An event manager without events

So without further ado I set up my home office. No problem, I think, despite the tendency to travel, I also like to be at home and so the laundry washes itself easily on the side. In the constant change between kitchen table and sofa, I change plans, cancel trips and hotels that I have already booked, inform my colleagues about cancelled events or suddenly appearing "online events", "virtual conferences", "online panels" and what all these formats are called these days. There are no limits to creativity. Speaking of creativity, this is also a useful companion in the home office. After a few days, you'll quickly have found the ideal conditions in terms of workplace, lighting conditions and which cushions in which combination produce the ideal sitting height, cleverly devised and perfected. Which brings me to the next point: perfectionism. In the home office, you can also simply take it down in some places. The time spent in the bathroom and in front of the wardrobe in the morning has been drastically reduced and you show yourself to your colleagues in a video chat all in nature. And yes, the camera stays on, which at the same time provides interesting insights into the home office environments of the colleagues. And since there is no need to travel to work (which is often not a pleasure in a city like Munich), the newly gained time is now used for the famous morning routine.

These few minutes are the encounter with myself… and that's what it's all about, in life, between people and also at events. At Merkle, everyone has their own word mark in the signature and on the business card, which they can design individually to express themselves, their interests and what they do at Merkle. My word mark is "Live Marketing. Create an experience. Real encounter. Merkle." 

Working in the home office for weeks with everything that comes with it, is definitely an experience. But does a real encounter still take place when everyone is just sitting in front of their screen in a quiet little room? I say yes, it can happen. Never before has it been so natural to ask your colleagues at the beginning of a video call how he/she is doing and to have an open ear even more than before. Because that's what makes Merkle what it is: cohesion and mutual support within the team. And so, as an "event manager without events", I never get bored even in these times. In addition to the events, which are now held in virtual form, I provide support for various topics in the online area and gain new and interesting insights. The world is getting more and more digital – that is nothing new. And even though webinars and similar formats have been commonplace for some years now, it is time for the "classic events" to think again. Today, the technical possibilities seem unlimited and offer a wide range of options for knowledge transfer, but also for interaction and collaboration. Formerly unimaginable, virtual workshops are now also a reality.

Our industry has now been given the impetus to rethink, whether it wants to or not, and many new opportunities and advantages are opening up. Not only can larger and more diverse target groups be reached through virtual events, aspects such as environmental protection and sustainability can also benefit. So many kilometres driven and air miles flown are saved and countless trees are allowed to live on because no tons of conference brochures, flyers and branding material are produced. And last but not least we save time, our most valuable asset. And it is exactly this time that can then be used for real encounters.