Page 20 - Print21 Jan-Feb 2022

Exhibitions
Why expos like PacPrint
deliver more than virtual events
PacPrint 2021, together with Visual Impact Expo and the Label & Packaging Expo,
will open its doors on 28 June, providing our industry with its fi st in-person expo opportunity since Covid hit our shores. With the rise of virtual events, Robyn Frampton takes a look at the advantages of physical trade shows – and, it turns out, they are considerable.
While Covid has forced us to embrace new, and often virtual, ways of doing things, we have missed some real and positive benefits that flow from meeting others in person, and seeing
new technologies and solutions demonstrated live.
Peter Harper is CEO of Visual Connections, which organises and co-hosts PacPrint and its co-located shows Visual Impact and the Label & Packaging Expo. Despite the success of the organisation’s first-ever virtual expo last year, the 40+ year veteran of the expo and events business still says nothing beats a live event to
help evaluate your options and make sound business decisions.
“Over many years, we’ve seen the effectiveness of expos and trade shows in bringing suppliers and businesses together,” he says, “and our experience over the past couple of years reinforces our view that in-
person events are the most effective investment of time for anyone looking to educate, innovate and equip themselves for the future.”
Here are his top five reasons why physical expos like PacPrint have an enormous advantage over interactions in the virtual sphere.
1. More Value – Less Energy
“While it seems like a lot of effort to invest in attending a physical event, there’s actually plenty of evidence that suggests the ability to interact physically actually allows you to derive more value from the input of less energy,” Harper says.
As well as the obvious benefit
of being able to witness live demonstrations and ‘see, touch and feel’ solutions first-hand, experts also point out that interactions in the virtual sphere make us work harder to process what is happening.
“Because we normally process much of the information from an interaction unconsciously, with the assistance of non-verbal cues and body language, virtual meetings simultaneously drain our energy and deny us valuable information which might otherwise help us make good judgments,” Harper says.
“It’s more difficult to ‘read’ a
person through a screen, so we just don’t get the same sense of whether they are credible, nor is it easy to pick up what others think. Consequently, our judgment can be off, and we might either miss a red flag or fail to make valuable connections because the technology gets in the way.”
2. Better Focus – Improved Outcomes
Secondly, Harper says trade shows are vastly better for focus than online expos, bringing together a range of related solutions under one roof, and providing complementary opportunities to gather the accurate and comprehensive information needed to support sound business and investment decisions.
“The dedicated environment of
a trade show, which is focused on exactly the kind of information and connections we are seeking, actually works to improve our concentration and aid decision-making,” he says, adding that visitors regularly spend hours or days at an in-person event, providing sustained focus.
“The virtual environment, by contrast, is built for distraction, whether it’s the kids in the next room or an email popping up on your other screen. While we’ve become better at masking distraction, we
Above right
Demos: Part of the expo experience
Below
Face to face: Your questions answered
20 Print21 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022