Article actual date: Feb 14, 2022

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“What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” Indeed, this quote perfectly encapsulates the entire journey that AntwerpXL 2021 went through. With a strong focus in the niche sector of breakbulk, AntwerpXL 2021, which occurred on the 7th to 9th December, provided the opportunity for leading businesses within the industry to interact, engage, and connect.

Unfortunately, obstacles arose before AntwerpXL 2021 could be held. The emergence of the Omicron variant caused a surge in Covid-19 cases over the year-end, resulting in government restriction policies that affected onsite events. It seemed imminent that AntwerpXL 2021 may have had to be postponed until a later date.

This postponement would undoubtedly impact attendance of the event negatively, and organizers would have to fork out a higher budget and more resources to make adjustments for the event as well. This is unquestionably something that no organizers would want to see happen, and as such, an eleventh-hour decision was made — AntwerpXL 2021 will go virtual.

Go S.A.F.E. with Jublia

At Jublia, we advocate for and believe in a Secure, Anticipate, and Future-proof Event (S.A.F.E) planning. We pride ourselves in being able to provide flexible and safe solutions catered to each of our clients’ different needs for their events to minimize risks and be prepared in the face of uncertainty.

After the organizers of AntwerpXL 2021 expressed their interest in switching the event into virtual, we at Jublia immediately started on this challenge. We efficiently converted everything to the virtual platform and emailed all attendees shortly afterwards to inform them of the event change from onsite to virtual.

We helped AntwerpXL 2021 in shifting to virtual smoothly through the Digital Fabric concept, which provided a safety blanket that mitigated risk and increased flexibility in event planning that allowed organizers of AntwerpXL 2021 to change strategies and shift the event to fully virtual. Through the Digital Fabric concept, we at Jublia aimed to enhance and amplify the event experience at AntwerpXL 2021.

With much dedication and hard work from Jublia, the challenge was finally overcome: the conversion from onsite to virtual was successfully completed within a day, and as a result, AntwerpXL 2021 was able to be held as planned with satisfying results attained at no extra cost.

Rikki Bhachu, Head of Marketing of AntwerpXL 2021, shared his experience in partnering with Jublia and how Jublia made the event possible:

“As we strived to make AntwerpXL, the event focused on the future of breakbulk, we’re extremely thankful for the support and flexibility from the Jublia team in converting our event to virtual within just a day when faced with such a last-minute challenge. We felt safe working with Jublia, and we have no doubt that Jublia’s expertise and experience in live events played a part in the success of AntwerpXL 2021, and allowed our event to end on a successful note. ”

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Reaching Greater Heights

The resounding success of AntwerpXL 2021 can be illustrated through Jublia’s AI Engagement Hub. We at Jublia worked extensively with the organizers to ensure that this event can become the home of breakbulk, allowing businesses in this niche industry to easily connect and extensively create business opportunities with each other.

The result: Almost 2000 attendees from over 700 companies that are situated in 80 countries internationally attended AntwerpXL 2021 virtually. The event also amassed searches and click-throughs that revealed the industrial trends attendees are currently interested in, which can help Antwerp XL 2021 pave the road for relevant and timely post-event discussions to keep attendees interested.

The top 3 industry trends as per the attendees are:

1. Project Cargo
2. Bulk Cargo
3. Automotive and Roro

As such, these industries can become follow-up topics or conversations Antwerp 2021 can use to continue engagement with their attendees post-event, as well as giving attendees a second opportunity to forge new connections or strengthen existing ones. Through activities like updating attendees with timely information on these industries and creating healthy discussions around them, Antwerp 2021 will be able to facilitate the forming of valuable connections, continue the unforgettable experiences for attendees and keep them continuously engaged even after the event has ended.

Talk With Us!

We at Jublia are proud to have played an important role in assisting organizers of AntwerpXL 2021 to convert their event from onsite to virtual expeditiously with resounding success. We always strive to minimize any risks for each and every of our clients’ needs with safe event planning, and we sincerely wish that the success and resilience showcased in AntwerpXL 2021 can be carried on to AntwerpXL 2022 and brought to even greater heights.

Interested in knowing more about Jublia’s Safe, Anticipate, Future-proof Event (S.A.F.E.) framework? You can find out by contacting us at info@jublia.com and following us on our LinkedIn!