Can't Make the Live Event? Go Virtual

For the past nine years, Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Ariba, a software service company for the procurement industry, has held a tradeshow that attracted 1,500 attendees (including staff and suppliers) and approximately 20 exhibitors.

This year, Ariba caught wind that several attendees would be skipping the live event because of the downturn in the economy, so it acted fast and teamed up with virtual show provider Unisfair to take its show completely online, according to Tracy Oziemblowsky, Ariba's senior manager of global corporate events.

“Due to economic times, our customers are telling us they can't send as many people,” she said. “We made sure people understood we weren't canceling the event, but we didn't want to have a party and have nobody show up.”

Instead of the physical tradeshow, Ariba's two-day virtual event kicked off April 28, and more than 1,500 attendees (not including company staff and suppliers) signed up to attend.

“We had great content and great speakers,” Oziemblowsky said. “We (also) had 5,000 booth visits and more people attend (it) than our live event.”

Ariba isn't the only company taking its event virtual. Several other companies also have augmented their live events, which might be losing attendance right now, by tacking on a virtual component to capture those missing attendees.

As a result, Unisfair and On24, another virtual tradeshow provider, have seen significant upticks in their business this year, compared with last year.

Brent Aslaner, Unisfair's vice president of marketing, said of the growth in virtual events, “Companies are less willing to pay a big up-front fee (to put on a show), and companies aren't letting people travel as much.”

Unisfair produced 200 virtual events last year, and, this year, he added, the company expects to produce at least 350 events.

“Marketing budgets are being slashed, but (companies) have the same goals,” Aslaner said.

A difficult economic climate also was a factor in the decision to launch a virtual edition to complement the Advertising Specialty Institute's tradeshow series, which rotates between five cities each year.

“Virtual events offer an additional cost-effective way for us all to interact, without leaving the office,” said Tim M. Andrews, president and CEO of ASI.

ASI's virtual tradeshow, which the company hired On24 to create, was held May 20 and “exceeded (ASI's) expectations,” he added. Twenty-four exhibitors and more than 2,000 attendees logged on for the event. ASI was so pleased, Andrews said, it will add a second one Aug. 19.

Satisfied clients have driven even more business to virtual tradeshow providers.

“I've never seen a demand for a solution like this in my life,” said Denise Persson, On24's chief marketing officer. Last year, when On24 launched its virtual tradeshow service, the company produced 100 events. This year, that number more than doubled to 250 events.

“Some people are completely abandoning their (live) events,” said Sourabh Kothari, On24's principle strategist of webcasting and virtual shows.

He added, “It's a reality, and this economy has definitely pushed them over the edge faster.”

Although going virtual sounds like a good idea if attendees can't make it to the showfloor, Persson warns that switching to online isn't for everyone. “You have to make sure it works for you,” she added. “If (the event) is really content-focused, it would work. If it's really heavy networking, it probably wouldn't work.”

Oziemblowsky said Ariba, which also has five smaller events each year in cities throughout the Untied States, isn't getting rid of its tradeshow just yet, but does intend to mix in some virtual aspects to its live event next year.

“We're planning a big event in Orlando, and then we'll virtually simulcast the keynotes,” she added.