From traditional exhibition stand to digital trade fair experience – how to organize a trade fair appearance in 2022?

For most companies, trade fairs are an integral part of their marketing strategy. These events serve as an important communication tool for exhibitors to connect with customers and visitors. However, since the cancellation of many trade fairs, this landscape is changing. Instead of purely physical presence, a digital trade fair appearance is increasingly being considered as an alternative or supplement. The transformation from physical trade fairs to hybrid or even purely virtual events is therefore well underway.

For decades, trade fairs have offered companies an ideal platform to showcase their products and present new developments and innovations. Exhibition stands also serve companies to increase brand awareness and enhance their image with often spectacular displays for visitors. This opportunity was taken away from exhibitors in the past two years due to the cancellation of many trade fairs caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Consequently, their importance has declined significantly in recent times.

Even before the pandemic, many exhibitors questioned the purpose of a purely physical trade fair appearance, which literally vanishes into thin air after the event – ​​and this after having consumed hundreds of thousands or even millions of euros. The increasing effort required to offer visitors something special and create strong brand recognition has also risen dramatically in recent years. This is just one reason why controllers often find it difficult to determine after such an event whether the benefits justify the costs of participation.

Especially with products requiring extensive consultation, the question always arises as to how well they can be presented in an understandable and appealing way within the often hectic trade fair environment. Added to this is the rise of digital technologies, which makes product presentations in the virtual space increasingly attractive. It is therefore not surprising that more and more forward-thinking companies are expressing a growing interest in realistically presenting their product range using digital presentation techniques. Since these techniques, with the help of augmented reality and interactive elements, offer a 3D world of experience that is hardly achievable at traditional trade fairs, a shift in thinking has taken place in many cases. This, too, is accelerating the transition from the physical to the virtual trade fair experience.

Trade fair solution 4.0 with Pocket Booth – Pocket Booth's innovative app for your pocket makes it easy for companies to implement a digital trade fair presence – Image: Vuframe

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• The trade fair 4.0 solution with Pocket-Booth

Manufacturers of large machinery and plant and project developers know all too well how complicated it is to present their products and solutions in the spatially limited environment of a trade fair. Since it's physically impossible to display towering turbines or factory components the size of a football field at a trade fair booth, alternatives such as scaled-down models or elaborate simulations have been necessary in the past. However, digital technology allows for the unlimited expansion of exhibition space and the integration of product offerings directly into the company environment of the business partner via AR. Because these presentations remain available long after the trade fair has ended, their impact can be extended indefinitely thanks to digital transformation. These are further factors accelerating the shift to virtual solutions.

This trend is supported by studies. According to these studies, decision-makers in companies now assume that virtual alternatives will become more prevalent than traditional trade fairs in the future, or that hybrid formats will become established. However, as the importance of physical appearances declines, attractive and affordable alternatives are needed that allow companies to connect with their target audience.

Implementing a virtual trade fair experience without suitable tools is extremely complex.

It's no longer enough to simply upload photos and brochures from your physical trade show booth online or send them to customers as PDFs. For an effective presentation, a digital trade show needs to be designed from the ground up and populated with the right content. What poses almost insurmountable problems for most companies' software developers can be achieved quickly and affordably thanks to service providers like Vuframe GmbH from Regensburg. With Pocket Booth, the developer offers an app that provides an outstanding product experience and can be used to complement or replace physical trade shows.

With Pocket Booth, creating a virtual trade fair and the associated exciting trade fair experience is child's play. No programming skills or similar are required!

Pocket Booth's innovative app for your pocket makes it easy for companies to implement a digital trade fair appearance by processing the supplied product photos and CAD data and transforming them into an interactive 3D model that offers users a whole new level of realism.

Furthermore, Pocket Booth solves the problem of clearly presenting complex products, as the app provides booth staff with an ideal way to present details to visitors in an informative and interactive manner. Thanks to sophisticated 3D technology, even large systems and machines can be demonstrated in an impressive way.

Post-show follow-up is also significantly easier for exhibitors and visitors via the app, as the models shown can be sent directly via email after the discussion. This provides potential customers with product demos they are guaranteed to remember – an invaluable factor in later sales success. In this respect, the app proves to be an ideal complement to the trade fair presence, or even a more than adequate replacement. Unlike the traditional model, it also has the major advantage of creating a virtual booth that is open 24/7 and accessible worldwide.

• Pocket Booth is XR-ready – you can present your content using VR glasses at any time via the VR add-on.
• The trade fair app – always at hand, anytime, anywhere, via smartphones and tablets. Easy to use and quickly ready for every conversation.
• Impress in every conversation with the Pocket Booth trade fair app.
• Unlimited exhibition space, unlimited presentation options for any number of exhibits and services.
• One click and the Pocket Booth trade fair app sends further information – including a 3D view. Interested parties receive an email with a link that can be accessed directly in their browser.

Pocket Booth White Paper – Image: Vuframe

You can get the whitepaper free of charge and without obligation – request it here 👈🏻

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