Insight
ICE LONDON 2022 Clarion Gaming
Alex Pratt, Group Managing Director, Clarion Gaming
“Everything points to the show taking place as planned: we have the right demographics to attend the show, we have permission to run large scale events in the UK from September, which will get easier as we progress, and we have an audience telling us that they want a show, plus we have a huge commitment from our exhibitors. Considering how far out from February we are, we are very close to replicating the size of ICE 2020, which is very positive and a little unexpected.”
Stop, look and listen: Clarion’s crossroads moment for ICE
After a 24-month absence, Clarion Gaming has had time to reflect on what the industry wants and needs. In today's Pulse, Alex Pratt, Group Managing Director at Clarion Gaming, tackles the perennial question of whether the exhibition will remain in London. Not paying lip service to the industry, Alex says the team is currently analysing potential locations and that a decision will be made by the end of the summer. Issuing a passionate defence of the show's support for land-based businesses and dismissing the notion of a digital ICE show, the interview examines the logistical wrenches of Covid-19, Brexit, and Clarion's management team overhaul.
How definitive an answer can you give that ICE London 2022 will be a physical event that will take place in February next year - what are the likely restrictions for visitors and exhibitors?
I’m an optimistic person, but I made the mistake of thinking the 2021 show was going to go ahead too, so I’d say logic tells me it’s highly likely.
Te audience make-up of ICE is comprised of over half from the UK, 40 per cent from Europe and the remaining 10 per cent is Rest of the World, the bulk of which is the US - all from countries with high levels of double vaccinated people. Additionally, the recent survey that we sent out with the help of G3 asked if your audience was planning to attend ICE in 2022. We continue to collate the results, but at present - 75 per cent said Yes, three per cent said No - while the remaining 22 per cent were Not Sure. And if you look at this last category, they told us they’d visit London if there weren’t travel barriers and quarantines still in existence.
Everything points to the show taking place as planned: we have the right demographics to attend the show, we have permission to run large scale events in the UK from September, which will get easier as we progress, and we have an audience telling us that they want a show, plus we have a huge commitment from our exhibitors. Considering how far out from February we are, we are very close to replicating
P8 WIRE / PULSE / INSIGHT / REPORTS
the size of ICE 2020, which is very positive and a little unexpected.
What are the contingency plans if the show can’t run in February? Do you go digital?
If we can’t run the show at ExCeL in February then unfortunately, and this is something we learned when attempting to move the show to June this year, finding a date and venue in the calendar to host this scale of event is incredibly difficult. Plus, the big consideration is whether this would be right for our customers? If we were unable to run the show as scheduled, we’d ask if there’s really a need for a show in six- or nine-months’ time?
From a digital perspective, I personally don’t believe that digital events work for a show such as ICE, which is about discovery of new products and innovations, meeting old friends and making new ones. I think it’s extremely difficult to replicate that experience in a digital format. Even moving away from physical goods to the sale of digital products for the igaming market, in terms of an exhibition I don’t believe anyone has created a viable digital alternative to live events.
Clarion launched its ICE research initiative recently to understand the perceptions of ICE as well as the industry’s aspirations. What are you looking to achieve, and will this lead to
practical changes according to the feedback received?
Clarion Gaming must be forever talking and listening to our customers and acting upon that feedback. We need to understand the challenges and opportunities they are facing. And if we do nothing to help, why would they ever speak to us again?
It is more critical than ever to keep the lines of communication open. It will be two years since the last ICE and in that time the market has gone through the most enormous change. We need to understand what we can do to help our customers realise the opportunities and challenges they face. Tis could be something specific, such as innovating around the topic of cashless payments, for example. It could be through content, bringing new solutions to the market, or addressing specific questions – such as what are we doing as an events business to drive innovation?
Small initiatives include Pitch ICE, which has been a very successful part of the show for a long time. However, it’s been focused primarily on the igaming sector, and so we’ve decided to carve out a dedicated category for land-based to help drive innovation, exposure and reward for those companies keen to push boundaries.
A much bigger initiative is asking if the location
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