“VOXPO has something for everyone. For us this is
a massively exciting project and the next logical
step for two industries known for their innovation.”
Q. Are you worried that some people might find it too technical?
Not at all. You don’t need to download anything special to access
VOXPO. It’s all done via one simple URL that you access in exactly
the same way you access any other website. If you’re an exhibitor,
then you get your own unique URL to help you build your booth
with a simple custom editor. There’s nothing about the experience
for anyone that should deter or confuse people. We’ve tested the
platform with various members of staff here, all with differing levels
of technical knowledge and we had a 100% positive feedback rate on
its ease of use.
Q. How did VOXPO come about?
This is something we’ve had on our radar since the back end of
last year. We always have a schedule of upcoming products and
initiatives and we like to keep everything fresh and evolving. VOXPO
is one of many things we have planned but we pushed it forward due
to the terrible things happening around the world with COVID-19 and
its effect on physical travel. Over the past five years we’ve met a lot of
people and made a lot of friends in the vape and CBD industries and
we felt VOXPO was something that could also help their businesses
through a difficult time if we brought it forward.
Q. How does VOXPO work for visitors?
We have worked hard to keep the entire experience nice and simple.
Firstly you register to attend. There’s no charge at all for attending.
When you access the expo you’ll see both a vape and a CBD hall, plus
an auditorium. Let’s say you head into the vape hall. As you would
with a physical expo, you’ll then have a large selection of booths
to visit. When you visit a booth, you’ll have various options such as
video presentations, brochures, catalogues, spec sheets – essentially
anything you might need to find out more about their products. If you
like what you see, you’ll be able to link to their online e-commerce
presence and buy. If you want further information, then there will be
various ways to get in touch with the exhibitors.
Q. Will you be able to talk to the exhibitors like you can at a physical
expo?
people, even if given the chance, would feel totally comfortable
sampling products at a physical expo? Secondly, you’ve got to think
about VOXPO in terms of its length and duration. At a physical expo
you’ve got two to three days to push a deal over the line – that’s your
window. At VOXPO you’ve got the full year. There’s time to engage
fully with any contacts you make there. Time to send the samples
and then follow up.
Q. Do you see this replacing physical expos?
Absolutely not. Physical expos are a cornerstone of the industry and
as media partners to many of them we can’t wait for them to get up
and running again. The ultimate aim of VOXPO is to complement
physical expos and not to replace them. There’s more than enough
room for both physical and virtual expos.
Q. You mentioned an auditorium. What happens there?
The auditorium will form a key part of VOXPO. This is the place where
you can find some fantastic guest speakers covering topics on both
the vape and CBD side of things. There’ll be something there for
everyone whether you are an expert, beginner or just curious.
Q. What exactly is the target audience for the event?
Plain and simple, this is an event for everyone. If you’re a business
owner there’ll be new products and brands for you to consider. If
you’re a vaping or CBD lover then it is the same for you. If you’re a
smoker looking to quit or considering using CBD to aid you with some
particular aspect of your life, then come along – we’ve got you all
covered.
Q. How has the response from the industries been?
In a word - phenomenal. We’ve got over 100 brands exhibiting already.
For the exhibitors it’s an incredibly competitive price for what is a full
years’ worth of global exposure and there is a huge level of excitement
of what VOXPO can achieve.
Q. Sounds good. When does it go live?
Yes. The VOXPO platform will be live for 365 days but within that
period we will have four “live expos”, each lasting for three days where
all the exhibitors will have members of staff in their offices or home
offices sitting ready to answer any questions you might have.
Q. How are you getting around the fact that people won’t be able to
sample products?
There’s a two-fold way of looking at that. Firstly, in the current climate
and with social distancing and hygiene, do you really think that many
It will go live on July 31.
Q. Is there anything else you’d like to add?
I’d just like to reiterate that there’s something there for everyone. For
us this is a massively exciting project to work on. We see this as the
next logical step for a pair of industries known for their innovation
and a step that we feel people are going to thoroughly enjoy and get
massive benefit from.
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