The 2020 edition of Infocomm India was held between 18-19 November. The two-day event was a complete online experience hosted on the specially-tailored GoVIRTUAL platform and was attended by 3,410 unique visitors. InfoComm India GoVIRTUAL was no less exciting than any in-person conference. It was helmed by 92 exhibitors who collectively presented a total of 183 live product demos and 28 webinar sessions. It was for the very first time that the organizer InfoCommAsia delivered a fully-digital event.
Cutting-edge Show Walks Its Talk
“The COVID-19 pandemic has caused major disruption to businesses around the world. InfoComm India was not spared either, and we had to make the difficult decision of cancelling the in-person show earlier this year,” said Richard Tan, Executive Director, InfoCommAsia. “Yet in every crisis lies an opportunity. Knowing full well the value that InfoComm India has brought to technology innovators and industry end users over the years, we quickly pivoted and committed to delivering a digital event. As a proponent of technology, InfoCommAsia has walked the talk, adopting cutting-edge innovations such as artificial intelligence and live streaming to achieve a first-of-its-kind event.”
The unique and ground-breaking GoVIRTUAL platform was the culmination of more than five months of intense development. The platform boasted a range of innovative yet easy-to-use features that help deepen the business experience for both exhibitors and visitors. Designed to be highly intuitive, it allowed both exhibitors and visitors to make sure business continuity, wherever they’re within the world.
- The AI-powered algorithm matched exhibitors with relevant visitors and vice versa. Through the user’s behaviour, interactions and searches performed on the platform, the algorithm could learn and continuously refine its accuracy to provide highly-relevant business matches. At one glance, exhibitors were able to browse the sales leads’ profiles they need to be reaching out to while visitors could connect with shortlisted technology innovators whose solutions are transforming their industries.
- Real-time, live product demos allowed the brand ambassadors to showcase the main features of their solutions to the audience. Thanks to the integrated audio, video, and chat functions, both presenters and viewers were able to engage in real-time conversations.
- Exhibitors’ virtual showcases mimicked the exact exploration experience on the show floor, enabling visitors to engage with exhibitors and see their technologies up close and in action. The integrated video, audio and chat functions allowed visitors interact with exhibitors, a bit like visiting the booth of an exhibitor face to face.
- InfoComm India Summit, the learning platform of the show, hosted a series of webinars. Topical sessions involve discussions on a post-pandemic future, India’s smart urbanization journey, digitalization of healthcare and education, cybersecurity, and more.
Platinum Partner Crestron Electronics, India shared that the GoVIRTUAL platform succeeded in functionally – replicating the in-person show experience. “Initially when we were planning this event, we were not expecting ourselves to be so busy,” said Farhan Walele, National Product Manager (Sales). “However, from 10 am to 6 pm, we had to be at the booth, standing from morning to evening, similar to past InfoComm India events. The only difference is we are now doing this in the comfort of our office.”
Kirti Shetti, Director – Operations, Kramer Electronics India added, “InfoComm India GoVIRTUAL measured up to what would have been the physical InfoComm India event. It definitely did justice.”
The live demos and webinars drew substantial interest from show visitors. In total, 2,148 visitors attended the live demo, while 3,082 delegates watched the webinar over a 3-day period.
Exhibitors and Visitors Praise Effectiveness of the New Virtual Platform
Creston, Delta Electronics, Kramer and Samsung were among the exhibitors who took the opportunity to feature and demonstrate their new-to-market products via the GoVIRTUAL platform. They reported positive takeaways from their experiences.
Kramer gave a live product demo on its recently-unveiled VIA GO2 for collaborative spaces; and new to-India Corona Tag – a social-distancing monitoring device. “Congratulations to InfoCommAsia for pulling off the spectacular InfoComm India GoVirtual. It was very well organized and managed. I’m delighted that your tireless efforts have paid off, and the event turned out exceptionally well and surpassed the expectations of many,” said Bharath Kumar, Managing Director, Kramer Electronics India.
Naveen Sridhara, Director – Sales & Marketing-SAARC, beyerdynamic, was pleased with the sales leads he was able to generate. “InfoComm India GoVIRTUAL as a technology platform is a great initiative in that it connected us with new industry players via an exciting format. We have found new end-users and industry professionals, and that’s a great sign.”
Visitors searching for ideas and finding solutions for their respective companies also found the live virtual show useful.
“I enjoyed visiting InfoComm India GoVIRTUAL. It was a good initiative to have during the COVID-19 pandemic as it allowed me to continue seeking new technologies and get in touch with solution providers,” said Akash Nalawade, Sales Executive, DIKIBI Technologies Pvt Ltd.
GoVIRTUAL to be Adopted Across Future InfoCommAsia Shows
With the successful rollout, GoVIRTUAL now serves as an effective proof of concept, and InfoCommAsia plans to adopt this powerful platform for all of its upcoming marquee shows in 2021: InfoComm China slated for July, InfoComm India in September, and InfoComm Southeast Asia in October. Each show will be a hybrid of virtual and in-person platforms. Besides this, InfoCommAsia will regularly host one-day preview events on GoVIRTUAL leading up to the main hybrid event, with each one focusing on a different vertical and geographical markets and its business end-users.
InfoComm India and InfoComm India GoVIRTUAL 2021
The next hybrid InfoComm India will take place in between 15 – 17 September 2021 at the Bombay Exhibition Center, Mumbai.
