Virtual conferences and virtual trade shows are on rise for a very sound reason – virtual tradeshows typically cost much less than traditional trade shows. Since virtual trade shows can be conducted from a person’s desk, the cost of travel, lodging, and trade show displays is virtually eliminated.
A virtual trade show, often called a virtual trade fair, or a virtual event, or a virtual conference is an online 3D environment, that goes live and stays live online for a limited period of time, often with the expectation that several like-minded participants will be available online for brief spells of time, allowing them to connect with one another without travel, via the Internet, no matter where they are located geographically, to exchange valuable information.
The worldwide virtual conference market is forecasted to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 56% between the period of 2010 and 2015. This prediction has been made by Market Research Media Ltd, a leading market and technology research company, in its recent research report “Virtual Conference & Trade Show Market Forecast 2010-2015“. In the estimates made by the report the worldwide virtual conference and trade show market is predicted to reach $18.6 Billion over the period 2010 – 2015.
The structure of a typical virtual expo often includes a virtual exhibit hall which users enter with specific permissions and capabilities, to either attend and view virtual displays in the exhibit hall or build virtual booths to exhibit information related to products or services on offer, just as they would at a trade fair in a convention center. The virtual event may have other components such as a virtual web conference, or a web seminar or a webinar, or other educational presentations. The virtual trade fair thus results in live interaction between all the users on many levels (one-to-one, one-to-many and many-to-many) and simultaneously. Detailed tracking mechanisms allow organizers to determine the flow of traffic in the virtual tradeshow. Although virtual tradeshows are usually conducted in specialized web environments, many have been organized and conducted in tightly controlled text based environments.
Visitors to a virtual trade fair or a virtual expo fill out an online registration form to create an online badge or avatar, and then enter a virtual exhibit hall to visit various virtual booths. The virtual booths often reflect the imagery of a real-world exhibit hall. The visuals also sometimes reflect those seen in real-world convention centers so that users can relate to them easily. A virtual booth typically has several icons which can trigger different responses upon the click of the mouse. There are icons on which a visitor would click for instant communication with the exhibitor, such as by sending an instant message, or an instant email, or making an instant voice-call. There are icons on which a visitor will be able to click for instantly playing multimedia such as videos and audio messages or other slide-show presentations. Users within the environment often create avatars as a visual representation of their person.
Virtual exhibitors use online tools to upload relevant and tailored content to appeal to the audiences. Virtual exhibits may be made to look like an exhibitor’s real-world booth in any in-person trade fair where they may be exhibiting. Virtual events could be run in conjunction with real-world or in-person trade shows. Sometimes they are stand-alone online only web events. Businesses that use virtual conferences, sometimes use them as part of their overall marketing mix.
Virtual events are used for a variety of purposes such as international trade shows, business match-makers, procurement fairs, product launches. The experience also translates well for other applications such as virtual job fairs, virtual benefits fairs, online employee networks, distributor fairs, and venture capital fairs.
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