Exhibition News interviewed Sarah Cox, new MD of Jonas Event Tech (JET).
Sarah is returning to the exhibition world after a varied career spanning theatre, corporate events and conferences.
Her new role, she says, brings together two things she’s passionate about: “the relationships in the exhibition world” and the opportunity to work in technology that “can unlock real possibilities for organisers.”
In this interview with Exhibition News, Sarah shares why organisers must ditch the “we’ve always done it this way” mentality. The sector, she told us, needs to stop “shoehorning” tech into events and start designing around actual customer needs.
Jonas Event Technology (JET) has been through a year of change. With the departure of former MD Oliver Smart, the company has brought in Sarah Cox. An industry veteran with experience across the events sector, Sarah is ready to lead JET to its next phase.
From conferences to exhibitions: “It’s good to be back”
Sarah began her career in theatre admin before moving into the conference world, which she described as “always the classy end of the market.” But it was the exhibition world that hooked her.
“The relationships are just better,” she said. “I loved it – so it’s great to be back.”
One of the biggest differences, according to Sarah? Lead times.
“In my previous role [corporate events], an event could be dropped in three weeks prior – that’s incredibly difficult.
“People don’t drop an exhibition short notice, it just isn’t feasible. At JET, we have a calendar of events. I can see what’s planned for the next 6-12 months. I can see what our team are going to be deployed. You can plan your resourcing properly. That’s a pleasant change. It gives you little bit more control, more visibility. And the relationships are better.
“I do wonder whether at some point that procurement angle will start to hit the exhibition world. But it’s nowhere near there yet.“
On her move to Jonas: “It felt like the right time to shift the model”
Sarah told us that she sees the tech sphere bringing a load of new opportunities to her clients. And the way JET is structured lets her focus entirely on improving the company’s service, with finance and HR left to other departments.
“I’m excited by the possibilities in the technology sphere. There’s so much more we could be doing in registration, lead scanning and (I shudder to mention) AI. You know, with AI and other improving technologies, there is so much more we could do for our customers that could really unlock possibilities for them. So it feels like a nice time to be working in an area which I don’t know very well. But I’m learning fast.
“They’re a really good team. A small team – very agile. That’s what I like. We’re lucky, though, because we’re part of a massive group.“
“Within Constellation Software, which owns Jonas, the level of investment, the level of security, of innovation and tech advancement is almost limitless. So I’m basically left to run the business.
“I have a decentralised system, so I outsource finance, HR and stuff. That means that the team I have around me are entirely focused on doing what we do. It’s a strong model. And I like that.“
On Oliver’s departure
I asked Sarah about the rather sudden departure of Oliver Smart as MD. Was there some kind of clash of opinion about how the company should move forward?
“I don’t know Oliver, so I can’t comment on what his vision for the business was. But from my perspective, I think it’s really important that we’re not providing technology for technology’s sake. Tech businesses have a responsibility to understand that you can never lose sight of the customer.
Never tech for tech’s sake
“So with innovation, you’ve got to find the right direction. Instead of coming up with something really great and saying I’ve found this really great tech solution – where can I shoehorn it into the event world? It’s actually saying – well, my customers are telling us that they have this issue, how can we solve that technologically?
“So for example, we we’re hosting focus groups with our customers at the moment. Where our product manager will talk to them face to face about where they see the event.
“Also, we’ve got an event app in development at the moment. Customers are feeding in information. Obviously there are a bunch of event apps on the market at the moment. The key thing for us, though, is that we’re discovering from our customers that some of these apps are too complicated. In some cases, we’re being told that these apps have added functionality they don’t really want.”
Wi-Fi woes and working with venues
Another area Sarah is focusing on is venue infrastructure. “We do have some challenges with Wi-Fi and venues at the moment. A lot of our solutions are dependent on it.”
To tackle that, she’s joined the Cross-Association Working Group For Technology. “I want to talk to venues about how we can work together more productively to solve those problems. At the end of the day, that’s what venues want too – they want people to come back and have a great experience.”
Standing out from competitors like Livebuzz
I asked Sarah about how JET stands out from its competition – like Livebuzz.
“There will always be things that we do better and things that perhaps they do better. We’re very lucky we deliver 180 events a year for about 80 customers.”
That mindset is behind JET’s new “Reg in a box” offer – a stripped-back registration product for smaller shows. “We’re having our first event this month. It’s for organisers with under 1,000 attendees – people who want a very light-touch registration experience and don’t want to pay for all the bells and whistles.
“It’s all in an app. They set up their own on-site badge machine. They generate their own badges. They don’t need us there – it’s extremely customisable.”
AI should solve real problems
On the inevitable topic of AI, Sarah is optimistic – with caveats. “We’re already interacting with AI all the time. But we need to start with what problem we’re trying to solve. AI might not be the right solution for everything.”
She sees potential in data interpretation. “We’re looking at some AI-based ways to help our customers better understand registration trends, buying behaviour and on-site participation. That would allow organisers to better understand their visitors and exhibitor behaviours and help them make better decisions. I think that’s really exciting.”
Matchmaking isn’t the answer
While she welcomes innovation, Sarah understands how slowly the sector tends to move. “The exhibition market doesn’t move very quickly. We need to bring our customers with us – and that takes time.”
That’s especially true, she says, for networking technology. “There’s this idea that matchmaking and pre-event messaging is the answer. But people are busy. They often don’t think about the show until the day itself. That’s when they rock up and they download the app and say, “OK, where should I go?”
She’d rather focus on helping organisers improve the on-site experience. “The actual networking still doesn’t really happen online. It happens when you see someone across the aisle and go: ‘Oh, there’s whoever.’ That kind of spontaneous stuff is where the magic happens.”
A global mindset
JET already works in the UK, Europe and North America – but Sarah sees room for more international expansion. “There are some robust local solutions out there, but there’s also opportunity. The key is understanding the local market. What works in London won’t necessarily work in Vegas.”
She’s mindful, though, of Brexit-related complications. “We’ve got some issues around visas, permits to work, carnets for equipment. We’re still not out of the Brexit woods. But our solutions might involve local kits.”
Maybe exhibitors shouldn’t take their “best salespeople”?
People buy from people, right? So, you build a big stand, you take your 10 best salespeople and actually they’re like fish out of water because this isn’t how they normally sell.
And they just stand there. So there’s actually an argument for not taking you best salespeople with you on the stand. It’s exhausting. People don’t always want to talk to you. Maybe we should be sending the receptionist, or the people who work on the product. People who know how to talk to people.”
The key, she says, is to focus less on stand design and more on messaging. “Does your stand actually say what you do? Is it clear? Is it something people want?”
Data first, assumptions later
Looking ahead, Sarah wants to push organisers to ask better questions – and not rely on gut feeling. “One of the criticisms I’d have of our industry is that we tend to think we know best. But we forget to ask the right questions. We’re a little scared of change.”
JET is already using survey tools from its wider group to give organisers deeper insight into what’s working and what isn’t. “It often comes from places you don’t expect,” she said. “There’s great potential there.”
Optimism – with a push to actually change things
Despite the challenges, Sarah remains confident about the future. “I’m hugely optimistic. The sector we work in is phenomenal. Trade shows have been around for centuries, and they’ll continue to be.”
So what’s next? Sarah is working on business cases to unlock further investment and hopes to see a “few big moves” in the next 12 months.
Her biggest concern is that the industry gets complacent.
“One of the criticisms I’d have of our industry is that we tend to think we know best. We forget to ask the right questions, and we can be a little scared of change – but change is great. There are going to be so many reasons for us to embrace it.”
And with that, she smiles: “Bring it on.”
The post “Maybe don’t put your best salespeople on the stand”: new JET MD Sarah Cox’s vision appeared first on Exhibition News | The trade for shows..