May 24, 2021 • 37 mins
In this episode, YS Chi speaks with Brian Brittain, chief operating officer of Reed Exhibitions. In a normal year, the organisation runs over 400 events across all continents. During the pandemic, it has had to navigate show cancellations and moving event dates. But sometimes crisis creates opportunities. We hear from Brian how the company has accelerated the digitisation of products that augment the face-to-face events experience. We learn about hybrid events, customer communities and online product showcases. An American living in the UK, with Brittain as a surname, Brian gives us a flavour of the future of events.
This podcast is brought to you by RELX.
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Episode Transcript
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YS Chi (00:00):
The Unique Contributions podcast is brought to you by
RELX. Find out more about us byvisiting RELX.com.
Brian Brittain (00:13):
It doesn't matter who the visitor is, it
doesn't matter who the exhibitoris. At some point during one of
our events, you will beinspired, you will see something
new.
YS Chi (00:41):
Hello, and welcome to our second series of Unique
Contributions, a RELX podcastwhere we bring you closer to
some of the most interestingpeople from around our business.
Today I'm excited to be joinedby Brian Brittain, who is the
COO of Reed Exhibitions. As youmay know, Reed Exhibitions is
the world's leading eventsorganiser, hosting hundreds of
(01:02):
trade shows and conferencesevery year throughout the six
continents. It goes withoutsaying that the events industry
has been placed under tremendousstress over the last year due to
Covid-19. But sometimes crisescreates opportunities. The
industry's ability to adaptunder intense pressure has
created some of the mostincredible innovations. In this
(01:23):
episode, I'll be asking Brianwhat innovations he's most
excited about and how technologyis helping to build back better.
Brian, thanks for joining metoday, it's great to have you.
Now, you're currently in the UKwhich is definitely showing
positive signs of improvement,together with the spring
weather. So on a personal level,how have things been for you
(01:47):
over there during the last fewmonths?
Brian Brittain (01:49):
Oh, thanks YS for having me. Wow, 2020.
Definitely would not recommend.
It'll get no stars. If youhonestly need proof that time
travel didn't exist, I'd say2020 was it. Surely someone
would have warned us. Seriouslythough, this pandemic, it has
been an eye opener of what couldhappen in our age of global
(02:11):
travel. We've all experiencedpersonal losses and change life
plans. I firmly believe it'sgoing take time for us to heal
completely. But even with thenegatives, there have been some
good news out of this. If youthink about it, the world's
technology stack has held upamazingly well. It's enabled
businesses to continue andfamilies to stay connected. It
wasn't that long ago, there wereconcerns with the internet
(02:32):
itself would collapse just dueto e-commerce. Think about what
we're doing today. That's anamazing positive. For me
personally, the extended familyall over the United States,
we've been able to stay veryclose. We took the tradition of
the UK pub quiz and had weeklypub quizzes with everybody in
the US, and it's been a lot offun. It's not quite the same as
(02:55):
a hug. But you know, it's betterthan just a letter.
YS Chi (02:59):
That's right. That's right, and in the midst of all
this, you recently changed jobsas well right? You moved from
being CTO to COO at ReedExhibitions. For this to happen
during lockdown couldn't havebeen easy when you can't meet
people face to face. So what wasthat like?
Brian Brittain (03:18):
You know YS, a lot of us are experiencing new
jobs during the pandemic. If youimagine five years ago, you join
a company via video conferenceinterviews and receive a new
laptop in the mail. People wouldthink you're having a laugh, but
YS, it is reality today, that iswhat we're experiencing. For me,
this has come down to twothings. Communication and team
(03:42):
support. Communication is keywhen you can't be in the meeting
room with folks, you can't havethe quiet conversations, you
can't read the body language.
You need to ensure your team andyour peers are aligned to the
desired direction, the outcomesthat everyone is looking for.
Those quiet conversations areincredibly important.
Understanding, truly listeningto what the other is saying will
(04:06):
make it outrageously successful.
Drive by five minute video callsand virtual tea breaks. Those
really do work and things thatwe've all used during the last
little bit. But the other pieceis team support. Having the
support of your management team,your peers and your organisation
(04:28):
is key. The team wants you tosucceed. Your team wants to
succeed. And quite frankly,without the support of the team,
you won't succeed.
YS Chi (04:37):
Right.
Brian Brittain (04:38):
I'm incredibly thankful for my RX and RELX team
members and the support theyprovide me. We are truly in this
together. But the sense ofteamwork does come through
constantly. So is it easy tohave a new job in a pandemic?
Nope. Just adds a new layer tothe challenge.
YS Chi (04:54):
So you talked about listening. Do you think we as a
group at RX and at RELX havebecome better listeners? Or do
we have listening skills that weperhaps ignored in the past,
more than we should have?
Brian Brittain (05:09):
I do think we all had great listening skills.
The difference is we wouldsometimes stare at our phones,
right? We'd be in meetings, we'dsometimes be sending texts or be
thinking about something else.
One of the things I've noticedwith video conferencing,
although fatigue can set in anddoes set in, it does provide an
immediate face to face. Grabfive minutes, listen to what the
(05:33):
other person is really trying tosay, follow up with more
detailed questions. That is oneof the nice side benefits that
I'm seeing out of this.
YS Chi (05:43):
Yeah, I found it challenging to distinguish
between those what you call 'flyby five minute' meetings that I
used to do in the corridor inperson versus the substantive
hour long conversations thatreally delve deeply into the
topic we're discussing. That hasbeen a challenge for me.
Brian Brittain (06:03):
I think it's been a challenge for all of us.
Video conference fatigue isreal. Being able to get everyone
to focus, usually in smallergroups on a specific problem,
does work. What I do think isgoing to be interesting as we
all start to come back, andwe're in this mix mode of people
in the room, as well as peopleremotely attending. I think
(06:26):
that's where the challenge willreally start to raise its head.
Before pandemic most of usworked off of conference calls,
right?
YS Chi (06:34):
Yeah.
Brian Brittain (06:34):
We all know how difficult that was. Now that we
have video, hopefully, that willbe much more of an enabler. But
we'll see when everybody getsback in the room.
YS Chi (06:42):
And we hope that we adapt as well as we have the
past 15 months.
Brian Brittain (06:47):
Amen to that.
YS Chi (06:48):
Yeah. So, you have an interesting background
personally, particularly interms of what you did in your
university days. You studied onone end computer science, and on
the other hand, history. Nowthese two seem quite apart and
that has obviously had benefitsfor you. So can you tell us a
(07:10):
little bit about going from thatkind of split studies, to
Telecom, then to FedEx, thenwith us?
Brian Brittain (07:19):
Yeah. History and computer science, not
exactly a combo most peoplethink of. But I started
programming when I was nine. Myfamily bought me for Christmas
my very first computer. Youremember those computers, the
one's you used to plug into theTV. That's how I started. Mine
was a RadioShack, if youremember that company.
YS Chi (07:42):
Yeah, of course.
Brian Brittain (07:42):
..colour computer. While I was learning
programming, my grandfathertaught me a great respect for
history. How we all got here,why we are the way we are.
Comments that went far beyondjust the dates you read in
history book, and really drivinthe point home that we do stan
on the shoulder of giants. Whave to remember that, and I ca
(08:04):
remember Dr. Eugen Weber'shistory symposium that I had at
UCLA. He really drove home thepoint that history is about cau
e and effect. It's about paterns. It's about the cyc
ical nature of history. All ofhese have direct direct cor
elations with computer scince. One of the big items tha
we do in that field is patern matching. We recognise the
(08:27):
pattern, we understand how toreak the problems down. We hav
seen it before, there will beffects for choices we make in
ur architecture. So history tauht me how to communicate, how
to write, and something I useevery day. The pattern mat
hing the cause and effect. Tha's a combination that's work
(08:47):
d well for me so far.
YS Chi (08:58):
Now, you spent a decade at FedEx, one of the most well
known brands in the world. I'msure it's taught you numerous
lessons about things likelogistics and operations that we
think of, global business. Whatlearnings from FedEx were
particularly useful or relevantto Reed Exhibitions?
Brian Brittain (09:19):
Yeah, if you look at my career history, it's
a little different. It's astrange journey. It's US, UK,
back to the US, back to the UK.
Telco, logistics and now theevent industry, among others.
But there are some commonalitiesin these companies that are
making them successful. Thefirst one is, they're customer
(09:42):
centric companies. In all cases,my team and I were given
incredibly difficult globalcustomer problems to solve. It's
that old adage, and it holds sotrue, you have to fall in love
with the problem, not thesolution. You also need to
measure the outcomes to ensureyou actually solve the problem,
and it's true at RX as well.
(10:06):
We're completing our global backoffice transformation, that's
sales, marketing and financeglobally. At the exact same time
we're building and enhancing ourdigital products and solutions
to help solve our customers needto build their businesses.
There's another thing that thecompanies have in common, and
that's cybersecurity. All of thethreats are top of mind to
(10:30):
protect our company and ourcustomers. Our RELX security and
technology groups are proactivein our threat analysis and we're
reducing risk as much as wepossibly can. And then finally,
all three companies that youcalled out, the Telco, FedEx,
which is a brilliant company,and Rx and RELX. They have great
(10:53):
leaders and mentors. I'vepersonally benefited hugely
through quiet and sometimes notso quiet guidance I've received
in my career. RELX and RX havebrilliant mentoring, inclusion
and women and tech programmesthat are building that next
generation leaders. So it's thecustomer, it's the
(11:13):
transformation. It's thepersonal growth opportunities
that link all of theseexperiences and these companies
together.
YS Chi (11:19):
Well, with that in mind, let's jump to the business
itself. Now, I'm sure it goeswithout saying that the global
pandemic has truly drasticallyimpacted the events industry
with so many shows pretty muchunilaterally cancelled across
the globe. So to start with, canyou tell us some of the biggest
(11:41):
challenges you and yourcolleagues have faced over the
past year or so? And what areyou doing to navigate through
these most unexpected abruptstoppage?
Brian Brittain (11:53):
Yeah, at some point in time somebody's going
to write an amazing set of casestudies and books about this,
and it's not just RX, it's notjust RELX. It's how the world
has coped. But I can honestlysay here at RX, the team
immediately went after thechallenge of digital only
events, with creativity. Thinkabout it, come March of 2020,
(12:20):
all of our face to face eventsstopped, and they didn't really
start up again into pocketsuntil Q4 of 2020. That's six
months with no events when wenormally would be doing hundreds
of them. But our teamsimmediately opened up
conversations with our customersexactly, asking exactly what
they needed to be successful.
Some common needs occurred outof our customer feedback.
(12:44):
Meetings with potential clients,the ability to showcase new
products to the broaderaudiences, insights into market
trends and thought leadership.
But the pandemic hit the eventsbusiness in a different way as
well, which was all of thecompanies that were associated
with the event industry. So thevenues, the restaurants, the
(13:06):
hotel, think of the small standbuilding businesses. All of
those were directly impacted.
There was though, something thathappened in the events industry
that I'm incredibly thankfulfor. 2020 really did kick the
door down on digital productsfor the event businesses. The
entire industry can see thepotential digital technology and
(13:30):
data to augment our face to faceevents. Think about remote
networking, matchmaking, theability to extend our customers
reach as they expand theirbusinesses into new markets.
Over 80% of our exhibitors andvisitors YS, want to get back to
face to face.
YS Chi (13:50):
Oh, I bet they do.
Brian Brittain (13:51):
Yep, we can see it in the data. We've been
measuring this since May. So weknow they want to get back. But
there was a second part that wasincredibly important. 35% see
opportunities now in the digitalproducts to expand our
businesses. That's a huge changefrom pre-pandemic levels. And as
(14:12):
you know, because we've had thisconversation many times over the
years, we've been working on ourdigital products since 2015. We
had a number of digital productsthat were already in place and
helping during the pandemic. Andwe had the support of RELX to
trial new products andapproaches. The concept of try,
review the learnings, modify,trial again. Each time improving
(14:35):
the outcomes for our customers.
That's core and how we do ourdigital products and when we
talk about our scale of 100events globally. We have the
opportunity to run massiveamounts of trials, always
looking for those improvementsfor our customers.
YS Chi (14:50):
Speaking of that, can you tell me a little more for
the audience about this conceptof hybrid, right? And how you're
piloting these different hybridattempts between digital and in
person for when we reconvene?
Brian Brittain (15:08):
Absolutely. So the hybrid event is something
that the industry has kind ofcoined in order to explain
what's currently going on, whichfrom our perspective is a long
time coming. We've been workingat this for a while now. But
imagine this as a hybrid ofthat. We're running our face to
(15:29):
face events and you can't makeit for whatever reason. You
can't make it because ofinternational travel, you can't
make it because something hashappened with your family.
Something's happened at theoffice, but you want to
participate. So we've created aseries of products, things like
online product showcases which,quite frankly, before the
(15:52):
pandemic most people didn'treally see the point of. What
these are is, you've created anew product, you want to get it
out there, you want to get itout so the right buyers can see
it. That one hour video that'svery targeted, or a conference
call that's very targeted tojust those buyers that are kind
of make a huge difference foryou. That's massive for our
(16:17):
customers and we're seeing NPSratings in the high 60s. I mean,
that's an example of taking atraditional face to face event
and really adding new products.
But we've got some other onesthat are coming down the path
too that are making it much moreof a hybrid event of face to
face digital. Things likecustomer communities. A group of
people rallied around a specifictopic or interest, and target a
(16:40):
small group of those individualsfor a very targeted event that
might be for a specific region.
Might be for a specific topicand run a very small micro event
digitally.
YS Chi (16:55):
Is this example of a year run engagement?
Brian Brittain (16:59):
Yes, that's exactly what it is. It's an
example of year roundengagement, and we call them
communities. So there are bigface to face events, which are
hallmark and we believe thosewill be around for a very, very,
very long time. But inbetweenthese annual events or biannual
events, you can run targeteddigital events that are
(17:21):
extremely cost effective, thatare very targeted, and can help
our customers come back from thepandemic. It's absolutely
brilliant to watch.
YS Chi (17:30):
Right. So this is not about replacing but it is
supplementing, right?
Brian Brittain (17:34):
Absolutely.
YS Chi (17:35):
So I love calling the word that I have used now for
about 20 years, and that's theword ambidexterity. So it sounds
to me like RX is becoming trulyambidextrous because you're such
experts over decades of doingface to face and now you're
adding this digital capability.
Now becoming completelyambidextrous.
Brian Brittain (17:58):
I think that's a brilliant way to describe it.
We've been talking about digitalaugmentation, we've been talking
about hybrid, but it is aboutbecoming ambidextrous, there is
no doubt about it. I trulybelieve that digital will be a
way to unlock new markets andnew possibilities for our
customers. There's no doubt inmy mind. We can see it in the
(18:20):
data, we can see it in theresults. And as we become more
ambidextrous, we will be able tocreate new products that run
with our face to face events.
But the face to face events asthe data continues to show is
incredibly important. Peopleneed it. And our recent
exhibitions that we've run inChina and Japan are showing that
(18:42):
folks are coming back in hugenumbers, and it's been
absolutely brilliant.
YS Chi (18:48):
Yeah. You made a couple of points that you know people
ignore and that is all about thecommunity around the
exhibitions. The small mediumenterprises that support these
exhibitions, before, during andafter. It's really important. I
have another question around theparticular characteristics of
(19:09):
exhibitions. Your team is soaccustomed to having dates out
there and working toward aspecific target date. Suddenly,
not only does COVID happen, butit's a moving target. You don't
know if you're going to open inthree months, six months, nine
months or two years. How did youall cope with that moving
(19:32):
target?
Brian Brittain (19:33):
The target is still moving and will continue
to move as this pandemic worksits way through the globe quite
frankly. So our event teams havebeen incredibly flexible. We
work with the venues themselvesand we'll work with our
customers to find out if we needto move a date, what we would
(19:56):
do. But there's something elsewhich actually kind of ties back
to your ambidextrous commentearlier. We can still run micro
events and digital productswhile we wait for the face to
face to come back. That's whatwe do. We have run a number of
digital only events that provethat the model does work. It's
(20:19):
not the same, but it's abrilliant way to augment it.
YS Chi (20:22):
Yes, I think that we had become quite accustomed to the
things that we're good at, andperhaps taking some things for
granted that now are surfacing.
It seems like your team isreally perceptive about what
they are and giving it a go.
Brian Brittain (20:40):
They've been incredibly creative. We've been
solutioning with our customers,with our partners, and it's been
fun to watch. But everyone isgoing through this slightly
differently. Everyone islearning the best way to cope
and they're adjusting theirbusinesses. We're seeing it
across the rest of the RELXgroup as well. We just happen to
(21:01):
be the one that's going throughthe very difficult bumps right
now.
YS Chi (21:07):
Right, I mean opportunities do come out of
crisis, don't they? We observedit in 2008 crisis, when a lot of
people gave up on face to facein pretext of, well, companies
are cutting marketing dollars sothey are not going to travel to
conventions and exhibitions.
Look what has happened sincethen. It's been at the, and hit
(21:27):
the pinnacle just before COVID.
So I have to be optimistic thateven this one will be a
temporary pause to hit newpinnacles.
Brian Brittain (21:40):
I would agree with you. I am also very
optimistic about that.
YS Chi (21:43):
To be really optimistic, we need to talk about what our
customers are going to actuallyget. So yes, this abrupt halt,
and you talk about technology,data enrichment experience. What
does a customer, meaningexhibitors and attendees, expect
to get in the near future thatwas not visible just a while
(22:07):
back? What does it really meanto them? Can you give us just a
couple of examples?
Brian Brittain (22:13):
Yeah, yeah. So we've kind of talked about the
online product showcases a bitand we talked about the
communities. But let's go intothe future just a little bit.
With the correct privacycredentials, having privacy at
the heart, we will have theability to show you as an
(22:33):
exhibitor, and quite frankly, asa visitor, when someone in your
network is nearby you at one ofour events. So think of it this
way. If you're an exhibitor,would you want to know if a CEO
of one of your clients iswalking by your booth? Yeah, you
probably would. You'd want tohave that conversation. If
(22:56):
you're a visitor, you want toknow that someone in your
network is actually nearby, andyou'd like to be suggested where
they are so you can go trackthem down and have a good
conversation. Because networkingis vital.
YS Chi (23:12):
Absolutely. Connecting is one of the most important
reasons for exhibitions. It'snot just to display and learn.
Brian Brittain (23:19):
Absolutely, and that's something that our seven
behaviours has taught us. We cannever forget, networking is a
key point of everything that wedo in exhibitions. But also,
inspiration is another keypoint. It doesn't matter who the
visitor is, it doesn't matterwho the exhibitor is, at some
(23:41):
point during one of our events,you will be inspired, you will
see something new. Even ifyou're targeted and want to go
after one specific conversationwith one specific partner of
yours. I guarantee it, on theway to that conversation and on
the way away from thatconversation, you will spend
time looking around. You willget inspiration, new ideas, new
(24:05):
concepts. Every single one ofthe events I've been to that's
happened. Things I never knewabout, I was able to learn about
and move them into otherproducts. It's been absolutely
brilliant, but you're absolutelyspot on. Networking is key, but
inspiration is the other.
YS Chi (24:33):
To try some of these things I understand that you
recently launched somethingcalled Digital Centre of
Excellence for all theconferences and the team to draw
upon. What can you tell us aboutthe formation of this centre and
the impact that you want to haveon the future of the business?
Brian Brittain (24:54):
Okay, I am really excited about our Digital
Centre of Excellence. As youknow we've been working on
digital products since 2015. Thepandemic has opened up some
opportunities for us to createnew products for our customers.
We needed a dedicated focus toexpand what we were doing into
new areas. So our Digital Centreof Excellence, it's got three
(25:17):
major goals, three major areasit is focused on. We're going to
continue enhancing our digitalevent products so those products
that happen to be digital forface to face events, that will
continue. We've got a greatroadmap sitting there. The CoE
though will also start to lookat the new opportunities that
(25:38):
have opened up in our businessto consumer space. So think
about our ReedPop, our New YorkComic Con or Gamer Network
capabilities. In all of those,whether it be ReedPop or Gamer,
we have seen new pop up events,pop up panels, subscription for
(25:59):
special content. These arethings that we knew were there.
But now we have been able toprove that they actually worked
very well, and now we'respending more time and focus in
that space. Then lastly, thisCentre of Excellence will be
working on new products thatwill actually leverage our vast
(26:20):
datasets that will augment ourface to face with new insights,
that our customers need. Goingcompletely digital in 2020
enabled us to have focus onthese new digital products. We
were able to test, were able toprove, and we've seen items that
(26:41):
have paid off. Recently we werejoined by Gaby Appleton from
Elsevier.
YS Chi (26:47):
One of the stars of our group.
Brian Brittain (26:49):
Absolutely, and we are so thankful to have her
on board. She ran a number ofdigital products, including
ScienceDirect and Mendeley. Shealso supported the NHS track and
trace with their COVID app. Soshe's got a huge amount of
digital product experience andher leadership will be key in
(27:11):
driving our digital CoE'ssuccess, and I cannot wait to
see what she and the team comeup with.
YS Chi (27:17):
Absolutely. I don't think she'll be short of ideas
and she's so brilliant. Speakingof B2C spaces, I am very curious
to know, what are the keydistinctions between a B2B
characteristic and a B2Ccharacteristic that Reed
Exhibitions is learning from ourReedPop group? I had Lance here
(27:41):
as a guest some time ago, andit's a fascinating difference.
Brian Brittain (27:48):
Yeah, Lance and his team are absolutely
brilliant creating thoseexperiences in the face to face
world and in 2020 they've donequite a bit of work on how to
build similar experiences in thedigital world. Scale is probably
the biggest one. So you're stilltrying to get the right
connections, you're still tryingto get the right network, you're
(28:09):
trying to enable our exhibitorsto get to the right visitors.
But the attendees, they'redifferent in a B2C space,
they're going there for the loveof the product, they're going
there for the love of the event.
They're going there to meettheir friends, they're going
there for...
YS Chi (28:28):
not to make revenue, right?
Brian Brittain (28:29):
...not to make revenue. They're not necessarily
going there in order just to buy100,000 widgets to make a new
product. They're going therebecause they are fans. That
enables us to go into otherareas. So you start talking
about Twitch, you start talkingabout YouTube, Vimeo. All of
(28:49):
these are new channels for us toget the right value, right
entertainment. In some cases,the right special features, the
right panels to our attendeeso these B2C events. Lance and t
am have done a absolutely sectacular job. Our Gamer Netwo
k team, they are the expers in gaming. If you want to know
(29:13):
what's going on in a game fromn editorial perspective,
you go take a look and have a cat on the Gamer Network site
, and that's the big differene. We are going to have convers
tions and enable huge amountsof participation with fanbase
YS Chi (29:29):
Of course. Now this is again another real confirmation
, which is absolutely billiant. It's very different th
n than B2B. Having said that, Bb is a lot of fun too.
that whether it be microcommunities you're creating, or
(29:51):
these pop up events in B2Cspaces, this is true
ambidexterity because we havebeen about deep broad
comprehensive environment. Nowyou're taking these smaller
verticals and doing pops, quickflashes, quick micro communities
and I think that having skillset on both will be very useful
(30:16):
for what is to come. I'm reallyglad to hear what you're all
doing.
Brian Brittain (30:21):
Yeah, I completely agree with you. Our
big face to face events, whetherthat be Comic Con, since you
brought up ReedPop and Lance, orwhether that be MIPCOM or World
Travel Market, those are stillgoing to be our cornerstones.
There's no doubt about that.
What 2020 has taught us is thatyou can have those micro events
(30:43):
and create value that ourcustomers can see. That's
helping them build theirbusinesses, which is really,
whether it's B2B or B2C, that'swhat we're here for. We are here
to help our customers buildtheir businesses.
YS Chi (31:03):
Brian, if you would allow me I'd like to pivot to a
new subject that we touch onthis podcast, unique
contribution. That is ourpassion for doing the right
thing and I guess many peoplecall it corporate
responsibility. We takesustainability very seriously at
RELX, including RX. We were verypleased to have achieved a net
(31:27):
zero in 2020, but we have got tomove beyond this and we have set
ourselves some extremelyambitious environment targets
further down. Can you tell uswhat your group at RX is doing
in this area of sustainability?
Yeah YS. We've got some greatnews here. Started in 2019, our
Australia and UK business groupsstarted working, or they set up
(31:52):
a working group to actuallyfocus completely on
sustainability. There were 26folks that were involved at the
very beginning of it, and it'sgrown since then. What they
created was a sustainabilitycharter and that actually aligns
with the UN SustainabilityDevelopment Goals. All of our
events are adopting this as aminimum standard. So it's making
(32:16):
sure that we recycle. It'smaking sure that our venues that
we utilise are properly green,that we minimise the waste that
we help our companies that buildthe stands for our customers
understand what is possible froma recycling and minimization
(32:37):
point of view. But our eventsalso go beyond that. So they
have World Travel Market, whichI brought up earlier, they have
a responsible tourism programmebecause obviously with the vast
footprint that the touristindustry has, it's important for
us to be involved, to be leadersin those conversations. Our
(33:02):
in-cosmetics group has created asustainability corner that helps
our customers find better waysto produce their products that
are easier on the environment.
These are part of what we see aswhat we need to do and what we
should do for our responsibilitynot just to the environment but
for each other, because we allhave to live on this planet.
(33:29):
It sounds to me like it is sorepetitive throughout our
different divisions, that theseare all efforts that you share
with us that are bottom up. Ouremployee group driving their
passion and conviction. Asopposed to the senior
(33:49):
executives, kind of directing.
Brian Brittain (33:52):
Yeah it is, absolutely. I'm so proud of the
team for doing that quitefrankly. I think it gets back to
one of the the core foundationalpieces of what makes RELX
employees go. It isunderstanding what we could do
with the environment. It'sunderstanding how we can make
(34:15):
the world a better place. It'sleveraging our data assets.
That's what is kind of part ofour DNA and I absolutely love
that about this company.
YS Chi (34:25):
I do too. Now, we're going to try to finish on a
lighter note. You are anAmerican who went from the US to
UK, back to US and now back toUK. Living in the UK, have you
picked up any English habitslike drinking tea with milk or
drinking warm beer?
Brian Brittain (34:46):
Yes, I definitely have. I do drink tea
with milk and I do complainabout the weather, which is a
definitely a British thing. I dosit outside in 18 layers to keep
warm so I can enjoy an adultbeverage with my friends. You'd
think after almost 15 years inthe UK, I would quit finding
(35:08):
things that puzzled me. But sureenough, about once a month,
someone will say something thatI don't understand the context
to and I have to go Google it.
By the way that happened in theUS South too where I found out
that bless your heart is not acompliment. That took me a
couple of months to figure thatout. But I will say this,
probably the most fun I get is,I'm in England, surname
(35:32):
Brittain.
YS Chi (35:34):
Of course, I never thought about that.
Brian Brittain (35:36):
Yeah, there's nothing better than watching
someone who doesn't know mestart talking to me and when I
answer with a very West Coast USaccent, that puzzled look on
their face is absolutelypriceless.
YS Chi (35:51):
Brian, thank you for joining us today and sharing
your passion. Your optimism forwhere we're taking Reed
Exhibitions, uniquecontributions. Whether it's
customer centricity, or teamsupport and communication. I
think I would say the one focalpoint that I'm never going to
(36:14):
forget is our discussion aboutdigital argumentation. About the
hybrid environment and what Ilove calling ambidexterity at
RX. I wish you and yourcolleagues well, and please
continue to stay well.
Brian Brittain (36:30):
Thank you. Thank you for the time today and I
hope everyone gets through thisin one piece.
YS Chi (36:35):
We will together.
Brian Brittain (36:36):
We will together.
YS Chi (36:39):
Thank you to our listeners for tuning in. Don't
forget to hit subscribe on yourpodcast app to get new episodes
as soon as they're released andthank you for listening. Please
stay well.
The Unique Contributions podcast is brought to you by
RELX. Find out more about us byvisiting RELX.com.
Brian Brittain (00:13):
It doesn't matter who the visitor is, it
doesn't matter who the exhibitoris. At some point during one of
our events, you will beinspired, you will see something
new.
YS Chi (00:41):
Hello, and welcome to our second series of Unique
Contributions, a RELX podcastwhere we bring you closer to
some of the most interestingpeople from around our business.
Today I'm excited to be joinedby Brian Brittain, who is the
COO of Reed Exhibitions. As youmay know, Reed Exhibitions is
the world's leading eventsorganiser, hosting hundreds of
(01:02):
trade shows and conferencesevery year throughout the six
continents. It goes withoutsaying that the events industry
has been placed under tremendousstress over the last year due to
Covid-19. But sometimes crisescreates opportunities. The
industry's ability to adaptunder intense pressure has
created some of the mostincredible innovations. In this
(01:23):
episode, I'll be asking Brianwhat innovations he's most
excited about and how technologyis helping to build back better.
Brian, thanks for joining metoday, it's great to have you.
Now, you're currently in the UKwhich is definitely showing
positive signs of improvement,together with the spring
weather. So on a personal level,how have things been for you
(01:47):
over there during the last fewmonths?
Brian Brittain (01:49):
Oh, thanks YS for having me. Wow, 2020.
Definitely would not recommend.
It'll get no stars. If youhonestly need proof that time
travel didn't exist, I'd say2020 was it. Surely someone
would have warned us. Seriouslythough, this pandemic, it has
been an eye opener of what couldhappen in our age of global
(02:11):
travel. We've all experiencedpersonal losses and change life
plans. I firmly believe it'sgoing take time for us to heal
completely. But even with thenegatives, there have been some
good news out of this. If youthink about it, the world's
technology stack has held upamazingly well. It's enabled
businesses to continue andfamilies to stay connected. It
wasn't that long ago, there wereconcerns with the internet
(02:32):
itself would collapse just dueto e-commerce. Think about what
we're doing today. That's anamazing positive. For me
personally, the extended familyall over the United States,
we've been able to stay veryclose. We took the tradition of
the UK pub quiz and had weeklypub quizzes with everybody in
the US, and it's been a lot offun. It's not quite the same as
(02:55):
a hug. But you know, it's betterthan just a letter.
YS Chi (02:59):
That's right. That's right, and in the midst of all
this, you recently changed jobsas well right? You moved from
being CTO to COO at ReedExhibitions. For this to happen
during lockdown couldn't havebeen easy when you can't meet
people face to face. So what wasthat like?
Brian Brittain (03:18):
You know YS, a lot of us are experiencing new
jobs during the pandemic. If youimagine five years ago, you join
a company via video conferenceinterviews and receive a new
laptop in the mail. People wouldthink you're having a laugh, but
YS, it is reality today, that iswhat we're experiencing. For me,
this has come down to twothings. Communication and team
(03:42):
support. Communication is keywhen you can't be in the meeting
room with folks, you can't havethe quiet conversations, you
can't read the body language.
You need to ensure your team andyour peers are aligned to the
desired direction, the outcomesthat everyone is looking for.
Those quiet conversations areincredibly important.
Understanding, truly listeningto what the other is saying will
(04:06):
make it outrageously successful.
Drive by five minute video callsand virtual tea breaks. Those
really do work and things thatwe've all used during the last
little bit. But the other pieceis team support. Having the
support of your management team,your peers and your organisation
(04:28):
is key. The team wants you tosucceed. Your team wants to
succeed. And quite frankly,without the support of the team,
you won't succeed.
YS Chi (04:37):
Right.
Brian Brittain (04:38):
I'm incredibly thankful for my RX and RELX team
members and the support theyprovide me. We are truly in this
together. But the sense ofteamwork does come through
constantly. So is it easy tohave a new job in a pandemic?
Nope. Just adds a new layer tothe challenge.
YS Chi (04:54):
So you talked about listening. Do you think we as a
group at RX and at RELX havebecome better listeners? Or do
we have listening skills that weperhaps ignored in the past,
more than we should have?
Brian Brittain (05:09):
I do think we all had great listening skills.
The difference is we wouldsometimes stare at our phones,
right? We'd be in meetings, we'dsometimes be sending texts or be
thinking about something else.
One of the things I've noticedwith video conferencing,
although fatigue can set in anddoes set in, it does provide an
immediate face to face. Grabfive minutes, listen to what the
(05:33):
other person is really trying tosay, follow up with more
detailed questions. That is oneof the nice side benefits that
I'm seeing out of this.
YS Chi (05:43):
Yeah, I found it challenging to distinguish
between those what you call 'flyby five minute' meetings that I
used to do in the corridor inperson versus the substantive
hour long conversations thatreally delve deeply into the
topic we're discussing. That hasbeen a challenge for me.
Brian Brittain (06:03):
I think it's been a challenge for all of us.
Video conference fatigue isreal. Being able to get everyone
to focus, usually in smallergroups on a specific problem,
does work. What I do think isgoing to be interesting as we
all start to come back, andwe're in this mix mode of people
in the room, as well as peopleremotely attending. I think
(06:26):
that's where the challenge willreally start to raise its head.
Before pandemic most of usworked off of conference calls,
right?
YS Chi (06:34):
Yeah.
Brian Brittain (06:34):
We all know how difficult that was. Now that we
have video, hopefully, that willbe much more of an enabler. But
we'll see when everybody getsback in the room.
YS Chi (06:42):
And we hope that we adapt as well as we have the
past 15 months.
Brian Brittain (06:47):
Amen to that.
YS Chi (06:48):
Yeah. So, you have an interesting background
personally, particularly interms of what you did in your
university days. You studied onone end computer science, and on
the other hand, history. Nowthese two seem quite apart and
that has obviously had benefitsfor you. So can you tell us a
(07:10):
little bit about going from thatkind of split studies, to
Telecom, then to FedEx, thenwith us?
Brian Brittain (07:19):
Yeah. History and computer science, not
exactly a combo most peoplethink of. But I started
programming when I was nine. Myfamily bought me for Christmas
my very first computer. Youremember those computers, the
one's you used to plug into theTV. That's how I started. Mine
was a RadioShack, if youremember that company.
YS Chi (07:42):
Yeah, of course.
Brian Brittain (07:42):
..colour computer. While I was learning
programming, my grandfathertaught me a great respect for
history. How we all got here,why we are the way we are.
Comments that went far beyondjust the dates you read in
history book, and really drivinthe point home that we do stan
on the shoulder of giants. Whave to remember that, and I ca
(08:04):
remember Dr. Eugen Weber'shistory symposium that I had at
UCLA. He really drove home thepoint that history is about cau
e and effect. It's about paterns. It's about the cyc
ical nature of history. All ofhese have direct direct cor
elations with computer scince. One of the big items tha
we do in that field is patern matching. We recognise the
(08:27):
pattern, we understand how toreak the problems down. We hav
seen it before, there will beffects for choices we make in
ur architecture. So history tauht me how to communicate, how
to write, and something I useevery day. The pattern mat
hing the cause and effect. Tha's a combination that's work
(08:47):
d well for me so far.
YS Chi (08:58):
Now, you spent a decade at FedEx, one of the most well
known brands in the world. I'msure it's taught you numerous
lessons about things likelogistics and operations that we
think of, global business. Whatlearnings from FedEx were
particularly useful or relevantto Reed Exhibitions?
Brian Brittain (09:19):
Yeah, if you look at my career history, it's
a little different. It's astrange journey. It's US, UK,
back to the US, back to the UK.
Telco, logistics and now theevent industry, among others.
But there are some commonalitiesin these companies that are
making them successful. Thefirst one is, they're customer
(09:42):
centric companies. In all cases,my team and I were given
incredibly difficult globalcustomer problems to solve. It's
that old adage, and it holds sotrue, you have to fall in love
with the problem, not thesolution. You also need to
measure the outcomes to ensureyou actually solve the problem,
and it's true at RX as well.
(10:06):
We're completing our global backoffice transformation, that's
sales, marketing and financeglobally. At the exact same time
we're building and enhancing ourdigital products and solutions
to help solve our customers needto build their businesses.
There's another thing that thecompanies have in common, and
that's cybersecurity. All of thethreats are top of mind to
(10:30):
protect our company and ourcustomers. Our RELX security and
technology groups are proactivein our threat analysis and we're
reducing risk as much as wepossibly can. And then finally,
all three companies that youcalled out, the Telco, FedEx,
which is a brilliant company,and Rx and RELX. They have great
(10:53):
leaders and mentors. I'vepersonally benefited hugely
through quiet and sometimes notso quiet guidance I've received
in my career. RELX and RX havebrilliant mentoring, inclusion
and women and tech programmesthat are building that next
generation leaders. So it's thecustomer, it's the
(11:13):
transformation. It's thepersonal growth opportunities
that link all of theseexperiences and these companies
together.
YS Chi (11:19):
Well, with that in mind, let's jump to the business
itself. Now, I'm sure it goeswithout saying that the global
pandemic has truly drasticallyimpacted the events industry
with so many shows pretty muchunilaterally cancelled across
the globe. So to start with, canyou tell us some of the biggest
(11:41):
challenges you and yourcolleagues have faced over the
past year or so? And what areyou doing to navigate through
these most unexpected abruptstoppage?
Brian Brittain (11:53):
Yeah, at some point in time somebody's going
to write an amazing set of casestudies and books about this,
and it's not just RX, it's notjust RELX. It's how the world
has coped. But I can honestlysay here at RX, the team
immediately went after thechallenge of digital only
events, with creativity. Thinkabout it, come March of 2020,
(12:20):
all of our face to face eventsstopped, and they didn't really
start up again into pocketsuntil Q4 of 2020. That's six
months with no events when wenormally would be doing hundreds
of them. But our teamsimmediately opened up
conversations with our customersexactly, asking exactly what
they needed to be successful.
Some common needs occurred outof our customer feedback.
(12:44):
Meetings with potential clients,the ability to showcase new
products to the broaderaudiences, insights into market
trends and thought leadership.
But the pandemic hit the eventsbusiness in a different way as
well, which was all of thecompanies that were associated
with the event industry. So thevenues, the restaurants, the
(13:06):
hotel, think of the small standbuilding businesses. All of
those were directly impacted.
There was though, something thathappened in the events industry
that I'm incredibly thankfulfor. 2020 really did kick the
door down on digital productsfor the event businesses. The
entire industry can see thepotential digital technology and
(13:30):
data to augment our face to faceevents. Think about remote
networking, matchmaking, theability to extend our customers
reach as they expand theirbusinesses into new markets.
Over 80% of our exhibitors andvisitors YS, want to get back to
face to face.
YS Chi (13:50):
Oh, I bet they do.
Brian Brittain (13:51):
Yep, we can see it in the data. We've been
measuring this since May. So weknow they want to get back. But
there was a second part that wasincredibly important. 35% see
opportunities now in the digitalproducts to expand our
businesses. That's a huge changefrom pre-pandemic levels. And as
(14:12):
you know, because we've had thisconversation many times over the
years, we've been working on ourdigital products since 2015. We
had a number of digital productsthat were already in place and
helping during the pandemic. Andwe had the support of RELX to
trial new products andapproaches. The concept of try,
review the learnings, modify,trial again. Each time improving
(14:35):
the outcomes for our customers.
That's core and how we do ourdigital products and when we
talk about our scale of 100events globally. We have the
opportunity to run massiveamounts of trials, always
looking for those improvementsfor our customers.
YS Chi (14:50):
Speaking of that, can you tell me a little more for
the audience about this conceptof hybrid, right? And how you're
piloting these different hybridattempts between digital and in
person for when we reconvene?
Brian Brittain (15:08):
Absolutely. So the hybrid event is something
that the industry has kind ofcoined in order to explain
what's currently going on, whichfrom our perspective is a long
time coming. We've been workingat this for a while now. But
imagine this as a hybrid ofthat. We're running our face to
(15:29):
face events and you can't makeit for whatever reason. You
can't make it because ofinternational travel, you can't
make it because something hashappened with your family.
Something's happened at theoffice, but you want to
participate. So we've created aseries of products, things like
online product showcases which,quite frankly, before the
(15:52):
pandemic most people didn'treally see the point of. What
these are is, you've created anew product, you want to get it
out there, you want to get itout so the right buyers can see
it. That one hour video that'svery targeted, or a conference
call that's very targeted tojust those buyers that are kind
of make a huge difference foryou. That's massive for our
(16:17):
customers and we're seeing NPSratings in the high 60s. I mean,
that's an example of taking atraditional face to face event
and really adding new products.
But we've got some other onesthat are coming down the path
too that are making it much moreof a hybrid event of face to
face digital. Things likecustomer communities. A group of
people rallied around a specifictopic or interest, and target a
(16:40):
small group of those individualsfor a very targeted event that
might be for a specific region.
Might be for a specific topicand run a very small micro event
digitally.
YS Chi (16:55):
Is this example of a year run engagement?
Brian Brittain (16:59):
Yes, that's exactly what it is. It's an
example of year roundengagement, and we call them
communities. So there are bigface to face events, which are
hallmark and we believe thosewill be around for a very, very,
very long time. But inbetweenthese annual events or biannual
events, you can run targeteddigital events that are
(17:21):
extremely cost effective, thatare very targeted, and can help
our customers come back from thepandemic. It's absolutely
brilliant to watch.
YS Chi (17:30):
Right. So this is not about replacing but it is
supplementing, right?
Brian Brittain (17:34):
Absolutely.
YS Chi (17:35):
So I love calling the word that I have used now for
about 20 years, and that's theword ambidexterity. So it sounds
to me like RX is becoming trulyambidextrous because you're such
experts over decades of doingface to face and now you're
adding this digital capability.
Now becoming completelyambidextrous.
Brian Brittain (17:58):
I think that's a brilliant way to describe it.
We've been talking about digitalaugmentation, we've been talking
about hybrid, but it is aboutbecoming ambidextrous, there is
no doubt about it. I trulybelieve that digital will be a
way to unlock new markets andnew possibilities for our
customers. There's no doubt inmy mind. We can see it in the
(18:20):
data, we can see it in theresults. And as we become more
ambidextrous, we will be able tocreate new products that run
with our face to face events.
But the face to face events asthe data continues to show is
incredibly important. Peopleneed it. And our recent
exhibitions that we've run inChina and Japan are showing that
(18:42):
folks are coming back in hugenumbers, and it's been
absolutely brilliant.
YS Chi (18:48):
Yeah. You made a couple of points that you know people
ignore and that is all about thecommunity around the
exhibitions. The small mediumenterprises that support these
exhibitions, before, during andafter. It's really important. I
have another question around theparticular characteristics of
(19:09):
exhibitions. Your team is soaccustomed to having dates out
there and working toward aspecific target date. Suddenly,
not only does COVID happen, butit's a moving target. You don't
know if you're going to open inthree months, six months, nine
months or two years. How did youall cope with that moving
(19:32):
target?
Brian Brittain (19:33):
The target is still moving and will continue
to move as this pandemic worksits way through the globe quite
frankly. So our event teams havebeen incredibly flexible. We
work with the venues themselvesand we'll work with our
customers to find out if we needto move a date, what we would
(19:56):
do. But there's something elsewhich actually kind of ties back
to your ambidextrous commentearlier. We can still run micro
events and digital productswhile we wait for the face to
face to come back. That's whatwe do. We have run a number of
digital only events that provethat the model does work. It's
(20:19):
not the same, but it's abrilliant way to augment it.
YS Chi (20:22):
Yes, I think that we had become quite accustomed to the
things that we're good at, andperhaps taking some things for
granted that now are surfacing.
It seems like your team isreally perceptive about what
they are and giving it a go.
Brian Brittain (20:40):
They've been incredibly creative. We've been
solutioning with our customers,with our partners, and it's been
fun to watch. But everyone isgoing through this slightly
differently. Everyone islearning the best way to cope
and they're adjusting theirbusinesses. We're seeing it
across the rest of the RELXgroup as well. We just happen to
(21:01):
be the one that's going throughthe very difficult bumps right
now.
YS Chi (21:07):
Right, I mean opportunities do come out of
crisis, don't they? We observedit in 2008 crisis, when a lot of
people gave up on face to facein pretext of, well, companies
are cutting marketing dollars sothey are not going to travel to
conventions and exhibitions.
Look what has happened sincethen. It's been at the, and hit
(21:27):
the pinnacle just before COVID.
So I have to be optimistic thateven this one will be a
temporary pause to hit newpinnacles.
Brian Brittain (21:40):
I would agree with you. I am also very
optimistic about that.
YS Chi (21:43):
To be really optimistic, we need to talk about what our
customers are going to actuallyget. So yes, this abrupt halt,
and you talk about technology,data enrichment experience. What
does a customer, meaningexhibitors and attendees, expect
to get in the near future thatwas not visible just a while
(22:07):
back? What does it really meanto them? Can you give us just a
couple of examples?
Brian Brittain (22:13):
Yeah, yeah. So we've kind of talked about the
online product showcases a bitand we talked about the
communities. But let's go intothe future just a little bit.
With the correct privacycredentials, having privacy at
the heart, we will have theability to show you as an
(22:33):
exhibitor, and quite frankly, asa visitor, when someone in your
network is nearby you at one ofour events. So think of it this
way. If you're an exhibitor,would you want to know if a CEO
of one of your clients iswalking by your booth? Yeah, you
probably would. You'd want tohave that conversation. If
(22:56):
you're a visitor, you want toknow that someone in your
network is actually nearby, andyou'd like to be suggested where
they are so you can go trackthem down and have a good
conversation. Because networkingis vital.
YS Chi (23:12):
Absolutely. Connecting is one of the most important
reasons for exhibitions. It'snot just to display and learn.
Brian Brittain (23:19):
Absolutely, and that's something that our seven
behaviours has taught us. We cannever forget, networking is a
key point of everything that wedo in exhibitions. But also,
inspiration is another keypoint. It doesn't matter who the
visitor is, it doesn't matterwho the exhibitor is, at some
(23:41):
point during one of our events,you will be inspired, you will
see something new. Even ifyou're targeted and want to go
after one specific conversationwith one specific partner of
yours. I guarantee it, on theway to that conversation and on
the way away from thatconversation, you will spend
time looking around. You willget inspiration, new ideas, new
(24:05):
concepts. Every single one ofthe events I've been to that's
happened. Things I never knewabout, I was able to learn about
and move them into otherproducts. It's been absolutely
brilliant, but you're absolutelyspot on. Networking is key, but
inspiration is the other.
YS Chi (24:33):
To try some of these things I understand that you
recently launched somethingcalled Digital Centre of
Excellence for all theconferences and the team to draw
upon. What can you tell us aboutthe formation of this centre and
the impact that you want to haveon the future of the business?
Brian Brittain (24:54):
Okay, I am really excited about our Digital
Centre of Excellence. As youknow we've been working on
digital products since 2015. Thepandemic has opened up some
opportunities for us to createnew products for our customers.
We needed a dedicated focus toexpand what we were doing into
new areas. So our Digital Centreof Excellence, it's got three
(25:17):
major goals, three major areasit is focused on. We're going to
continue enhancing our digitalevent products so those products
that happen to be digital forface to face events, that will
continue. We've got a greatroadmap sitting there. The CoE
though will also start to lookat the new opportunities that
(25:38):
have opened up in our businessto consumer space. So think
about our ReedPop, our New YorkComic Con or Gamer Network
capabilities. In all of those,whether it be ReedPop or Gamer,
we have seen new pop up events,pop up panels, subscription for
(25:59):
special content. These arethings that we knew were there.
But now we have been able toprove that they actually worked
very well, and now we'respending more time and focus in
that space. Then lastly, thisCentre of Excellence will be
working on new products thatwill actually leverage our vast
(26:20):
datasets that will augment ourface to face with new insights,
that our customers need. Goingcompletely digital in 2020
enabled us to have focus onthese new digital products. We
were able to test, were able toprove, and we've seen items that
(26:41):
have paid off. Recently we werejoined by Gaby Appleton from
Elsevier.
YS Chi (26:47):
One of the stars of our group.
Brian Brittain (26:49):
Absolutely, and we are so thankful to have her
on board. She ran a number ofdigital products, including
ScienceDirect and Mendeley. Shealso supported the NHS track and
trace with their COVID app. Soshe's got a huge amount of
digital product experience andher leadership will be key in
(27:11):
driving our digital CoE'ssuccess, and I cannot wait to
see what she and the team comeup with.
YS Chi (27:17):
Absolutely. I don't think she'll be short of ideas
and she's so brilliant. Speakingof B2C spaces, I am very curious
to know, what are the keydistinctions between a B2B
characteristic and a B2Ccharacteristic that Reed
Exhibitions is learning from ourReedPop group? I had Lance here
(27:41):
as a guest some time ago, andit's a fascinating difference.
Brian Brittain (27:48):
Yeah, Lance and his team are absolutely
brilliant creating thoseexperiences in the face to face
world and in 2020 they've donequite a bit of work on how to
build similar experiences in thedigital world. Scale is probably
the biggest one. So you're stilltrying to get the right
connections, you're still tryingto get the right network, you're
(28:09):
trying to enable our exhibitorsto get to the right visitors.
But the attendees, they'redifferent in a B2C space,
they're going there for the loveof the product, they're going
there for the love of the event.
They're going there to meettheir friends, they're going
there for...
YS Chi (28:28):
not to make revenue, right?
Brian Brittain (28:29):
...not to make revenue. They're not necessarily
going there in order just to buy100,000 widgets to make a new
product. They're going therebecause they are fans. That
enables us to go into otherareas. So you start talking
about Twitch, you start talkingabout YouTube, Vimeo. All of
(28:49):
these are new channels for us toget the right value, right
entertainment. In some cases,the right special features, the
right panels to our attendeeso these B2C events. Lance and t
am have done a absolutely sectacular job. Our Gamer Netwo
k team, they are the expers in gaming. If you want to know
(29:13):
what's going on in a game fromn editorial perspective,
you go take a look and have a cat on the Gamer Network site
, and that's the big differene. We are going to have convers
tions and enable huge amountsof participation with fanbase
YS Chi (29:29):
Of course. Now this is again another real confirmation
, which is absolutely billiant. It's very different th
n than B2B. Having said that, Bb is a lot of fun too.
that whether it be microcommunities you're creating, or
(29:51):
these pop up events in B2Cspaces, this is true
ambidexterity because we havebeen about deep broad
comprehensive environment. Nowyou're taking these smaller
verticals and doing pops, quickflashes, quick micro communities
and I think that having skillset on both will be very useful
(30:16):
for what is to come. I'm reallyglad to hear what you're all
doing.
Brian Brittain (30:21):
Yeah, I completely agree with you. Our
big face to face events, whetherthat be Comic Con, since you
brought up ReedPop and Lance, orwhether that be MIPCOM or World
Travel Market, those are stillgoing to be our cornerstones.
There's no doubt about that.
What 2020 has taught us is thatyou can have those micro events
(30:43):
and create value that ourcustomers can see. That's
helping them build theirbusinesses, which is really,
whether it's B2B or B2C, that'swhat we're here for. We are here
to help our customers buildtheir businesses.
YS Chi (31:03):
Brian, if you would allow me I'd like to pivot to a
new subject that we touch onthis podcast, unique
contribution. That is ourpassion for doing the right
thing and I guess many peoplecall it corporate
responsibility. We takesustainability very seriously at
RELX, including RX. We were verypleased to have achieved a net
(31:27):
zero in 2020, but we have got tomove beyond this and we have set
ourselves some extremelyambitious environment targets
further down. Can you tell uswhat your group at RX is doing
in this area of sustainability?
Yeah YS. We've got some greatnews here. Started in 2019, our
Australia and UK business groupsstarted working, or they set up
(31:52):
a working group to actuallyfocus completely on
sustainability. There were 26folks that were involved at the
very beginning of it, and it'sgrown since then. What they
created was a sustainabilitycharter and that actually aligns
with the UN SustainabilityDevelopment Goals. All of our
events are adopting this as aminimum standard. So it's making
(32:16):
sure that we recycle. It'smaking sure that our venues that
we utilise are properly green,that we minimise the waste that
we help our companies that buildthe stands for our customers
understand what is possible froma recycling and minimization
(32:37):
point of view. But our eventsalso go beyond that. So they
have World Travel Market, whichI brought up earlier, they have
a responsible tourism programmebecause obviously with the vast
footprint that the touristindustry has, it's important for
us to be involved, to be leadersin those conversations. Our
(33:02):
in-cosmetics group has created asustainability corner that helps
our customers find better waysto produce their products that
are easier on the environment.
These are part of what we see aswhat we need to do and what we
should do for our responsibilitynot just to the environment but
for each other, because we allhave to live on this planet.
(33:29):
It sounds to me like it is sorepetitive throughout our
different divisions, that theseare all efforts that you share
with us that are bottom up. Ouremployee group driving their
passion and conviction. Asopposed to the senior
(33:49):
executives, kind of directing.
Brian Brittain (33:52):
Yeah it is, absolutely. I'm so proud of the
team for doing that quitefrankly. I think it gets back to
one of the the core foundationalpieces of what makes RELX
employees go. It isunderstanding what we could do
with the environment. It'sunderstanding how we can make
(34:15):
the world a better place. It'sleveraging our data assets.
That's what is kind of part ofour DNA and I absolutely love
that about this company.
YS Chi (34:25):
I do too. Now, we're going to try to finish on a
lighter note. You are anAmerican who went from the US to
UK, back to US and now back toUK. Living in the UK, have you
picked up any English habitslike drinking tea with milk or
drinking warm beer?
Brian Brittain (34:46):
Yes, I definitely have. I do drink tea
with milk and I do complainabout the weather, which is a
definitely a British thing. I dosit outside in 18 layers to keep
warm so I can enjoy an adultbeverage with my friends. You'd
think after almost 15 years inthe UK, I would quit finding
(35:08):
things that puzzled me. But sureenough, about once a month,
someone will say something thatI don't understand the context
to and I have to go Google it.
By the way that happened in theUS South too where I found out
that bless your heart is not acompliment. That took me a
couple of months to figure thatout. But I will say this,
probably the most fun I get is,I'm in England, surname
(35:32):
Brittain.
YS Chi (35:34):
Of course, I never thought about that.
Brian Brittain (35:36):
Yeah, there's nothing better than watching
someone who doesn't know mestart talking to me and when I
answer with a very West Coast USaccent, that puzzled look on
their face is absolutelypriceless.
YS Chi (35:51):
Brian, thank you for joining us today and sharing
your passion. Your optimism forwhere we're taking Reed
Exhibitions, uniquecontributions. Whether it's
customer centricity, or teamsupport and communication. I
think I would say the one focalpoint that I'm never going to
(36:14):
forget is our discussion aboutdigital argumentation. About the
hybrid environment and what Ilove calling ambidexterity at
RX. I wish you and yourcolleagues well, and please
continue to stay well.
Brian Brittain (36:30):
Thank you. Thank you for the time today and I
hope everyone gets through thisin one piece.
YS Chi (36:35):
We will together.
Brian Brittain (36:36):
We will together.
YS Chi (36:39):
Thank you to our listeners for tuning in. Don't
forget to hit subscribe on yourpodcast app to get new episodes
as soon as they're released andthank you for listening. Please
stay well.
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