Germany as a trade fair venue – this means tradition and dynamism at the same time. Every year, between 150 and 160 international trade fairs and exhibitions are held, which are used by 160,000 to 175,000 exhibitors and visited by around 10 million visitors. Moreover, the proportion of international exhibitors and visitors is higher in no other country.

In the history of both the German and the international trade fair industry, trade fairs have always been regarded as fixed components of an annual agenda. It has been a tradition to attend trade fairs with the company, to visit them and to make contacts in order to strengthen the network. But with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, this was no longer possible. Trade fairs were cancelled or postponed to an unknown date. But what impact does the cancellation of trade fairs have on your company? And what alternative is there ?

In the meantime, we have far-reaching possibilities through new communication tools, which offer us the experience of a trade fair and at the same time act as cost-savers. Digitalisation is constantly advanced by new technical possibilities and transformations and offers us ways out in situations where we had not seen any before.

Virtual exhibition as a digital presentation medium

The current trend is towards digital marketing. This also applies to the trade fair industry. The internet is particularly well suited for the presentation of digital events due to its characteristics, such as the location-independent transmission of information, and it offers a high degree of interactivity and multimedia. 

At present, deficits are still apparent in practice, which is mainly due to the object presentation, as this is subject to further expectations and needs to be worked out.

Organising a virtual exhibition : What do I need ? 

Depending on the size and scope of the event, you will need different tools. For simple meetings or webinars, conference software such as Zoom, Google Meet or Microsoft TEAMS is often sufficient. These tools often include interactive features such as live polls or Q&A.

If you are planning a complete virtual exhibition or digital event, you can use specialised platforms like Klar.land. On our platform you can network, present your product digitally and set up digital exhibitor stands in a realistic way.

How do I create virtual experiences? 

Virtual experiences are created primarily through interactive actions that are incorporated into the digital event or online exhibition. The most frequently used functions are 

– Call to Action 
– animations 
– webinars
– Video communication 
– polls 
– Visuals 

Organise a trade fair online: What are the advantages? 

Virtual exhibitions have a number of advantages over classic live events. One of the most important points is of course the costs that are saved: As an organiser, you save on venue rental, travel costs and accommodation for your staff, as well as catering and event staff. 

But online trade fairs are not only worthwhile for the organisers. You can also gain added value as a visitor to a digital event. There are no costs for travel and accommodation or tickets. In addition, the reach of your event increases if the visitor can also participate without a corresponding budget. This means that small businesses or start-ups also have the opportunity to participate in the virtual exhibition. 

Another advantage is the better tracking of visitors’ activities. One can see through registrations and data how many people have looked at the stand and participated in surveys. This makes it easier to analyse afterwards how effective the fair was and what can be improved at the next digital event. 

But environmental protection is also an important factor in favour of virtual events. Air travel in particular leaves a large CO2 footprint. In addition, events generally generate a lot of waste, e.g. through numerous print products such as brochures or flyers, which are often carelessly thrown away. At virtual events, these materials are made available digitally, thus drastically reducing paper consumption.

What do I have to consider as an exhibitor at a virtual exhibition?

Finally, we would like to give you a short list of 6 tips that you should definitely consider as an exhibitor at a virtual exhibition. 

• – Making the fair lively through interaction with visitors
  – Define the goals of my trade fair – these can be set up through a precise plan of events
  – Integrate trade fair participation into the marketing mix in order to maintain regular customers
  – Costing – This includes booking tickets, inviting guest speakers, staff costs and marketing costs.
  – Advertising and PR – A trade fair will not attract visitors on its own. The main thing here is to draw the attention of your customers and potential customers to the future trade fair via newsletters, blog posts and social media posts.
  – Follow-up and success control