Last week at TS2, Dana Freker Doody and The Expo Group provided us with a great example of how a show can incorporate a virtual component into the stream of conversations which take place on a show floor. What the IN Zone accomplished is worthy of review. They titled the virtual event “Continuing the Conversation.”
Dana was able to gain the support of her boss Ray Pekowski in fulfilling it. This was a live experiment on a show floor. It could be a total failure or quite a success. In my estimation it was an outstanding success and should be reviewed and considered for other shows. Over time I am sure there will be other versions of this original concept.
Let’s take a look at how they position this effort:
Social Me-Jay Emilie Barta will interview industry thought-leaders live from the IN Zone which is located in the middle of the TS2 trade show floor. The virtual audience will not merely be watching a webcast, but will be able to join in the conversation through Twitter as well as chat and question features on Digitell’s ProLibraries Live 2D platform. In fact, the virtual presentation will begin prior to the F2F presentation so that the virtual audience has their own experience unique to them. This “Virtual Pre-Show” will showcase how beneficial it is to have a virtual event, and consequently connect to a whole separate audience, right from a trade show booth.
Continuing the Conversation…bringing onsite and online together on the trade show floor!
In an e-mail to those of us who were to be interviewed, Emilie informs us on how it would work:
Onsite and online will definitely be united into one conversation between myself, you, the F2F audience, and the virtual audience. The F2F audience will not be “lectured at” or “talked to” by us; rather they will be participating in a conversation. The virtual audience will not merely be watching a webcast, but will be able to join in the conversation through Twitter as well as chat and question features on the virtual platform. In fact, the virtual presentation will begin prior to the F2F presentation so that the virtual audience has their own experience unique to them.
Be a part of this trendsetting vehicle for experiential marketing and integrated communications where you can get your message to 2 audiences from 1 location!
Highlights of Coming Attractions
Dana talks about how these show floor virtual events are like movie trailers. They give the virtual audience a flavor of what is happening as a way to entice them to come to the event next time. A show is planting seeds with future face-to-face audiences about the quality of the content they can produce, and that the show is something that should not be missed in the future.
Will all of the non-attendees attend in person because of the virtual event? No, but a percentage will make it a point to appropriate the necessary funds to attend next year’s show. How large of a percentage will be based on the continued engagement a show has with their community.
Each show has a community. Unfortunately, all too often the show forgets those individuals who are not in attendance. They are concentrating on those who actually show up. There can be missed opportunities of solidifying this audience for future attendance due to poor communication channels. If they are included and empowered, they are more likely to have a favorable impression and might be a future on-site attendee.
Having the Right Suppliers
Dana met Emilie Barta on Twitter through a trade show and events community called #eventprofs. The first time Dana saw Emilie live in action was when Emilie was the Virtual Host of Event Camp NYC in February 2010. She was impressed in how Emilie and her enthusiasm carried through the camera to the virtual audience.
It was Emilie who introduced Dana to Jim Parker of Digitell Inc. Once the team was gathered and their plan was rolled out, they knew they could run with it and put a press release out on July 5th. It is remarkable to me that they only started gathering the virtual audience six days before the show! Of course the team would have preferred to have had more advance time to produce this event, and it is one of the considerations they will be mentioning to future clients.
There was a virtual audience gathered and they were highly engaged. In fact, due to word of mouth and Tweets, the audience grew 106% from the beginning broadcast. Emilie Barta did a fabulous job as the host of the show. Dana talks about how Emilie is a “pioneer in making the virtual audiences feel as if they were with us on the show floor.” A fun example of this is when Emilie and I did a “group hug” with the virtual audience. There were plenty of Tweets about it over the cyber wires because they felt included.
Jim Parker remarked that the TS2 audience was highly engaged. He states that other virtual event audiences with many more participants were not nearly as engaged as the TS2 audience was.
Creating the Buzz
It is paramount that various media channels are established and maintained throughout the virtual engagement. Like we tell our exhibitors to conduct pre-show, at show, and post show marketing, it is the exact same scenario for the virtual world. Suggested media outlets are Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube and other social media groups.
Will this replace the actual show? No! It is a way to augment the show’s community. As Jason McGraw, Senior Vice President of InfoComm stated last week at IAEE’s Senior Executives Roundtable held in conjunction with TS2, “you cannot have a beer over the internet.” Nothing can replace face-to-face!
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