Attend your event, fair or tradeshow without actually being there!

COVID-19 has taught us that the things we used to do on-site can be brought online. If you are still among those who think they cannot organize a virtual business meeting or trade fair, it is probably because you have never seen how the Virtual Booth Technology is an effective tool that is going to replace physical trade shows, offering a successful alternative that can increase your brand value and ensure that your company is always open for business.

Few things have had the potential to change the world in the way that COVID-19 has. While most countries are still struggling with the virus, although the first vaccines have arrived, some sectors have particularly suffered the impact of the imposed social distancing and of travel restrictions. One of them is the sector known as MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions), as many events have been cancelled, postponed or rearranged, in some cases as fully virtual events, in others restructured as a blend of online and offline experiences to minimize physical contact. We even found a dedicated entry in Wikipedia that is listing the events that have been cancelled or rescheduled because of the pandemic.

As we work closely with conference organizers and are interpreting services provider, we have seen firsthand how our corporate clients have been forced to revamp their meetings (small and big) and have not been able to attend trade shows, for example the Life Science event Medica, which was converted into an online version called virtual.MEDICA. In many cases, our client meetings have taken place thanks to our Remote Interpreting Services (RIT), which has proved to be a great solution for both large and small meetings and conferences. Some countries that have in the past been hit hard by Coronavirus, such as China and UAE, are progressively reopening the sector with international attendees from approved countries, and others have already opened up their venues or announced their opening, although the news of a supposed third wave of the pandemic is currently sweeping Europe and the rest of the world.

In such a situation, as we cannot talk about a COVID-free world, what are the expectations for future trade shows and how can social distancing be followed without compromising their format?

The solution to this problem or, more specifically, the evolution of trade fairs and shows, could be represented by virtual booths and trade shows, one of the most sought-after tools this last year − and probably for years to come. Virtual booths are virtual applications that allow your business or organization to attend any event through a fully customizable, 3D engineered virtual stand, including all your localized and interactive catalogs. While in other times users might have been somewhat reluctant to stick to these new formats, now virtual booths can potentially eliminate the inconveniences and limitations brought about by COVID-19. Like anything else of a similar nature, organizing a virtual booth is much simpler than setting up a physical one. Despite being virtual, it is really very interactive and has been imagined as a space where you can actually meet and greet attendees and capture leads. With the help of your brand, logo, online videos and multilingual digital marketing collateral you can effectively connect with your audience in an appealing environment and can build business relationships using the devices provided in the booths.

Meetings and content: Include virtual booths in your annual event planning and package it all up with multilingual interactive catalogs!

Unlike trade shows, virtual booths can be set up outside of an event and can work for you 24/7. They are not bound by geographical and space limitations as anyone could potentially have access to them from anywhere (also eliminating travel costs and time) and can give you the opportunity to connect to more customers. Among the different functionalities available for virtual booths, you can choose to show videos or visuals on virtual screens, display posters or other marketing materials, integrate external content belonging to your company, give or create virtual guided tours and embed the virtual booth on your website to promote it. There are even options to chat or book meetings. Here you have a couple of examples we have created with our technical engineer partner:

Looks great, doesn’t it? Virtual booths are not only an excellent solution for trade shows but could be extended to other virtual events, and even museums, factories or laboratories could follow this model. Apart from the advantages offered by virtual tools, including greater accessibility to their public, this new way of organizing events could even help companies in other ways: as a modern high-tech solution it has the power of boosting their reputation and can ensure business continuity even in the event of disruptions. Like any visual medium, it also has the power to guarantee more immediate communication and an immersive experience.