in our country every year. The market seems saturated - especially for events with national and international appeal. "There are many events with top speakers. We have to position ourselves correctly as an Alpine Symposium," says Iris Huggler. The focus is therefore on proven concepts with national and international speakers, a program mix of keynotes, talks and show elements and a great location with charisma. The brand that the Alpensymposium has built up over the years also plays a role. This was probably the only way to successfully relaunch the event after a four-year break. More than 200 participants attended the congress every day on January 30 and 31, 2024. The stars of the symposium were former German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer and German tennis legend Boris Becker.

Long-standing attendees of the Alpine Symposium will have noticed that there were fewer visitors at the Hotel Victoria-Jungfrau than in the "heyday" before the coronavirus pandemic. But that didn't dampen the mood. It seems that the organizers were guided by the motto "less is more". A calculation that probably worked out. "Our aim is to increase the number of participants to 300 at the next event. The infrastructure doesn't allow for more than 400 people per day anyway," explains Iris Huggler. The company is not even aiming for an event on the scale of the Swiss Economic Forum with over 1000 participants. "It's more difficult to make new contacts at such large events," continues Iris Huggler. And it is precisely the personal and informal nature of the Alpine Symposium that is intended to score points with participants.

More frequent visits to business events again

The importance of such events cannot be denied. Both organizers and participants see business events as the tool of choice to be successful professionally and as a company. The event marketing platform has analyzed why it is important to hold and participate in business events. Invitario.com as part of a study in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, which was published in fall 2023. One finding of the study: event marketing is booming - both among companies that organize events for their internal and external target groups and among the participants themselves:

• For more than half (52%) of the study participants, business events have become more important since the end of the pandemic, while their importance has remained the same for a further 40 percent. "Business events are an irreplaceable tool for meeting several prospects, customers, competitors and partners in the shortest possible time," commented one study participant.
• 45% of the companies surveyed state that they will hold more or significantly more events in 2023 than in 2022.
• Around a third (31%) of the event participants surveyed intend to attend more business events in the next twelve months than in the past twelve months, while a further 52% plan to attend the same number of events.
• This trend will continue in the medium term: For 54% of respondents, business events will become even more important in the next three years. Only 5 percent expect them to become less relevant over this period. "Everything that cannot be digitized will become more valuable," is another comment from the study.

Conclusion: Business events have become indispensable for both companies and participants. The study concludes that the combination of content and networking opens up new opportunities for business and careers. The Alpine Symposium can serve as an illustrative example here.

More career and entrepreneurial success thanks to business events

The high demand for events is probably also related to the fact that participants see them as an important factor in accelerating their own professional career: For 79 percent, attending business events is an important prerequisite for professional success. Only three percent do not attach any importance to business events in this context.

Business events are also a decisive success factor for companies: 91% consider the organization of events to be of great or very great importance for the economic success of the company. As we know, there is a lot going on in the economy at the moment. Maintaining business relationships is therefore taking on a new significance. Establishing new relationships remains just as important. According to the Invitario study, companies solve these challenges with business events by bringing together the right participants in the right context. For around two thirds (65%) of those surveyed, business development is a decisive motive for organizing business events - and also a sponsorship argument.

Networking as the primary goal

The most frequently cited goal for participating in and organizing business events is networking: For both companies (72%) and participants (77%), the planned or random exchange with other people is the most important motive for participating in or organizing business events. Organizers therefore offer formats designed to support networking. There is speed networking (similar to the well-known speed dating) or apps with a stored list of participants, which participants can use to network directly. Networking areas, which allow participants to network undisturbed, are now also a standard feature at events. The need for support for targeted networking is also confirmed by the above-mentioned study: 50% of the participants surveyed would like this, and 27% would not object to automated matchmaking with contact suggestions. Greater integration of LinkedIn profiles, for example, or the ability to make appointments in advance of business events are also on the wish list of around a third of respondents - digital tools to make the analog trump cards work.

Every fifth company saves on events

Organizing business events costs money. Factors such as inflation, energy prices, the climate crisis and supply chains are causing around a fifth (22%) of the companies surveyed to make savings in event marketing. According to the Invitario study, location, catering, program design, travel costs and technology are particularly affected by savings.

But business events also have their price for participants. Anyone who wanted to attend the Alpine Symposium on both days, including the gala dinner on the first evening, had to budget over CHF 1,000. It is not known how many companies are prepared to pay such contributions from the donations pot. But if the program is right and participation increases the chances of business success, then such an investment should be worthwhile. At this year's Alpine Symposium, this seemed to be the case. "We received a lot of positive feedback from the participants," says Iris Huggler.