It is easy to imagine the president of Ieg (the company that organizes Vicenzaoro), Lorenzo Cagnoni, last spring in the Hamlet version, while reciting the famous monologue: to be or not to be? That is the question. That is: to be Vicenzaoro, and to propose again one of the most important appointments in the world for jewelry, or not to be and cancel the appointment, as other trade fairs have done? With some courage the company has chosen to be a third way: Voice.
Defined as a jewelry summit, Voice has proved to be first of all an attempt to restart the sector, requested first of all by Italian companies. Being able to set up Voice, despite the health emergency is still a ball and chain for the business, is already a success. Of course, the organizers stressed, we shouldn’t expect it to be was the usual Vicenzaoro with the only difference in the masks to wear. And while many big brands have chosen to be present, others, especially those that sell a lot abroad, have deserted the appointment. It was predictable.
But, in any case, the official balance sheet indicates 370 companies present, a hundred speakers in the over 600 business matching meetings organized by Ieg (one third online), with a dense schedule of appointments, seminars, conferences and talk shows. In the virtual buyers rooms, created to make up for the reduced presence of foreign buyers, over 200 commercial exchanges took place. The contents generated in the pavilions have had over 3.5 million views on digital channels. Voice, in fact, blended the physical presence at the fair with online channels. A sober, but not spartan, staging has kept the balance with the atmosphere of challenge to the stop caused by the coronavirus.
In short, it went well. But the Hamletic dilemma will arise again shortly, given that the next appointment is called, for now, Vicenzaoro January. To be or not to be? Is it possible to propose a fair like the one in previous years if the pandemic has not completely ceased or, at least, has also been reduced from a psychological point of view? Or will Ieg be induced to re-propose the Voice format? The one held in Vicenza was been the only event dedicated to jewelery from February onwards in the world. It was a risk, but we can say that the game was won. With a little out of wheezing, though.
