Stateside with Stephanie
Alibaba . com ’ s co-create was creative !
Stephanie Selesnick witnesses how a show took offline to online to enhance the experience , loyalty and sense of community
libaba . com held their
A first US conference , Co- Create , aimed at SME ’ s and entrepreneurs interested in seeing their products come to life from a vision to realised sales and all the work that entails . Held at Resorts World in Las Vegas , USA , it was clear that the Alibaba . com in-house organisers had done their homework with excellent speakers , great visuals , clever , informative , and interactive activations on the small exhibition floor and plenty of Instagrammable opportunities .
With just under 1,500 paid attendees , the conference purposefully coincided with a new advertising slogan , ‘ Will Meets Way ’ featuring the photos of some successful entrepreneurs , highlighting their achievements by using the Alibaba . com platform to design , source and sell their products . The thought was by placing people first , platform second , it would better resonate with their audience .
Alibaba . com used the event to launch new additions to the platform , showing them off in the exhibition hall , taking visitors on a journey from design to finding a factory , to being able to securely pay for the product when delivered . My favourite activation was a set of boxing gloves where attendees go for a timed round , hitting many of the items that drive them crazy in the supply chain process . Talk about driving the point home !
A couple of the new features caught my attention , especially if we think of how these would help our exhibitors and attendees connect :
Smart Assistant – uses high-tech solutions for sourcing products from around the world . The client plugs in product requirements and the system provides possible matches . Also works for design development .
How wonderful would it be if all shows had a robust system of matching attendee requirements with exhibitors and sponsors ? I know there are several product matchmaking platforms a few organisers are presently using – but not at this very detailed and global level . The designing feature was also pretty interesting , making innovation a lot easier .
Live simultaneous translation ( via subtitles ) – while holding a streaming conversation with factories overseas . The translations go both ways . Wow !
This tech enhancement is game changing . Think about creating and nurturing global relationships with clients regardless of what languages they speak – in real time . Unfortunately for us , Alibaba . com is not planning to share this technology with anyone soon .
Not new , but new to me is the Buyer Growth Academy – with free on-demand content for those entrepreneurs who want to learn to be more successful . They call it ‘ mentorship on a mass scale ’.
Some ( not enough ) organisers make online exhibitor education available on-demand ( and in person ). When done right , it works . And while you ’ re at it , what about adding on-demand sessions for the first-time visitors on how to attend your expo ?
All in all , for an event conceived and executed in under a year , Co- Create delivered . It took the offline to online to enhance the future online experiences while deepening loyalty and community . Well done . EW
22 Issue 5 2023 www . exhibitionworld . co . uk