What it Is: Online Catalog Gallery




With the proliferation of online social networking, there’s no shortage of ways to connect attendees and exhibitors pre-show. But a service by Whereoware, an online marketing solutions provider, not only facilitates setting up appointments and making connections before the show, but also purports to keep buyers and sellers connected — and making deals — long after the last truck has exited the convention hall. The service, an online catalog gallery, allows exhibitors to upload products and descriptions to the Web, where attendees can peruse them at their leisure before, during and after the show.

“It’s a way for a show to stay relevant to constituencies all year round,” says Adam Schrier, Executive Director of Sales,Marketing & Business Development for Whereoware. And while the term “catalog”might conjure up images of the thick Sears texts of holidays past, the gallery view on the Web ensures that attendees can navigate products quickly and easily.
 
Attendees can even customize their experience by adjusting viewing options to create their own personalized experience. The service can also be a boon for smaller exhibitors; those who may not have the resources for a huge footprint on the show floor can still be on a level playing field with the major players in the online gallery.
 
The New York International Gift Fair has used an online catalog gallery to keep attendees and exhibitors connected; at the two most recent events, attendees viewed more than 7 million catalog pages and generated more than 13,000 sales leads for exhibitors.
 
Here’s how it works:
 
• Organizers sell participation in the online gallery to exhibitors, typically as an add-on to their packages at the show.
• Exhibitors upload the images and products of their choice to the gallery.
• Attendees log on to the gallery; each company is represented by a thumbnail catalog “cover” that attendees can click on to peruse the company’s inventory.
• Attendees can drill down by category and popular search terms.
• Attendees can search for their own terms; the software searches the text of all the catalogs for results.
• Attendees can adjust the display and catalog format to create a view to their liking.
• Attendees can contact exhibitors via private message for more information, to set a time and date to meet at the show or to facilitate a purchase. See a demo at: www.activemerchandiser.com/demos/nyigf_demo2/nyigf_ demo2.htm