Whatever happened to the notion of the virtual event? EW speaks to Ted Rawson, global e-business director at Reed Exhibitions, and asks what role online showplaces play today.
We believe in connecting buyers and sellers online. However, the concept of a virtual event with graphic representations of floor plans and booths that attendees visit isn’t one that we think has a role in our industry today. Many attempts have been made at perfecting this type of model and we haven’t yet seen anything that provides enough customer value to both exhibitors and attendees.
We’ve been sceptical of this model for a while. The customer research that we do across all of our events gives us a clear picture of what is valuable to the industries that we serve. What we have focused on, following that research, is developing online tools that allow networking and encourage community connections.
We have seen success in using web sites to add significant value to our customers around our events, for example through online product directories. The ability for visitors to plan their events pre-show, use mobile tools on the show floor and have information available to them post-show has been an area where we’ve seen significant value added. We’re also using video to capture unique content for live streaming and viewing after the event. This extends our brands to people that can’t physically attend and gives customers exposure beyond the trade show floor.
Investment in virtual events has been cut back significantly in the last couple of years. We are investmenting in digital platforms where we can see clear customer value. Virtual events are not a priority for us.
This was first published in Issue 3/2013 of EW. Any comments Email exhibitionworld@mashmedia.net
