Post-Corona Begins with Digital Transformation.

Post-Corona Begins with Digital Transformation.

Hello, this is Chris & Partners. 😊 Through the COVID-19 pandemic, contactless/untact culture has established itself as a new normal in our daily lives. Accordingly, various industries, meeting the post-corona era, are bringing forward the Digital Transformation they'd been preparing from a long-term perspective, and change is happening rapidly—so let's look at what Digital Transformation is and what cases there are.

Digital Transformation?

Source: YouTube YTN Science channel [Docu S Prime]

Digital Transformation means Digital Transformation—that is, applying digital technology across society to innovate traditional social structures. At this present moment when the 4th Industrial Revolution is rapidly accelerating due to the COVID-19 virus, this Digital Transformation (hereafter DT) is emerging as a topic that encompasses all industries—production, sales, services, and more—not merely a concept used only in the IT industry. Shall we look at cases of DT that have already begun establishing themselves in our lives and at application points for the MICE industry? (Source: Naver Knowledge Encyclopedia)

Digital Transformation cases

For us, in an ongoing pandemic situation, DT has already established itself in our lives. In these days when contactless has emerged as a key keyword, ordering at a kiosk at a restaurant or café, or ordering delivery food using a phone app, are all examples of Digital Transformation happening in daily life. Let's look at slightly more specific cases.

Webinars

Last year, the majority of companies worldwide implemented remote work, converting work online. Not only within companies but also company-to-company meetings, as well as various seminars and international conferences, were all converted online. A webinar, a compound of ‘web’ and ‘seminar,’ is exactly a representative example of DT. The most representative platform on which webinars are conducted, Zoom was the most-downloaded app on Apple's App Store in 2020. With daily users reaching about 350 million and its stock price jumping fivefold and revenue more than fourfold, it is raising its standing. Through Zoom's achievements over the past year, you can see that various institutions, companies, and nations are conducting DT. Instead of preparing printed presentation/meeting materials and gathering together at a set-up site to run programs, a webinar—where, from one's own country/space, you see faces via webcam and view materials through screen sharing—is the most actively realized form of DT in the MICE industry right now.

The metaverse

Source: The Sandbox

In 2021, the hottest trend drawing attention is probably the metaverse (Metaverse). The metaverse, meaning a 3D virtual-world reality transcending reality based on virtual-reality (VR) and augmented-reality (AR) technology, is already counted as the platform where American teens stay the longest. ‘Roblox,’ counted as a representative platform, is joined by 55% of American teens under 16, and its daily average users alone reach 40 million, it's said. The popular K-pop idol BTS also first unveiled a new song's music video on the metaverse platform ‘Fortnite.’ Joe Biden, the US President, when facing difficulties campaigning due to COVID-19, used the game ‘Animal Crossing’ to set up a campaign and actively communicate with voters. Nike Korea also ran a contactless workshop, ‘Nike Digital Field Day,’ prepared to boost staff morale and foster in-house unity in a virtual space, escaping a reality where social distancing has become routine—holding it through the world's steady-selling game ‘Minecraft.’ Through such metaverse use, you can see cases of DT being conducted in various areas beyond the entertainment realm—politics, economy, society, and more.

DT cases of various companies

Both overseas and domestic companies are pressing ahead with Digital Transformation. Starbucks, which could be called the king of the coffee-chain world, can be cited as a company actively conducting DT—using the e-Frequency service for collecting coupons via a smartphone app, and the Siren Order system for ordering a drink and picking it up immediately without waiting. Also, it recently opened a pickup-only store in New York where you can only pick up drinks, introducing a system to receive ordered drinks efficiently and quickly. IKEA, the furniture store that started in Sweden and is loved worldwide, provides a service using AR so customers can check in advance whether the furniture they want to buy suits their home and how it can be arranged. Domestically, you can find DT cases in the dawn-delivery and same-day-delivery systems many people use lately. The retail industry is recently speeding up its conversion to fulfillment—an integrated logistics-management system overseeing the storage, packing, delivery, inventory, and the like of goods. Shinsegae E-mart, through this system's conversion, increased the number of deliveries one existing employee handled from 30 to about 50 per hour, delivering faster to more customers and raising sales, it's said.

DT in the MICE industry

It's no exaggeration to say the industry hit hardest by the pandemic is the MICE industry. In 2021, due to vaccine distribution, hybrid events running online and offline in parallel again are forecast to be activated. However, even if the COVID-19 virus completely ends, there's no guarantee another virus won't come to us. Before COVID, the MICE industry's important point was gathering as many people on-site as possible and accommodating as many people as possible in one space. But now a new-normal era has arrived where online attendance becomes an essential option. Many global convention centers have already newly built digital equipment and professional studios used in events, and not only large centers but small and mid-sized facilities and companies, too, are actively engaging with this trend. Yoo Byung-joon, a professor in Seoul National University's College of Business Administration, said DT should be viewed from the perspective of a long-term project that invests ample time and cost, not a short-term view. As the underlying idea is that DT must change to be ‘user-centered,’ the MICE industry, too, through ample analysis and trial and error, will have to prepare a customer-first DT that can safely meet customers' new needs in the new-normal era.

At Chris & Partners, through systematic analysis and various challenges, we provide a higher level of digital events. As an industry Digital Transformation leading group, we have already proven the legitimacy and excellence of the digital approach through various events. We are a proven PCO that planned and successfully operated various events—<2020 ICCA General Assembly Hub Seoul>, hosted by the International Congress and Convention Association and the Seoul Tourism Organization, <2020 Seoul Peace Dialogue>, hosted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and organized by The Seoul Institute, <3rd Africa Martial Arts Webinar> hosted by the UNESCO International Centre of Martial Arts, and more. Prepare your event with Chris & Partners, a professional platform ready for various in-person/contactless meetings, hybrid/virtual events, and digital marketing. 😉