Throughout the next few months, the Trade Show Exhibitor’s Association (TSEA) will be debuting new, online amenities to its members and exhibitors.
Starting on Tuesday, February 28, the TSEA will launch an all-new series of New Products Webcasts (NPW) created to leverage today’s rich media and marketing technologies. The webcasts will introduce its members and exhibitors to the newest and most innovative products and services in the exhibition industry every month.
“I know it’s a bit of a cliché,” said Margit Weisgal, president and CEO of TSEA. “But one of our strategies for 2012 is to ‘Think Outside the Box’ in how we can deliver more value to all exhibitors. One of the ways we will do that is to use technology to deliver better, more relevant and timely content on a more frequent basis.”
Although the technology platform for the webcast is advanced, the concept and format for the New Products Webcasts are simple. On
the fourth Tuesday of every month, TSEA will produce and promote a New Products Webcast for corporate exhibit and event managers. Each webcast will feature four non-competitive companies and their newest products and services.
Every month, the products will be introduced to TSEA’s full membership, plus its database of over 50,000 exhibitors in the U.S. and worldwide. Each company will be given 10-12 minutes to present and demonstrate their products in an educational, infomercial style format that uses the most popular rich media tools, including live and pre-recorded product videos, live chat, Q&A and audience polling.
Onstream Media, who is providing the technology platform for the webcasts, and TSEA will present training sessions for sponsors a month in advance to show them how to use the format and tools to best present their products and services. The webcasts will also be archived for TSEA members and available for on-demand viewing.
“The Internet, YouTube, social networks, cloud applications and mobile applications have forever changed the way people research,shop, and buy products and services,” said Michael Hatch, TSEA’s director of marketing. “Twenty years ago, salespeople were the primary source for most customer education about new products and services, quality and pricing. Today, 80 percent of all buyers research products, services and suppliers online long before they are ready to buy. We are going to leverage these technologies to bring the best of TSEA and the industry to our members and exhibitors worldwide every month.”
The TSEA also plans to launch an online MarketPlace for its members and exhibitors on Tuesday, March 27.
“We have been planning the TSEA MarketPlace for over two years,” said Weisgal. “MarketPlace is a rich media portal that has been created to deliver a wealth of tradeshow marketing best practices, exhibitor education, products and services resources to our members and exhibitors everywhere. It is engaging, easy to use, interactive and filled with searchable, real-time and archived content that will be a daily resource for all our active and allied members and exhibitors and suppliers throughout the global exhibition community.”
TSEA’s MarketPlace will include five distinct areas:
Auditorium: Live, rich media presentations with interactive features including live video feeds, live chat, and audience polling features will be presented each week in the MarketPlace Auditorium. Monthly keynotes with prominent business and marketing executives both inside and outside the tradeshow industry will be featured. TSEA’s New Products Webcasts, which will spotlight the industry’s newest and most innovative products and services from around the globe, will also be a regular monthly feature.
e-Learning Center: TSEA’s extensive library of tradeshow educational webinars, plus the full slate of 2012 webinars presented by the top experts in the industry, will be available on-demand in the Center. Members and global exhibitors in different time zones do not have to be available only when they are scheduled. Search tools will make it easy for exhibitors to quickly find the webinars that will help them the most. Even non-member exhibitors will be able to access these webinars for a nominal fee.
Global Exhibit Hall: “One-stop” product and supplier research and shopping are the key characteristics this MarketPlace features. The exhibit hall will be a dynamic, searchable, real-time, rich media marketplace open for the benefit of both exhibit and event managers and suppliers 365/24/7. Exhibit and event managers will be able to find multiple options for any product or service they need; watch product videos; review spec’ sheets; chat live with an exhibitor; request a price or proposal and so much more. TSEA members also qualify for the MarketPlace Rewards program that offers exclusive discounts and monthly specials with exhibitors.
Lounge: A singular location where you can participate in category-specific discussions through social media and networking: LinkedIn groups; Twitter feeds; Facebook pages with exhibit and event managers, and websites. We include all the industry groups here so you and our active members can do it all in the MarketPlace.
Media Library: A searchable resource for all the latest news, press releases, white papers and videos from throughout the exhibition industry. TSEA members and exhibitors worldwide will only need to go to one location to find the latest news and information on tradeshows, conferences and events.
“We are excited about the launch of MarketPlace,” said Michael Hatch, director of marketing for TSEA. “Early response to our previews with both exhibitors and suppliers has been unanimously positive. We have consistently heard comments like ‘impressive’ and ‘comprehensive’ to describe the features, appearance and functionality of MarketPlace.”
