We are heading for a complete year of silence in the world of events. And that we as human beings can still hurt painfully hard. Since early 2020 things changed the way we were used to do. And we will return to our old way of doing things. But it is all a bit more complicated than expected or hoped for.
In the meantime, we have started working online a whole lot more. We have been looking for alternative ways for communication as “online” in the events industry as well. The virtual event and with it the virtual exhibition stand received really great attention for the first time. It was not new, but the fact that events could no longer go live created a wonderful field of play for digital forces.
Examples of varying quality followed each other in quick succession. There were different reactions. But above all, there has actually been a lightning-fast and admirable transition.
Of course, we know that there will be live events again soon. Fairs, festivals, it will be possible again soon.
Live comes back, virtual never goes away
And yet some sort of accelerated digital revolution has taken place. We learned a lot about digital techniques in an incredibly short time. Some have existed for a while and others have been made applicable more quickly. And in several work areas, this has so many advantages that they will continue to be used.
One of those areas is about virtual environments. An online environment where you can meet people semi-live and mimic the realistic. Within our field, trade fairs, are mainly virtual exhibition stands.
And a lot has already been said about that. The most used form is the somewhat 2-dimensional form. You will receive a web page from the organization with a number of contact buttons. Varying in possibilities from downloading a brochure to being able to chat. It was also tried to mimic the fair feeling a bit more, but then all stands had exactly or more or less the same look and feel. Differentiation was missed in that case.
Take control of your virtual environment yourself
Technically, as far as our knowledge now extends, it is also almost impossible to create a virtual exhibition stand for about 200 exhibitors in a very short time that is realistic and is located in a realistic exhibition hall as well.
So now it is better to be prepared for virtual exhibition participation and to take control yourself.
And if you do, then immediately think about the wider use of it. The virtual environment is increasingly seen as an additional online marketing tool. As a virtual showroom, where you temporarily put a number of products in the spotlights. As a virtual reception environment that you use to give webinars. So there is not any need to do that on a Zoom or Microsoft team call. You can do that in your virtual “office”. For example, you can hold your online sales meetings in your virtual office too. Why not?
Advantages of a virtual environment
If you are going to organize your (semi) virtual exhibition stand at any online exhibition organization, it will cost you a lot of time. Every time you have to upload content again in the format desired by the organization. Then that fair lasts an x number of days and after your virtual exhibition stand is gone. That resembles the build-and-burn principle. It doesn’t work. And you pay for each individual exhibition organizer for the development of a (again semi) virtual environment.
If you develop a virtual environment yourself, you can use it 24/7/365. Your virtual exhibition stand is developed as a microsite. And is therefore always accessible with a link. The cost structure for something like this looks like this”:
- A one-time investment in creating a virtual environment.
- Annual costs for hosting and maintaining licenses that make it possible to hold a webinar, chat, do video calls, etc.
- Relatively low costs for replacing, upgrading, expanding, or scaling the virtual environment.
How do I get this virtual environment on the platform of the fair?
Two things can happen now.
The exhibition organization offers you a basic form in the form of a page. Then make sure that the link to your virtual exhibition stand (the microsite) is on it. Your virtual exhibition stand is a website (microsite) in itself. So always approachable. Also, from your website, or behind a button on your website.
You do not have to put the entire exhibition stand as a package on the platform of the exhibition organization. But you have to post a link, a reference, to your microsite from that platform. The visitor clicks on it (as they would click on “visit our website”) and goes to your virtual environment.
But it may also be the case that the exhibition organization creates something more. For example, a hall with more 3D visualization. Contact buttons are then placed on it. Obviously, this still does not have the functionalities and benefits that a virtual environment offers.
It is then possible to create a 3D file of your virtual exhibition stand and place it on the platform. To ensure that the unique functionalities of your virtual environment can be used, a link of course must be built into the image. So that the visitor eventually goes to your virtual environment, with all its functionalities. And that is (of course) possible.
Schedule an online demo in our agenda and learn everything about virtual environments
Would you like to know more about these options?
Plan a time here for a 25-minute online demo.
We will tell you all about the options and prices for the four basic packages that we have developed as a starting point for a virtual environment.
With these four packages, we provide quick insight into:
- What is a virtual environment?
- What can you do with a virtual environment?
- What does a virtual environment cost and what does it yield?
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