Selling the Fear of the Big One
Mark Medley, National Post
July 10, 2007
For companies concerned a disaster might affect the bottom line, it's all about "business continuity." And behind those buzzwords lies a billion-dollar industry built on "what ifs," people's fears, and disasters that might never happen.
"Some people would call it a ghoulish industry," says Mark Conron, president of FSI North America, a company that supplies decontamination shower systems, portable shelters, and other emergency products, who was displaying his wares at the 17th annual World Conference on Disaster Management in Toronto.
Water purification systems? Check. Pandemic outbreak coping strategies? The experts are here. Hazmat suits, gas masks, satellite phones, emergency stretchers? No problem. An emergency makeshift field hospital? There's more than one set up on the convention centre floor. A board game for kids designed to help them pack their very own survival kit? You can buy that, too.
A hypochondriac's paradise and a survivalist's dream, the trade show - drawing 1,650 attendees from 35 countries - provided answers for (almost) all the bad things the world has to offer. If the Apocalypse were to strike, this is where you would want to be.
"When a demand is there, people are going to jump into the industry," says Mr. Conron, whose company attends about 40 similar shows worldwide every year.
"There's always going to be disasters. There's always going to be emergencies. So there's always going to be a market for these types of products."
And more people are seemingly taking the plunge into the industry - there were about 100 exhibitors at the trade show, compared with 80 last year - with many speaking of 9/11 being a turning point.
Products on display included dozens of books and guides with such ominous titles as Catastrophe: Risk and Response, Terrorism Emergency Response and Disaster Dictionary. There were a variety of sirens, those Cold War relics used to rush you to your fallout shelter, now marketed for "homeland security" and as "campus alert systems," with the words "Virginia Tech" being spoken as dire warning.
It's about being proactive instead of reactive, says Kurt Theil, a manager with Stevens, a medical distribution company.
"It's all about business continuity," he says. "People are more concerned. They're planning ahead."
Tommy Rainey, publisher of the Disaster Resource Guide, says, "Most of what's going on here is insurance. In the event of an emergency, then the insurance will pay off. A life insurance salesman is not looking at you hoping you'll die, but he's hoping he'll help you be ready in the event of an emergency."
Jake Baillie of Pandemic 101, a London, Ont., company specializing in pandemic preparedness, says the choice is simple: Be prepared or face the consequences.
"It's the same as: Do you bring an umbrella to work? It may not rain, it may rain. If it doesn't rain then you're okay. If it does rain then you look pretty good next to the guy who doesn't have the umbrella."
On top of being able to handle the physical effects of a crisis - by stocking respirators, flu kits, bottled water - business continuity is also about finances.
"It's almost beyond preparedness. It's for competitive [reasons] as well," says Mr. Baillie, pointing out Air Canada was bankrupt by SARS.
"If you've prepared for a pandemic and your business successfully survives that pandemic, you're going to be much stronger economically than you will be [compared] to your competitors that are just sitting out there twiddling their thumbs."
Ralph Dunham, senior vice-president risk consulting for Marsh Canada Ltd., an insurance broker and strategic risk advisor, thinks the business community is beginning to take notice.
"They're really looking at it and saying, this is the health of the business," he says. "This is not about a cataclysmic, smoking hole in the ground. This is [about] how do we optimize our business model so that we can be resilient and we can be flexible and we can adapt to events as they unfold.... It's not [about] saying how much is it going to cost me if I have a big explosion, but rather how can I make sure that if and when it does happen I can move, I can adapt, I can be flexible."
Even the education sector is getting involved. There were about a half-dozen displays for institutions offering diplomas and degrees in the field of emergency management, including Royal Roads University in Victoria, and George Brown College in Toronto.
While the schools may be attracting new blood to the field, even those who have spent years in the industry are sometimes philosophical about their line of work. Dale Hull, director of sales for Federal Signal Corporation, an Illinois-based provider of warning systems, reflected on the unorthodox nature of the industry while standing next to a huge siren in the middle of the booth.
"It's kind of a strange business in general," he says. "Sometimes it's difficult selling to a customer because they don't want to make the investment because at that moment they don't need it. It's like life insurance...."
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