Trade shows and expos are a great way to stand out to prospective partners, suppliers and customers. In this piece, Dakota Murphey shares 5 creative ways to utilise VR/AR at your next trade show helping to strike a memorable first impression and inject some enthusiasm into your trade booth.
Event professionals have the potential to harness these technologies to create engaging, memorable and immersive experiences for visitors. They aren’t great for just drawing people in, but also converting them into viable, authentic, warm leads.
Here are five creative and innovative examples of how to use these technologies at your next exhibit:
1. Immersive VR gaming simulations
A great way to draw a crowd is to see someone fully immersed in a virtual world, and what better way to do that than with gaming? From racing game simulations to test-drive vehicle hardware and software to VR/AR headsets that position users right in the heart of a realistic video game, these interactive games create quite the talking point around your stand.
Golf simulators in particular have proven effective in commercial environments, including trade shows. While a professional golf simulator installation might seem like a steep investment, the cost-to-engagement ratio can be worthwhile, especially when you consider nurturing and dwell time. Visitors may spend 15 minutes at your stand rather than the standard 30 seconds, giving your team ample time to discuss your products or services.
2. Realistic, interactive tours
You can tell visitors about your state-of-the-art facilities all you want, but it’s even better if you can show them. Virtual tours with professional VR headsets let you transport users directly to your premises without even leaving the trade show hall. This is handy for industries where seeing the scale and quality of operations is pivotal in the buying decision.
Consider using 360-degree virtual tours to showcase commercial premises if you’re a property developer, a logistics facility for prospective distribution partners, or a guided tour of supply chains for your products to explain key features in real-time.
3. Hands-on product demonstrations
Trade shows make for perfect environments to test products in situ. However, if your products are bulkier, larger, heavier or require specialist safeguards, then using VR can be a great way to remove these constraints while giving users the full (and safe) experience. For example, engineers can let prospective partners operate heavy machinery via a VR simulation, software companies can let users demo complex systems without time-intensive installations and updates, or architects can even use VR to walk clients through buildings that are only conceptual at this stage.
These immersive experiences can be fantastic educational and informational aids that break down complex processes and abstract concepts, making them digestible and easier to understand.
4. AR smartphone interactions
Not every VR or AR experience or product revolves around a bulky headset. AR apps can be installed on visitors’ smartphones, which can overlay information onto physical screens or displays, giving users a fully interactive experience beyond your trade stand. For example, QR codes can trigger AR software animations or more detailed product information that users can explore at their own pace.
This is highly effective for technical products where intricate specs matter, ranging from hard disk drives and sensors to mechanical products like portable HVAC units, and everything in between. Visitors can point their phones at equipment to see intricate specifications and data overlaid in real-time.
5. Private VR pods and booths
Sometimes exclusivity goes a long way in securing business at a trade show. Private VR pods or booths create intimate, private spaces where personalised demos can be delivered to warm and high-value prospects, without any worries or distractions on a busy exhibition floor. Enclosed spaces allow for more detailed conversations while a VR demonstration or experience runs in the background.
These Extended Reality (XR) booth experiences can be customised to suit your requirements, including seating, VR equipment, sound and video setups and more, allowing you to create a highly personalised environment for your brand.
Where can I see VR and AR in the flesh?
For those looking to explore these concepts further or network with like-minded professionals, the upcoming EN Ops Summit on 14th August and EN Launch Club’s Trade Shows Edition on 26th August provide excellent opportunities to discuss products, approaches and solutions with peers and professionals in your industry.
These events offer the perfect platform to share experiences and discover how other organisations are successfully implementing immersive technologies in their exhibition strategies.
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