Before 2020, conferences and summits meant large convening grounds and expo halls packed with people looking to interact, network and learn more about their industry of operation. Not only did these events bring together individuals that otherwise had little opportunity to engage with one another, they also provided the space and platform for large-scale dissemination of ideas that one-to-one interactions could rarely enable.
Cut to today, with most industry events being relegated to online hour-long slots, featuring panelists on video grids and audience members muffled. The sole channel of interaction becomes a paltry chatbox, which more often than not does little to make conversations easier, flooded as it is with concurrent messages. From the largest of summits to the smallest of panel discussions – the online event translates each on the same multi-video grid, failing to capture the scale and scope of its operations.
Needless to say, even the best virtual conferencing applications aren’t very useful in replicating industry events.
Beyond Panels – The Significance of the Expo
Conferences are a lot more than just meeting grounds for professionals. For key stakeholders such as hosts and sponsors, these events are key opportunities for marketing and advertising as a means to offset logistic costs and growing their businesses. In a simple sense, every expo hall’s floor is an ad space much like the hoardings along a highway – except, the former are much less intrusive, tailored for their key audience, and received with a lot more enthusiasm.
In fact, most expo goers themselves are keen on this exposure, attending industry events in an effort to keep themselves educated on the latest trends, products and technologies, As reported by CEIR in The Role and Value of Face to Face, 92% of trade show attendees were specifically looking to discover new products. The shift to a bland video-only ecosystem not only makes it impossible for people to network meaningfully at events that were specifically designed to do so, it also makes the whole exercise moot by taking away the avenues to generate interest in participants’ businesses, sponsors’ products and the event organizer’s own RoI.
Simply put – the means to generate valuable leads in a video conferencing application are negligible.
From Bricks to Clicks
Utilizing digital assets to generate buzz for a brand is not a new concept. Banner ads on websites play the same role as standees on a sales floor – that of creating recall for the displayed brand, even when the viewer opts against a direct sale. Being memorable pays much bigger dividends down the road.
This phenomenon has formed the basis of ‘clicks and mortar’ channels, where customers familiarize themselves with a brand online, and make purchases offline. With each passing year, this concept is applied in innovative ways that correspond to technological development. Be it QR codes on visiting cards or product posters linking back to VR-enabled product previews – combining physical advertisements with digital brand experiences is a surefire way of capturing an audience.
Events, for a long time, have played a somewhat similar role – giving prospects the chance to learn about a brand in an invigorated environment, and making decisions at a later date. This environment is virtually non-existent on a video conferencing app, which eliminates extra-sensory cues to streamline communication. This is great for a team call to discuss project updates, but terrible for much else.
The Role of VR in Marketing
Even as the best video conferencing applications build on existing capabilities to host large groups of users at a time, their UI cannot capture information outside of what is being transmitted directly by users. The solution is to create a larger ecosystem that supports peer-to-peer communication, alongside user-to-interface engagement.
Using Immersive VR software, platforms like NextMeet are recreating the physical expo space online – complete with a customizable environment that can just as easily accommodate posters for a school event as they can host banner ads for a corporate sponsor.
At a time when video-based online events are reaching a point of saturation, virtual events can breathe new life into the idea of convening in a digital space. Using spatial audio, 3D avatars and interactive elements, NextMeet recreates the immersion of a real-life expo can on a digital platform – at a fraction of the logistic costs.
Users can walk in the virtual environment and engage with one another just as they would network in a physical space. At the same time, they can take in branded information from virtual product displays as well as graphic elements. The opportunities for direct engagement as well as exposure marketing are endless.
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