InfoComm Connected Is Not The Future, But A Reasonable Compromise For These Nutty Times

June 17, 2020 by Dave Haynes

I spent part of Tuesday poking around the InfoComm Connected site, curious as to how a big AV trade show would look and work when done virtually.

My lightning impression is that few people would conclude there’s no need to do the real thing anymore, because a virtual version does all that’s needed for exhibitors and attendees. This is NOT the future, unless it has to be until a vaccine is developed, tested and mass-distributed.

That is absolutely NOT a criticism of the trade association AVIXA, which had to pivot from a full-on physical show to an entirely digital one, in a matter of weeks – and come up with something that addressed a lot of diverse stakeholder interests and needs.

I would liken what I experienced – as a viewer/listener, booth browser and education session host/guest – to an organized, curated aggregate of webinars, web demos and Zoom roundtable video calls, blended with enhanced versions of exhibitor listings and some packaged-up video presentations that run on demand. 

I don’t really know what I expected, but I had no big moment when I thought, “Ok, this is where trade shows are going.”

Again, AVIXA had to scramble just to pull this off smoothly, so expecting a revolutionary approach is unrealistic.

Here’s what I liked about this set-up:

I can’t say there is anything about the way this is being done that I dislike, other than it’s not replacement for the real deal.

Years ago, when virtual online worlds were more of a thing than they are now, there were stabs at virtual trade shows that made it look, very generally, like you were at a convention center and able to kinda-sorta virtually move around, walk the exhibit hall and enter booths. That sort of 3D/Second Life thing never really caught on, and I don’t think that’s the answer here.

Software can be effectively demo’d online, and in many respects it’s a better way to do it than in-person, huddled around a demo area on a loud, busy exhibit hall floor. Some of the on-demand videos I watched were very effective for that.

But hardware tends to be the sort of thing buyers and partners want to see in close quarters, and handle. They need to see how it looks and feels, the build quality and what it does that’s different.

One thing I think would be effective, and totally do-able, would be having on-demand sales engineers or product managers available on video calls. Demos trigger tons of technical questions – so being able to click a link and launch a Zoom/Teams whatever session with someone who is at the ready, remotely, would be useful.

Trade shows and conferences are also about networking and renewed customer contacts. For some vendors, client breakfasts and dinners may be more important and fruitful than the booth.

So again, I can’t imagine a lot of vendors are looking at InfoComm Connected and thinking, “Why don’t we just do this from now on?”

But … given the trajectory of the pandemic in the U.S., in particular, I think it is wildly unrealistic to expect we’re physically attending trade shows again in 2020. ISE 2021 and InfoComm 2021 are probably, unfortunately, best regarded as “maybe” events.  

Presumably, as this all sinks in, and the associations and for-profit companies that do trade shows have time to adjust and pivot, we’ll likely see these virtual events evolve and grow more compelling.

 

  1. James Henry says:

    I am sure virtual events can be made to work, especially as a complement to live events. Plenty can be learned from the virtual worlds of games. For events, there needs to be a focus on navigation, exploration, motivation, and communication.

    An online catalog with some videos isn’t going to engage anyone for very long.

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