How digital is changing the world of events

In this context, it is clear that even if physical meetings and fairs have resumed in recent months, new formats are also appearing in parallel to meet new demand. It is precisely in this sense that digital today seems to bring new concrete operational responses to trade show organizers and their visitors.

A desire to access a range of offers and services at any time

In the same way as other industries, event professionals have to come to terms with the real world and the desire of consumers to be able to access information, products or services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If this observation is obvious today for B2C, it is now also for B2B. Virtual dating and marketplaces have paved this way. Now, new approaches seem to relegate these initiatives to the past to bring trade shows to life on a large scale in a 100% digital version. This is particularly the case in sectors with high added value such as digital or health.

Expand the area of ​​influence of trade fairs by going beyond borders

Digital technology applied to the events sector has also made it possible to greatly extend the reach of events nationally, but also internationally. In fact, e-visitors no longer have to travel hundreds or even thousands of kilometers to visit a trade show. This allows you to save time, make significant savings and easily access the desired information by benefiting from automated assistance: search engine, bot assistance in navigation, etc. On this point, technologies now offer the possibility of offering a unique and multilingual experience to visitors.

Meet the ROI expectations of exhibitors

For several years now, a large number of exhibitors have been withdrawing from trade shows or at least reducing their investments to exhibit there in view of the lack of visibility linked to the contributions of these events in terms of ROI. Again, virtual dating brings strong benefits. Exhibitors can then know the click rates on their e-stands, visualize the customer journey, easily interact with them in different formats, etc. TAll this valuable information is as many indicators that provide a consolidated and automated view of performance related to participation in an e-show.

Step into the era of energy sobriety

The events industry is positioned as one of the most impactful in terms of energy consumption. Indeed, the carbon footprint of visitors to these events can turn out to be catastrophic, especially for major global trade shows where hundreds of thousands of travelers travel from all countries for a few days or hours. In this sense, and with regard to the problems of global warming that we know for example, asking the question of the relevance of such trips is necessary today. On this point, digital also offers a more virtuous alternative to the organization of traditional events.

On the strength of these different elements, the events industry must evolve and take new directions to remain competitive and attractive, for exhibitors and visitors alike. It is not a question of necessarily moving exclusively to 100% digital events, but to find reasonable mixes where in some cases digital will be preferred in a logic of performance, quality of the experience offered or even reduction of the carbon footprint linked to the holding of trade shows.