Digital solutions
his past month saw the
first virtual editions
of the world’s largest
tradeshow, the Canton
Fair, and one of the largest technology
conferences, Web Summit’s
‘Collision from Home’. While it is an
achievement that, in little over three
months both these events, along with
many others impacted by Covid-19,
have developed a digital equivalent to
serve their communities, the virtual
event model is still to be cracked
successfully.
A successful physical event
combines multiple elements:
conferences focus more on speakers
and content, while tradeshows have a
greater focus on the exhibition floor to
showcase and discover products and
connecting buyers with sellers. Both
meet a strong need for networking.
Virtualising conference content
is more straightforward, and
webinars and live streaming are well
established. However, replicating
the experience of a tradeshow floor
online requires more than creating
a virtual floor plan, a booth with
product listings and a chat box. And,
despite the emergence of AI-powered
matchmaking solutions, recreating
face-to-face networking remains a
challenge.
Objective
Enhancing the at-show
value proposition
The time
is coming for
real digital
alternatives
Jonathan Dufton says virtual events
are not the answer and asks, What is?
Some of these challenges are
technical in nature. It has taken a
pandemic for event technology to
really think what the right digital
solution is for their participants (as
illustrated by Web Summit’s decision
to develop its own platform for
‘Collision from Home’), and better
solutions should continue to emerge.
However, other challenges are
more intrinsic to the digital world. The
decision of an individual to attend a
physical event drives the commitment
and urgency to meet and interact with
others. In an online environment, this
time sensitivity disappears, and the
overall proposition weakens.
Furthermore, lessons learned from
Post Covid-19, leading organisers will be offering a combination of digital services to
provide a holistic marketing and sourcing solution to customers
Overview
Example
opportunities
Using global digital
technology to support
customer objectives for
exhibiting / attending
events (pre-, at- and postshow)
• Matchmaking tools
• Directories
• Event planning
tools / apps
Jonathan Dufton is
a director at Plural
Strategy www.
pluralstrategy.com
Replicating participants’
show objectives
Digital alternatives to
physically exhibiting /
attending events
• Digital marketplaces
• Lead generation
platforms
• Performance marketing
• Online learning
platforms
Extending the show
value proposition
Digital information
and software services
addressing participant
needs not covered by
events
• Subscription news and
content platforms
• Sourcing workflow
software
• Pricing benchmarks
digitisation in adjacent sectors should
be heeded for organisers launching
virtual events. Once freed from the
constraints of the physical version,
there is no reason why the digital
version should look the same.
The digital equivalent of a trade
publication could become specialised
news portals, a data business or a
job site, the high street and shopping
malls have become social networks
and marketplaces, and training
courses have become unbundled into
online learning platforms. Building
digital equivalents of physical events
without understanding the objectives
of customers and the resulting digital
need risks the threat of losing out to a
native solution.
Some organisers are starting to
respond to this threat: Informa has
partnered with the e-commerce
platform NuOrder for its fashion retail
portfolio, while IMC launched a B2B
e-commerce division through the
acquisitions of Pharos and RepZio.
Given the unique value of the
physical event experience, it is
likely that face-to-face events will
return as soon as they are safe to do
so. The format of these events will
evolve, incorporating hybrid digital
elements to adapt to the post Covid-19
environment, but also with the
continued development and uptake
of digital tools that can improve
the effectiveness of the in-person
experience.
However, in the mid-term, we
will see the emergence of real digital
alternatives. The diversity of industries
means the solution, be it digital
marketing services, lead generation
platforms, digital marketplaces, online
networking, e-learning, sales and
marketing enablement data or more,
will be different for a US retail event
vs. a manufacturing event in Germany.
What is not in doubt is that
event organisers who invest in
digital capability and meld the right
digital offering with their events by
understanding their audience needs
will emerge as the winners in the next
era of the events industry.
www.exhibitionworld.co.uk Issue 4 2020 15