As trade events around the world are postponed, a raft of ‘virtual’ trade fair organisers has cropped up in the expectation that budgets will transfer from steel-and-cement halls, to computer and mobile screens.
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| Virtual Trade Shows - cute technology and nice Avatars - but is it really you? |
Perhaps the best place to start is with the big one – drupa – now deferred to April 2021, just one year away. First it should be noted that drupa has been on a 5-year cycle before; drupa 2000 was 5 years after the 1995 event – which was 5 years after the 1990 show. Also, during the 1960s and 70s, drupa was on a 5-year cycle, changing to 4-yearly for the 1986 event.
Drupa Director Sabine Geldermann, commenting on the many ‘virtual’ trade fairs being launched has this to say:
“Our exhibitors will certainly present some of their innovations this year already, using different formats such as customer events or digital platforms. However, these can only bridge the current demand – in our opinion, they do not offer a complete replacement for a trade fair with worldwide appeal. Drupa is and will remain the top platform for the printing industry to present innovations, come together and, above all, network. That is why drupa will remain the target the print industry is working towards even after the postponement. Drupa represents an indispensable platform for industry participants, providing orientation, impetus and, above all, satisfying the demand for face-to-face meetings and worlds of experience to a high degree. It is all about human needs, haptic experiences and running machines that fascinate participants and which definitely cannot be fulfilled at this point by digital media. What distinguishes leading world trade fairs such as drupa is the concentrated energy that arises from the selective gathering of many people; the personal and emotional exchange; the joint presence of decision-makers, multipliers and idea providers; lively discussions; presentations that set the pace; chance encounters; opportunities to acquire new customers; recruiting options etc.
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| Sabine Geldermann, drupa |
“Especially in the current situation, where numerous European countries are subject to unexpected restrictions, the need for personal encounters and an extraordinary customer experience after such an experience will certainly be even more pronounced in the future. We are people, not avatars - and the desire for personal exchange, knowledge transfer and networking in a fascinating ambience is unbroken despite all digital formats. That's why it's great to see that numerous key accounts are already shaping the motto "let's embrace the future in 2021 together.”
Virtuality on digital platforms does have its place but is clearly an adjunct to live events where people interact and technologies, software, consumables, processes and new trends can be put under the microscope. Many Australian and New Zealand printing companies go to drupa with test files on USBs, but usually only the bravest and most confident exhibitors will circumvent their ‘canned’ demos for these which – if successful will inevitably result in a sale. Stand-alone virtual trade shows with no links to actual events or supplier showrooms warrant investigation as to their pros and cons.
The Global Printing Expo Virtual Exhibition is scheduled to open in June 2020 and even bills itself as having a ‘Hall’ and exhibition area of ’10,000 square metres’. It will be held in conjunction with and Industry Expo which has been running since January and organisers claim it has received 40,000 visitors (read ‘hits or click-throughs’) since then. Global Print Expo is hosted on the V-Ex Virtual Exhibition platform https://www.v-ex.com/ . Conceived by the UK’s Resolve Business Management, one of the directors, Wayne Beckett has extensive ‘real-world’ graphics trade show experience, having worked on Ipex 2010 and 2014 with Informa Exhibitions.
Another UK-based virtual initiative is FM Future, which is headed by former FESPA executives Frazer Chesterman and Marcus Timson, This one is more of a virtual three-day print conference scheduled from 2-4 June and will feature pre-recorded and live sessions on commercial, wide-format, and industrial print and packaging using webinar discussions, interviews, fireside chats and virtual coffee – whatever that is.
Many more virtual events are either in the planning or execution stage, but the general consensus, at least for high-value industrial trade fairs such as drupa, is that the real benefit is as an adjunct to a real show with real products and real people. Some of the virtual show websites are impressive and well-constructed on a variety of Cloud platforms such as www.vfairs.com , but the usual drawbacks of anything online will prevail in that products can be made to look fantastic but, if purchased online, can disappoint once received. Plus, there is another big issue…
Privacy and data security
Real-world trade fairs are quite respectful when it comes to privacy protection. Your badge will identify you and your organisation and, if you have ticked the boxes, what kind of products you are interested in. If you want to be on mailing lists, you are asked for approval. However, as has been so shockingly revealed in a 4 Corners expose, , companies like Amazon have built their success, not just by selling goods, but on archiving, tracking and exploiting everything they know about customers. Whenever anyone does anything online, a digital signal is logged, cookies track your next movements, searches, interests and so on.
Virtual trade show hosts will become powerful data-collectors and they will seek to monetise that data by selling everything they have collected about your visits, searches, company, spending and so forth – just as Amazon and probably eBay and Google have done. If people are prepared to sacrifice their privacy for the convenience of browsing virtual trade fair websites, that’s up to them but what if your research into a new $2 million digital press ends up in the hands of a competitor? Hacking does happen and lately it seems no one is immune – even military and government networks. Virtual trade fairs are not really trade fairs at all. They are searchable websites masquerading as real-hall locations but without the verification and human interaction so important with real events. They have their place and some look quite attractive but, once the real trade show calendar kicks in again, I think we will see these, at least for major print and packaging trade fairs, as a useful adjunct to the real thing, which also promises an abundance of real, not virtual, coffee.
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| Shows like drupa - where people are not "Avatars" - as Missourians say "Show me" |
