Las Vegas Moves Toward 100% Reopening by June 1
Vol. 24, No. 15, April 15, 2021 VIEW ALL NEWS
By Della Domingo
The city of Las Vegas continues to move toward reopening, with Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak recently announcing plans for the city to be at 100% capacity by June 1. In a recent article in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Sisolak announced that the state is on track to meet the goal of reopening “at 100% capacity across Nevada by June 1.”
The news comes on the heels of several other milestones signaling the imminent reopening of the city. Earlier this week, The Boring Company gave media an exclusive first look at its $52.5 million people-mover system that will transport Las Vegas Convention Center visitors between South, Central and West Halls. The World Market Center in downtown Las Vegas celebrated the grand re-opening of a new convention center by hosting about 10,000 individuals for a five-day trade show for the home and gift industry.
Closer to the SEMA Show, the World of Concrete will host tens of thousands of individuals in June at the Las Vegas Convention Center’s new West Hall.
“Great news continues to come out of Las Vegas,” said Tom Gattuso, SEMA vice president of events. “This November, Las Vegas is going to be ultimate gathering for the automotive industry. After being separated for nearly two years, businesses are eager to reconnect at the Show and preparing to feature the innovations they’ve been working on.”
More than 1,200 manufacturers have already confirmed their participation at the 2021 SEMA Show, with many companies planning break-out exhibits and securing larger booths than the previous Show. With the opening of the Las Vegas Convention Center’s new 1.4 million square feet West Hall, the entire SEMA Show floor will also be optimized to allow for more new features and attractions throughout the event.
“There are a lot of exciting plans coming together for this year’s event,” said Gattuso. “The 2021 SEMA Show is going to be the best in our 50-plus year history, and we can’t wait to see everyone in November.”
Key SEMA Show Dates
- The Exhibitor Services Manual (ESM) will be live in May. The ESM contains all of the forms and applications required to prepare for the Show: feature vehicles, new products, booth vehicles, celebrity appearances, etc.
- Deadline to submit Exhibit Space Rental Application and deposit is May 7.
- SEMA Show Space Selection: June 7–June 23.
Reserve booth space for the 2021 SEMA Show at www.SEMAshow.com/exhibitor.
For complete information about the 2021 SEMA Show, visit www.SEMAShow.com.
Need a printer for those vehicle wraps?
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Are Virtual Trade Shows the New Normal?
Virtual Trade Shows by the Dozens
Yep, no doubt about it. COVID-19 changed the world forever. Physical distancing seems to be the new normal. Face masks and fear of spreading or contracting this virus is widely accepted. Trade show attendance? Most say “Not me until we are safe!”
In many locations, businesses are reopening. Some shops are doing a great deal of business and need supplies like inks, media, and even new equipment. But, without a tradeshow, how can they get the “show specials”? How do they get demos of the equipment? What about installations? How will they learn how to use the new printer?
Enter the virtual trade show.
Virtual Trade Shows Are Not New.
Virtual trade shows are not exactly new. From the time online access became available to the masses, the idea of a virtual trade show was explored. According to Wikipedia: “The “virtual tradeshow” was first publicly described and presented as “ConventionView” by Alan Saperstein and Randy Selman of Visual Data Corporation now known as Onstream Media[1] in April 1993 in a presentation to investors at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York city. The company was videotaping trade show exhibitors booths and then attaching the videos to HTML floor maps. Although Conventionview met with some early success, the company closed it down returning to the market with a multimedia virtual tradeshow platform called MarketPlace365 in November 2010.”
Today, a virtual trade show can be owned, managed, and marketed by a single person from the comfort of their home!
All that is needed is a good platform, the ability to separate the show into “booths” and the capability of accepting payments through eCommerce. That’s really not that big a deal. Managing the show, and getting people to show up can be.
Attending a Virtual Trade Show
More importantly, how can you attend a virtual tradeshow and really get the most from it? I’ve done the booth side as well as the attended side, and I have some tips.
Tips for Creating a Good Virtual Booth
If you are a potential vendor and thinking about a booth at a virtual event, think hard and find a millennial! I say this because Millenials are internet, social people. They simply get it. So, when designing your booth, ask them about it. What would they think a good landing page might look like? What would they look for on that page? What would make them look further?
Most internet folks these days are very video-oriented. Remember, Instagram is a short few seconds of video and that’s all the time you have to get attention. Design a booth that has instant, grabbing video. Once you have the attention, you can lead them to the next “portal” which might be a download or another video.
At the live tradeshow, people love free stuff. Free T-Shirts, free prints, etc, so set up some kind of free giveaway, but make sure they have to leave contact info and more importantly interest info before they get it!
The Big Difference
The big difference in a virtual booth and a live trade show booth is the time for engagement. You literally have seconds on a virtual booth while you have an eye to eye contact in a live booth and perhaps a few minutes. This is vital. SECONDS! Your message or attention-getter must do its job in seconds!
Additionally, it’s important to make your videos appear to be “live” as much as possible. This means that those in the video need to present as if they were actually talking to a customer. When filming them and perhaps in the planning to film, make sure that they are relaxed and personable. Create a video that is engaging, that creates a reason to ask questions! That means a chat!
Chat Boxes
Chat boxes allow for a live discussion between your sales staff and the attendee. BUT….BUT…it’s a chat! Most will not engage you. You will have to “force” them by using clever statements like, “Let’s talk and you’ll get a free gift!” or “Let’s talk now and I can share a significant discount on our products!”. You’ll need something to get them to talk because chatting is not like talking. In fact, you might even suggest that they call you so you can have a live discussion!
Just keep it real and engaging and if it’s a busy show, you’ll need lots of help in the chatbox!
Tips for Attending a Virtual Trade Show
Okay, enough for now for the vendors, what about YOU? If you are attending a virtual show, you NEED to engage! The vendors have put in hours of time to create a booth, and it’s up to you to engage them. Ask about specials. Ask about whats new. Ask anything! These folks want to offer you something and probably it’s a great deal!
I can assure you, they are ready to make deals. Remember, they were closed too! They want to kick start sales and now is your time to make the deal!
The Bottom Line on Virtual Trade Shows
So here is the bottom line. Vendors have spent money on these shows and are figuring out how to make them engaging. You are attending and have the control. All you need to do is engage, I can assure you, you’ll get a deal you won’t believe!
Here are some shows you might want to check out:
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