Print page

Virtual Exhibition Presentations on the Web

ControlGlobal.com
03/09/2011

By Nick Denbow, Industrial Automation Insider

Alfa Laval advises that customers can now obtain 3D interactive previews of important new Alfa Laval products on a re-launched version of the company’s Virtual Showroom, at www.alfalaval.com/showroom. Currently on display are seven of the company’s latest products for important sectors such as energy, the environment and food. Using 3D imagery, the Showroom provides visitors with the opportunity for a 360° overview of each product accompanied by details of the key features and benefits. The showroom will be updated as new products are launched in the future. Since the first launch back in 2003, five versions have been produced, each available in more than 30 languages.

Bürkert Stand Videos
Another enthusiastic user of virtual exhibition presentations is Bürkert Fluid Control Systems, who started the website www.burkertve.co.uk based on video presentations recorded on an exhibition stand in 2009. Unlike other sites that rely on open-access video hosting,such as YouTube, the Bürkert site hosts and supports its own video content, giving the visitor a clean and clear higher-resolution viewing experience. Helen Christopher, marketing manager at Bürkert UK commented: "We provide pioneering products and believe we are unique in the way we communicate with customers too. We see this video website as adding to the traditional exhibition experience, not replacing it. One of the problems with conventional exhibitions is that you don’t always get to talk to the right technical expert on a product as they may be busy, or you have limited time at the show. Our solution was to film each of the Bürkert technical experts explaining the features, benefits and applications for each of the main product ranges displayed on the stand." Since first creating the virtual exhibition, more product videos have been added as they became available.

The concept of using a video presentation of a product range or new product launch, as it would be seen at an exhibition, has been developed by a new website, www.engineeringexpo.net, recently launched by Mark Simms, also editor of the UK magazine Industrial Technology. The website presents itself as a virtual exhibition, so there are the booth displays presenting overall company capability; seminars to explain different aspects of technology; new product launch presentations, and so on. While some of the videos suffer from being recorded in a real exhibition with a hand-held camera, the concept of having the product champion, or the best salesman available, present the product as he would on an exhibition, is a solid idea. The website should also save trawling through YouTube, or trying to locate good, relevant videos on a supplier website. Hopefully, if the supplier has to pay to exhibit, then only the better videos will be presented!