Mark Hannant
Aerospace has jetted into cyberspace with the launch of Airshow Online.
The 'virtual' trade show, featuring products, corporate exhibits, a press centre and even a flight line, is open for business any time, any place and designed to compliment the real-time life of an air show.
Airshow Online director Tom Kallam knows that his brainchild is no substitute for the real thing.
Says Kallam: "Airshow Online will never replace the actual one-to-one contact of an air show. "The concept is to enhance the visitors' and exhibitors' success at the next real show on the calendar.
"The key to its success will be the opportunity for exhibitors to preview their products before a show and take the chance to build up a dialogue with potential customers."
The end of the National Business Aviation Association show in Dallas in September 1997 gave Kallam the chance to launch the service on the Internet, promising "Éthe show still goes on."
"We were able to extend the shelf-life of a show by keeping visitors to the web site who hadn't been to the show informed."
At present visitors can access information from 38 exhibitors.
Kallam is confident that that number will reach the 100 mark by the end of the year.
He admits that at present the press centre is not as up-to-date as journalists would like, but claims that greater immediacy will be a much higher priority by the beginning of 1998.
January 1998 will see the site previewing the FIADE show, the real version of which takes place in Santiago, Chile in the early spring.
"We will be giving the site a lot of publicity prior to the show.
"If people have established contact before they meet in person, it could well translate into much better rates of lead conversion at the show itself."
Airshow Online's website can be found at http://www.airshow-online.com.
Alternatively, if you like your meetings in the flesh, Airshow Online can be found at A10.
Source: Flight Daily News
