INNOVATION
NEW AGE SOLUTIONS The Fourways Community Chamber of Commerce’s Virtual Trade Fair is testament to how collaboration and innovation can come together to provide engaging solutions that have resulted in success far beyond expectation. Meetings chats exclusively with the organisers to understand how they are getting virtual exhibitions right.
D
uring March last year, the team at the Fourways Community Chamber of Commerce was getting ready to put together a small event for its members. Within a matter of weeks, South Africa was shut down after the first case of the novel coronavirus was announced in the country, with the number of infections rapidly increasing. “We were planning a small physical event for our Chamber members in April last year; many SMEs just can’t afford to be part of the bigger exhibitions, as the costs can be prohibitive. We had everything organised and people were starting to get ready, when – ‘Bang!’ – lockdown happened and that all vaporised in a split second. And we thought, ‘Okay, what do we do now?’,” recalls Ivan Andersen, owner of TSF Service & Solutions Firm, a partner at WISDOMS123
28 • MEETINGS l MARCH/APRIL 2021
(see sidebar) and a founder of the Fourways Community Chamber of Commerce. Dawn Coulson Olivier, owner of Dzines and a member of the Fourways Community Chamber of Commerce, has been part of the exhibitions industry for more than 20 years. She worked with Ivan and Trevor Nel, the Chamber’s CEO and a strategist at WISDOMS123, to bring together an all-time first for the Chamber. “We collaborated with other skilled Chamber members and worked flat out for the first 21 days of lockdown on a Virtual Trade Fair to replace the physical event,” says Dawn, who – together with the creative team at Dzines, Alex Olivier and Irene Klue – was the brains behind the design of the virtual exhibition booths and contributed to the setup of an exhibition in general.
“We were very keen to get behind this innovation for our members,” adds Trevor.
BRIGHT BEGINNINGS The first Virtual Trade Fair, Virtual Trade Fair Africa (virtualtradefair.africa), ran from 19 to 22 June 2020. The Fourways Community Chamber of Commerce team sponsored 114 South African companies from all fields to take part, and saw 32 speaking sessions take place over the four days and attendance from over 2 900 unique visitors. “We sat locked on to Zoom for eight hours a day for four days straight!” exclaims Ivan. In trying to rebuild the economy of South Africa, the Chamber threw all its efforts behind the Virtual Trade Fair to provide South African companies with the opportunity for exposure to their company by exhibiting their products and services. The organisers believe that this, together with the setup of the platform, are key reasons behind the success of the event. “We wanted to keep this as simple and userfriendly as possible,” says Dawn. “A lot of people have made a break into this space but I personally feel that they have overcomplicated the tech. If you’re dealing with a broad-spectrum audience, you need tech that is user-friendly. While it’s great to have a fully immersive environment with all the bells and whistles, if this is challenging to use, you are going to lose a large percentage of your audience,” explains Ivan. The Virtual Trade Fair platform includes a page with information such as a directory to all the exhibitors, with some having e-commerce stores, while others can opt for interactive exhibition stands to
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