Online trade shows and virtual conferences are taking off as revenue generators and marketing tools for business-to-business Web sites, says a new report from
BtoB Magazine, which describes the evolution of virtual events from gimmicks into game-changers.
"While the wizardry of avatars and three-dimensional graphics gave virtual trade shows a 'wow' appeal in their early days, vendors have shifted their priorities to improving usability for attendees and measurability for exhibitors—making them much more attractive as money-makers for b-to-b media sites," writes
BtoB reporter Marie Griffin.
According to Griffin, United Business Media's InformationWeek Business Technology Network (IWBTM) recently conducted a survey of 545 professional IT buyers and found that they're attending an average of one virtual event per quarter. In fact, 82 percent say they consider virtual events to be a valuable source for learning about new technologies. Another 62 percent, meanwhile, agree with the statement, "They are an efficient use of my time, enabling me to see a variety of technologies in one place."
Among the companies that are successfully spearheading virtual event programs, according to
BtoB, is Nielsen Business Media, parent company of
MeetingNews, Successful Meetings and
Business Travel News Magazines, as well as Mimegasite.com. In 2007,
BtoB reports, Nielsen Business Media produced two virtual trade shows. By the end of 2008, it will have produced eight—not counting the scores of Web seminars that it hosts monthly via its
Nielsen Webcast Web site.
"In our model, we try to digitally replicate everything you would get at a face-to-face event," Elliot Markowitz, Nielsen's editorial director of Webcasts and digital events, told
BtoB. "First, we have three to four Webcasts, because the content drives the audience. Second is the virtual trade show floor where exhibitors can house anything they would house in a regular booth, as long as it's downloadable. Third, we facilitate live interaction through chat between attendees and exhibitors, but the attendee, not the exhibitor, must initiate the conversation in the booths. Finally, we create networking opportunities, such as live forums, so attendees can meet and talk to one another."
Nielsen's biggest virtual event is its
Virtual Meeting World, which launched in January 2008 and has included four virtual meetings—in January, April, July and October—for meeting and event planners, content from which is available 24/7, 365 days per year.
"The virtual trade show was a lot of work and a bit of a gamble going in," Nella Veldran, vice president and group publisher of Nielsen's Travel & Performance Group, which oversees Virtual Meeting World, told
BtoB, "but it has totally exceeded our expectations."