7 minute read
FIRST LOOK: MIG CARDAMONE
SENNHEISER MIDDLE EAST DIRECTOR OF SALES & MARKETING REFLECTS ON HOW THE COMPANY HAS HANDLED THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC, GIVES HIS PROGNOSIS FOR THE LIVE EVENTS INDUSTRY IN THE REGION, AND REVEALS AN EXCITING NEW PRODUCT SERIES SET TO TRANSFORM THE WIRELESS MICROPHONE MARKET.
Thinking back to the end of 2019, nobody could have foreseen the truly unprecedented situation that 2020 would bring. We, along with the rest of the world, have had to adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has had an impact on our business and way of working that is both negative and positive. From an operational point of view, our team has done a great job in adapting to new working practices and conditions as they have embraced the technology that has allowed us to remain connected even when we were working from home, both together as a team but also, of course, with our customers. The move to remote working is well established now and we continue to operate a mix of home and office working, allowing the choice depending on personal circumstances and roles. It’s no surprise that many have preferred to come back into the office more regularly as a means of remaining in physical contact with colleagues and allowing for a clearer delineation between work and home life, but it’s refreshing to see how these new ways of working are embraced in this part of the world, as it has been clear that the output of work is either maintained or enhanced given the right motivation and tools to work.
The situation has also served as an accelerant to our online education programmes for our customers, where we quickly put together a host of free pro audio training webinars and product demonstrations under our #DontStopTheEducation programme, which enabled us to keep in contact with our customers and offer valuable training on our products that were very much application focused.
From a commercial perspective, some areas of our business are yet to fully recover, with the live events industry clearly the hardest hit as far as our own business in professional audio is concerned. However, having such a diverse portfolio has very much helped mitigate the negative effects, with other areas of our product offering experiencing a higher demand due to the way our customers have adapted to these changed circumstances.
In fact, our offering in a few key areas has allowed us to replace this loss of business. As well as greater demand for home studio setups, we have also seen a move towards ‘contained livestream’ events that has allowed users to use different products to those they would have used on a regular live stage. Consequently, our Neumann offering of studio microphones and monitors has seen astonishing growth over the past year, as the focus
has been on the best possible audio capture and playback in these applications.
Similarly, mobile content creators and vloggers have increased the demand for userfriendly, value-oriented microphones. Price is important, but those customers still need good-quality audio, and Sennheiser has a comprehensive range of onboard and wireless microphones aimed squarely at these users that perfectly complements the smartphones, mirrorless and DSLR cameras commonly used.
With a return to office working, the value of – and demand for – video and audio-conferencing solutions has increased enormously. The industry was already adopting ceiling microphones as a new standard in meeting rooms due to the convenience of having your audio ‘off-the-table’, but with the new demand for touchless audio combined with the necessity of having the most intelligible audio solutions, our automatic beamforming microphone TeamConnect Ceiling 2 has been a huge success – not only in the traditional corporate meeting room setting but significantly in education, where blended and remote learning are required to enable effective and ongoing learning.
Looking ahead, we are excited to be making a significant launch this year, with the worldwide introduction of Evolution Wireless Digital on 1 June heralding the next generation of our industry-standard Evolution Wireless series. This new series complements our existing G4 offering and serves as the ‘weapon of choice’ for both our professional music industry and business communication users. We are confident that the rich feature set and app-based workflow integration will make this new modular system a unique solution at its price point. It has the widest dynamic range of any wireless system currently on the market, at any price point, as well as equidistant frequency spacing that was previously only found in our flagship Digital 6000 and Digital 9000 wireless systems that is scalable up to 90 channels.
The system will be monitored and controlled using our new Smart Control App; we are putting an ‘engineer in your pocket’, allowing users to take advantage of a remarkably fast automated setup, mobile access to every system setting and the added benefit of remote monitoring. With an entry price point of $700, we are certain that
these outstanding features will be a big hit with our customer base.
As the region and the wider world continues to navigate its way through the pandemic, I think it’s important to look back on how the UAE has responded to this unprecedented situation in such an impressive way, managing the welfare of its residents while balancing the needs of businesses and individuals to return to some kind of normality swifter than in many other parts of the world. This ‘open for business’ approach has allowed us to get back to work and provides a platform in 2021 to not only recover business but find opportunities for growth.
This year has started well for us – especially in the UAE – with the caveat being that the situation with receivables, which was already becoming increasingly difficult before COVID-19, has now been exacerbated. That said, we work closely with our partners to support the reality of the situation and as a result, we have strengthened relationships during this time as we have again demonstrated our support and commitment to this region and I’m confident we’ll achieve the ambitious growth targets we have set for 2021 together with those partners. Another key market for us is Saudi Arabia, and we have had a Sales Manager based in the Kingdom since 2016, which has been crucial for our growth in the country. It’s always important to have local knowledge and with Saudi being so geographically vast, as well as so economically and culturally important to the region, having a dedicated salesperson in the country has allowed us to increase our touchpoints and got us much closer to our channel partners as well as end-customers – especially in the corporate, education and government sectors.
As the transformation of Saudi Arabia continues to gather pace, we are naturally focused on the hospitality, leisure and entertainment sectors that are proving to present the greatest opportunities in the region and I think we’re well placed with our network of partners, route to market and industry knowledge to capitalise on this exciting landscape over the coming years.
We have started to see the nascent recovery in the live events industry here in the UAE and there is no doubt that there is a huge pent-up demand for people to get back to doing things that they enjoy. Dubai has always led the way in hosting the sort of productions and events that have led to such a large industry servicing this sector, and the return of events will happen faster here than perhaps elsewhere, but it will need to happen with sensible restrictions and safety measures as befit the current circumstances.
I think, and hope, that we will see the many reputable and professional events companies that have invested in the region rise to the top. Safety will remain paramount for some time and it is only possible by utilising the skills and knowledge of the best people in the business, so there should be clear rules and guidelines in place for events to be hosted so that those that comply are rewarded, and those that don’t aren’t. So, instead of a race to the bottom in price, we will see an appreciation and commercial acknowledgement of the value that our industry provides the UAE; perhaps optimistic, but I’m hopeful, as the world’s eyes will be on Dubai in October when Expo 2020 belatedly opens for business. Photos: Sennheiser Middle East www.sennheiser.com
