Mar 31, 2021
Twelve months ago, no-one had thought of launching a Live Panels video series. Now they have become one of our most desirable commercial opportunities.
When the first lockdown was announced back in March 2020, information was rapidly changing. As a monthly publication, any news and advice we published in the printed magazine was out of date by the time it reached readers’ hands. We therefore needed to find new ways of getting this much-needed information out to our audience when they needed it; as a critical part of the industry, manufacturing sites were permitted to stay open, even at the height of the original lockdown, so making sure they were kept abreast of new legislation and advice was crucial.
At the same time, people were getting to grips with new ways of communicating, with video conferencing software such as Microsoft Teams and Zoom taking the place of physical meetings. As we all got to grips with seeing friends, family and clients virtually, we realised that this could be an ideal opportunity to solve the problem of providing information – and Manufacturing Management Live Panels were born.
Starting as an editorial initiative, we brought together panels of experts from industry, politics and academia to discuss key topics as they happened – everything from ensuring safe working conditions, to government announcements, to International Women’s Day. We also leveraged our relationship with industry body, Make UK, to add a weight and authority to the panels.
We quickly realised that they also had a commercial benefit, with sponsors able to get thought-leading content out to the market in a new and engaging way. Each panel is shared with our database of industry leaders, providing an ever-growing number of leads for sponsors.
The Live Panels have subsequently gone from strength to strength. They have been a bright spark in a difficult year, and have been extremely well received by panellists, our audience and sponsors alike. We have recently sourced a video editor to ‘spruce up’ the videos, adding to their impact. Our redesigned website, due to go live in late Spring, will have video content at its heart, and we have developed new video-based revenue streams, including five-minute ‘Ask the Expert’ Q&As.
What was initially intended to be a temporary fix to a fast-moving news cycle has now become one of our most prominent commercial opportunities, opening up a brand new revenue stream and bringing Manufacturing Management’s content to a new audience.
If you would like to discuss the commercial opportunities offered by Live Panels, please contact james.slade@markallengroup.com