“There is the physical world and the digital world. Our customers live in both worlds. And in many ways it’s all one world.”

 

 

Virtual is The New Game

The trade show industry is now what the sports industry used to be. In the ‘olden’ days – to see the game, the contest, the CONTENT, you had to be there, in person. But soon, layers were added. Games were broadcast live, widening the audience. Then, recaps and box score were available – albeit the next day. When the next day wasn’t soon enough, games were live blogged, tweeted and checked-into by fans and reporters. Broadcast changed the game. A new and wider audience became fans. And on-site attendance didn’t suffer. The advent of broadcast brought in not only new fans, but new revenue. Each of these layers – live broadcast, sports page recaps and real-time updates are elements to the experience of a game. Each fan lives and relives their team in a different way – depending on preference, schedules, budget and more. Our industry knows now what the sports industry already knows. Creating more content – more experiences – more ways to LIVE the event will increase your fandom. Virtual is the new recap – the new blog, the new two-way experience. It’s the new game.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What is virtual made of?

Virtual is composed of the three C’s: content, community and channel.

 

Content is about the watchable, readable and listen-able component. It extends to a broader audience than the face-to-face event and is available at any time on-demand.

 

Community creates the online network opportunities and user-generated content. It allows for interaction and collaboration. After all, two minds are better than one; four is better than two and so on.

 

Channel goes the deepest. It’s about deep integration and involves strategy, creative and marketing.

 

 

The Numbers

In 2010, 4.5 million people attended  the top 200 conventions and tradeshows in North America alone.

 

However, approximately 35 million people who could have attended did not. Virtual is about making the 4.5 million a bigger number. It’s creating incentive – the content, the networking opportunities and lead generation – to attend in person the next time the same event rolls around. Virtual grows the face-to-face event. Check out these numbers from a recent event that Freeman facilitated:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Space Odessey: Don’t Be Afraid

Although there is caution within our industry about merging the online experience with the face-to-face experience, there shouldn’t be concern. Virtual will never replace or take over face-to-face, but rather enhance it.

 

 

We have seen a virtual component used across numerous industries – B2B, B2C, publications, Fortune 500, healthcare, hospitality, non-profit and the list goes on.

 

 

Event organizers and B2B marketers know that despite the intrinsic power and scale of face to face marketing, a faster horse won’t be enough to drive growth in the event marketing landscape. The answers reside in innovation this industry needs at this time. Go Mavericks.

 

 

 

For more information about Freeman’s virtual capabilities, click here or email: virtualextensions@freemanco.com

 

-Megan Magaña is the Marketing and Social Media Coordinator at Freeman. She can be reached at megan.magana@freemanco.com