Use digitalization, cultivate contacts - The 8th Liebenberg Horse Forum
The Corona pandemic has driven digitalization everywhere. The 8th Liebenberg Horse Forum was also implemented as a live stream, and made online business a topic. Digitalization has stimulated rethinking and changed structures, the speakers reported. But everyone agreed on this point as well: personal contact with people and horses is indispensable!
The 8th Liebenberg Horse Forum met - unlike in previous years in the spring - on the last Friday in October. Both the date shift was corona-conditioned, thus also the decision not to celebrate the meeting as usual in presence with hundreds of guests, but to convert for safety's sake in the Stream. Thus, spectators from all over the world were able to follow the presentations of the speakers as well as the subsequent Q&A session. The topic: "Future and perspectives in equestrian sport and breeding: faster, higher, further - digital". The invitation by the organizers Deutsche Kreditbank AG, the trade magazine Züchterforum and the Oldenburg Horse Breeders' Association was accepted by Frank Rost, former Bundesliga star, now sports manager and passionate horse breeder and stallion owner. In addition, Lotte Schockemöhle of Schockemöhle Sports spoke about the exciting development story of her company under the title "Online marketing: selling with the click." Third on the panel was Dr. Kilian Jay von Seldeneck, one of the leading auctioneers in the global art scene. The evening was moderated by Sarah Schnieder, editor-in-chief of Reiter Revue International magazine, and Heiner Kanowski, managing director of the Oldenburg Verband.
Ex-Bundesliga star and horse lover Frank Rost kicked off the evening. In his talk, Rost urged people "not to see a threat in new things, but an opportunity, and yet not to run after every trend and question the mainstream." This is true in many areas of life, he said, and applies to horse breeding as well as the training of sport horses. Especially in the fast pace of the digital age and the dissemination speed of, for example, unfiltered video material, he sees quite the danger that the snapshot spreads more dominant than the value of a training path, for example, a stallion. But he also warned: "In order to preserve the cultural asset that is the horse, we need young talent, and in order for equestrian sport to remain attractive to young people, we need attractive competitions. The value of performance-oriented equestrian competitions has suffered greatly," Rost said. The horse fan sees an opportunity here in digital technologies, especially in the transparency of judging, similar to video evidence in soccer.
Online stores in particular are among the winners of the Corona crisis, Lotte Schockemöhle confirms. But the topic of digitization is far from new territory for them. "We've been relying on online marketing, social media and influencer marketing for a long time, and that will continue in the future. Perhaps channels will change and new ones will be added," says the likeable Dutchwoman, but there will be no turning back. So it was also a logical consequence, for example, to no longer offer the product range catalog as a print product. Nevertheless, she says, "The encounter in the store is incredibly important. I can't imagine that it will be possible to try out a saddle online. Many customers also still want to try things on or touch them before they buy them," is Schockemöhle's experience, even if many consultations are now supplemented by influencers in explanatory videos, nevertheless this does not replace personal contact. New platforms are needed, such as special exclusive events.
A very clear "yes" to face-to-face events came from Dr. Kilian Jay von Seldeneck, star auctioneer in the art sector, where online auctions have been commonplace for decades. Certainly, this opens up new markets and larger target groups, but the atmosphere at auctions and the interaction between the auctioneer and the bidders can hardly be created online or on the phone. The ill will in the room during the auction also plays an essential role. "When I face the bidders, I can see under certain circumstances whether their eyes are shining, i.e. whether there might still be a higher bid in there, or whether the limit has actually already been reached," says the thoroughbred auctioneer, who is also convinced that live auctions are here to stay.
