Reporting registrations comparable to the number of meeting expected at a large international trade show, Martin Audio is claiming its first virtual trade show a success.

‘We achieved over 800 registrations,’ says Martin Audio Director of Marketing, James King. ‘To put that in context, this is the amount of people we would engage with at ISE or InfoComm in our demo room in a given week, and probably four times the amount we get to our UK Open Day events. So, this was a very efficient exercise.’

The event, held during May, took the form of three 90-minute webinars matched to different time zones. It gave the British manufacturer the opportunity to speak in detail about its overall portfolio, and how different systems can match different applications and budgets. It also provided a platform to highlight new products, such as the Adorn ceiling and pendant loudspeakers and three new subwoofers including two new cardioid subwoofers and punchy value for money double 18-inch sub.

‘The format itself worked well with people being able to see both presenters and the presentation so as to make it more human, and there was opportunity also for an open Q&A on numerous topics that people wanted to discuss,’ says King. ‘There was even some illuminating glimpses and hints about the future product roadmap that came out of that discussion.’

The obvious drawback was attendees being unable to hear the loudspeakers being discussed. The current global situation makes that challenging to overcome, but there are methods that Martin Audio is looking at to build from this initial event.

‘Our next jumping off point, dependent upon ability to have small and safe gatherings, will be to have a centralised show, professionally produced at our UK HQ that is then beamed to the “world”, but critically to global distributor demo rooms,’ explains King. ‘This way people can gather in small safe environments to listen to the loudspeakers in the demo rooms. While markets might start to reopen, we believe international travel will be circumspect, so we see this as an opportunity as we move forward.’

In the immediate future, the manufacturer will continue to be active in the digital domain with its ongoing weekly webinars and participation in other types of virtual trade show, such as InfoComm Connected.

‘Having tried our own, there is no doubt there is a place for virtual meetings,’ concludes King. ‘With events such as InfoComm Connected we have the opportunity to network with a wider sphere of people thanks to good digital platforms and easy access to attendees. But this is a people-first industry and there is nothing like the physical interaction and unity of a live event. It may take some time, but I believe we will see a delicate balance between physical and virtual shows in the future or indeed some hybrid solution.’

More: https://martin-audio.com