Online & Offline Engagement for Exhibitions in 2021

The social distancing era reshaped exhibitions. Attendee engagement (delegates, exhibitors, and the general public) is one element of exhibitions that has the most to gain, but has also become the biggest challenge.

The future of exhibitions: In-person, virtual, or hybrid?

The advantage of online exhibitions is data, and attracting a wider audience without physical distance being an obstacle. In-person engagement and interaction still remain irreplaceable, however, with most people preferring to attend an “in-real life” exhibition to meet with potential partners face to face, touch and feel products, and enjoy the live atmosphere. In essence, a well organised exhibition is a cultural experience – not just the local destination or host community culture, but for the industry or organising committee (think CES).

With powerful improvements in event technology able to start capturing some of those physical elements like getting close to products, organisers increasingly look to invest in hybrid exhibitions. A combination of both in-person and virtual experiences, hybrid exhibitions include live streaming, interactive displays, virtual presentations, and networking by making full use of social media platforms, 5G, and VR/AR.

Expect hybrid exhibitions to become even more mainstream once social distancing relaxes – to increase reach, and improve engagement with online tools in the offline environment.

How hybrid exhibitions overcome engagement challenges

CINNOX makes engagement easy at exhibitions, by unifying all attendee and stakeholder communication for seamless, efficient experiences regardless of location, language, device, preferred instant messenger and so much more. Here are the top engagement values CINNOX can deliver for your next (or first!) hybrid exhibition:

Smart, global engagement: Crowded exhibitions with limited exhibitor manpower (Delegate to Exhibitor engagement)

Exhibitors typically only bring a few key staff to exhibitions. This is a problem for delegates who love their products and want to know more! The booth or display will be packed with people, name cards might run out or get mixed up with others, and it’s hard to follow up post-exhibition when you’re overwhelmed with ideas and contacts.

To make exhibitors more accessible than ever, CINNOX helps every delegate feel like a VIP and jump the que. Through smart technology and a simple scan or click, delegates can reach the exhibitor’s dedicated sales team just for this exhibition, that speaks their own language, and can be based anywhere in the world reducing the headcount needed to be on-site. What’s best is that the connection is cost effective, and doesn’t need to incur hefty roaming charges.

Easy to access attendee support – pre & during the exhibition (Exhibition organiser to Delegate, Exhibitor and Sponsor engagement)

Before and during an exhibition, communication is key – making sure everything is clear and concise, while fielding enquiries from attendees as quick and efficiently as possible.

Right from the start CINNOX creates an immersive and seamless experience for attendees. With high-engagement marketing channels, and a unique approach to putting the attendee first in communications to provide a more personalised touch. By making it easy to take communication online with the right and engaging tools, the best of both worlds are combined for a powerful and memorable experience.

After all, exhibitions are about networking and face to face contact, so providing that element right from the start with CINNOX is what makes a hybrid exhibition standout.

Retain attendees and sponsors with centralised and real-time data, reports, and analysis

The beauty of having a centralised platform to support your hybrid exhibition is about capturing data for deep analysis and real-time performance tracking. Not only can you gauge the instant performance, but the complete omnichannel communication data for the entire exhibition from start to finish, and then post event.

CINNOX also centralises all communication data between the organiser and delegates, and sponsors – so staff can pick up supporting delegates or sponsors when needed, like when a staff leaves the company. It also means you can follow up with these stakeholders after your exhibition with flyers, promotions, or special offers for the next edition – creating a strong retention strategy on their preferred channel, using captured data to personalise the communication.