Virtual trade shows emerging in our industry

This article was discovered on TechCrunch and hints at a future trade show trend which we think is interesting and potentially inevitable but possibly underwhelming, at least from the ones I've attended.

HyperFair, a startup with a platform for running online trade shows, says it has raised $1.1 million in seed funding. The idea of a virtual trade show isn’t new, but the practice hasn’t exactly taken off.

Perhaps that’s what you’d expect, since it’s hard to imagine an online experience taking the place of a real-world show. However, I was impressed by the demo that COO Andrea Ballarini gave me last week. He said competitors tend to offer a much more static experience, and that’s true of the other services I’ve seen.

HyperFair, on the other hand, promises more interactivity, and it allows you to move your avatar around a three-dimensional space. There’s also a simple, intuitive interface focused on the key tasks — chatting with other attendees (either via text, Skype integration, or voice), browsing products, and exchanging business cards.

Read the full article here

Related articles

• Virtual Trade Shows
• 8 Modern Ways to Crush Your Trade Show Competition
• Social media takes your marketing event to the next level
• Trade Shows - Are they still relevant?