So it's been a long road to get to this point, and we certainly aren't out of the woods yet. But this week we took another step along the long road back to normalcy – or at least the "new normal" as it's being referred to!

At the end of last month we had the great pleasure of executing our first live event deployment in over 18 months. This was thanks to our valued partner Syngene asking us to help out with design and installation of their booth at CPhI North America, at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, USA.

Of course we haven’t jumped back in time to the beginning of 2020, and everyone involved has been fully aware of the importance of remembering that we are living in a changed world. Covid precautionary measures were very much in effect, with all in-person attendees asked to wear facemasks, as well as engage with stringent safety guidelines including contact-free registration, avoiding physical contact such as handshaking and hugging, and exchanging printed materials such as business cards and brochures.

Notably, this was also a hybrid event. We love live events, but over the past year and a half we’ve all learned a great deal about the benefits of involving an online audience, in an integrated way, with in-person events. If people don’t feel safe to travel, we don’t feel they should miss out in any way on the experiences and learning opportunities we hope our events provide. Hybrid provides a perfect channel for this.

Regardless of all of that, it was great to get back “on the ground”, helping our partners to re-engage with the essential human qualities of business. Meeting new people face-to-face and discussing shared challenges and aspirations needs to take place in the real world. Event managers – including many of those in attendance at CPhI have been adamant about this. Virtual and hybrid events – while very valuable tools in their own right – simply don’t tick all of the boxes, all of the time.

Our calendar of future live events that we’re involved with is already starting to fill up, and it’s incredibly exciting for us to be taking these first, tentative steps back out into the real world. We hope all of our friends and customers will continue to keep themselves as safe as possible, but at the same time we hope it won’t be too long before we’re back together in person, and enjoying the thrill of travelling to new places and experiencing new things.

Now live events are back, Buzznation is ready to help out with any requirements you have for exhibition booths and stalls. We offer a full service from design to installation, staffing, tech connectivity and take-down, and operate across the USA, Europe, India and Australia. Please get in touch with us today.