Meeting News - September 22, 2008 - (Page 33) HAVE YOU HEARD? MeetingNews’ Virtual Meeting World show is picking up recognition as a leader in the industry. Read on News, Analysis and Strategies on Business-to-Business Media Excerpt from Monday, Aug. 11, 2008 issue Since launching Virtual Meeting World for Nielsen Business Media’s Successful Meetings and Meeting News on Jan. 31, the virtual trade show environment for meeting buyers has attracted more than 5,000 members, according to Nella Veldran, VP and group publisher at Nielsen’s travel group. The virtual trade shows associated with these books may be contributing to their strong scores compared to the decline experienced by the category overall (-5.53% YTD). Included in the travel/lodging/hospitality category boxscores, Meeting News, despite declining .29% in ad page sales in May 2008, compared with last year, and nearly 26% in revenue for the same period, is up more than 39% YTD. Sister publication Successful Meetings has gained across the board, with more than 6% in ad page sales YTD, more than 32% year-on-year for May 2008 and 37% in revenue for the same period. “We had 2,482 attend Live Day July 17,” Veldran says. The group hosts Live Day four times per year on Virtual Meeting World, offering educational Webcasts created by the group’s editors, and sponsored by advertisers so the content is free. “It’s become so big that we actually have [virtual] floors,” she says, attributing the platform’s success to Jared Smith, director of online sales for the travel group. There is a Canadian floor of the virtual convention center, for example, and a Vegas floor, each of which is sponsored. Virtual event company InXpo (The Future Is Now: How Web 3.0 Is in Your Hands) hosts Virtual Meeting World, while it is designed and filled with content by Nielsen’s in-house experts using what Veldran calls a high impact, turnkey approach. Nielsen is launching Virtual Corporation Travel World—a similar concept—for Business Travel News Dec. 11. These efforts are in response to the fact that it is becoming “more and more pricey to go anywhere,” according to Veldran. The downside to face-to-face media, says Smith, is that it ends. With virtual events, publishers can “keep the party going” with 24/7 access for attendees to materials, presentations and chat rooms. “The average attendee [time] for our [virtual] trade show is an hour and a half,” says Smith. The group’s intent with their virtual shows is to mirror the trade show experience, he adds. Offerings include scheduled keynote speakers (Pricewaterhouse Coopers’ own Bjorn Hanson is slated to present on the outlook of the lodging industry), reports and Webinars. The Mexico and Caribbean floor of Successful Meeting’s virtual conference includes Bahamian properties. Register Today for the next LIVE DAY: October 22 and be part of the industry show that’s making news
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