Stuttgart, March 16, 2020. Sporting events are being canceled or held in front of empty stands, cultural institutions are closing their doors, and trade shows and industry exhibitions are being postponed until late summer or fall—the coronavirus is increasingly bringing economic life to a standstill. The events industry and its clients are particularly affected and are wondering if there are any alternatives. Sebastian Wiese, managing partner of follow red, and Carsten Wacker, CEO of smart7, provide some answers.
Mr. Wiese, why are trade shows still so popular when there have long been other ways to communicate?
Sebastian Wiese: Even today, a good and sustainable business relationship is based on an understanding of the customer’s challenges, knowledge of the industry, and, above all, trust. That’s why nothing beats personal contact between the sales team and customers. Trade shows are the ideal communication platform for this, because they are time-limited, which means that all the key players need to—and want to—be there. Many companies generate a large portion of their annual business in just a few days this way.
Carsten Wacker: By “other options,” you’re probably referring to digital formats, such as a virtual trade show. Like a traditional trade show, it aims to help people network, meet potential business partners, or showcase and introduce new and innovative products. The only difference is that the venue shifts from a physical location to the digital world. Incidentally, it’s technically entirely possible to do away not only with the trade show’s physical location but also with its time constraints. It doesn’t take much imagination to envision the potential benefits—particularly in terms of costs.
If you want to move a trade show online, what challenges should you expect?
Sebastian Wiese: You have to realize that certain elements of an in-person trade show visit cannot be easily transferred to a virtual setting. The added value here is different, so the trade show design—and, above all, the content intended to motivate and engage visitors—must be tailored accordingly.
Carsten Wacker: A one-to-one translation of an existing physical format into a virtual context obviously cannot be effective. In extreme cases, this results in a platform devoid of content and meaning, with no long-term appeal to visitors or users. Nevertheless, physical components with a proven track record of success can provide inspiration for implementation in the digital space.
What are some possible approaches to virtual trade shows?
Carsten Wacker: Essentially, there are three possible models, each with different advantages in terms of implementation time and sustainability. First, existing spaces—such as showrooms, retail locations, or sales areas—can be digitized using 3D scanning and expanded into virtual touchpoints. This makes it possible to set up a virtual trade show very quickly and make it accessible to a broad audience.
Sebastian Wiese: The advantage here is that you don’t have to go through a time-consuming conceptual and architectural planning process, because the foundation for the Real Case already exists. And you can incorporate additional channels as part of an integrated communications strategy.
Carsten Wacker: Planning and building a new virtual architecture is more time-consuming and labor-intensive. Using a virtual reality tool, any form of a virtual brand space can be recreated entirely from scratch. This kind of holistic planning offers more flexibility and makes it possible to incorporate and optimize lessons learned from previous projects—while also integrating additional communication channels.
Sebastian Wiese: And then there’s also the option of combining existing tools and implementing them in a new, fictional setup. This involves combining static content with virtual, dynamic experiences and enhancing them through existing channels. This ensures that knowledge and information are exchanged and conveyed in the best possible way.
Carsten Wacker: This format also enables focused and customizable interactions among visitors, as well as between visitors and the brand or company. This creates a bridge between the real-world experience and the digital space.
What additional benefits do virtual trade shows offer?
Carsten Wacker: Virtual trade shows provide an innovative marketing tool for the future. They offer not only complete flexibility in terms of duration and scope, but also in content design, visual layout, and other elements such as livestreams and live webinars. They provide optimal sales support—without travel time or the associated costs. And they’re available worldwide, 24/7.
Sebastian Wiese: Even though we are currently in an exceptional situation, we do not believe that existing in-person trade show formats will disappear. Rather, we believe that expanding on-site participation with virtual components and platforms enables more sustainable and effective solutions—even beyond 2020. We’d be happy to advise you on this.
About smart7
Driven by our passion for design and technology, we develop smart solutions for the analog and digital worlds. We put the user at the center of everything we do: experiences—feel them analog, experience them digitally. We think digitally to generate extraordinary ideas and, in our think tank, develop sustainable experiences and designs that become emotional memories. We consult and craft creative stories, or use our UI/UX concepts and technical solutions to make your communication unmistakably smart. That’s how Digitalpower by smart7 works. For more information, visit: https://smart7.io
