Host a Virtual Trade Show or Convention with Rally Point Webinars

Client Profile

New York City-based public relations firm that represents high-end cookware and home goods brands.

Virtual Convention Goal

To showcase new products in the kitchen and home space to a variety of news and media outlets, including magazines, newspapers, blogs, vlogs, and social media influencers. Featured brands sought to gain editorial placement in advance of the holiday shopping season. 

Virtual Convention Summary

In 2021, the public relations firm could not host its annual fall convention in person due to New York City’s Covid restrictions. They decided to move the event online, which not only enabled the event to take place but also attracted a broader attendance of media representatives from across the country. In an effort to get their clients in front of media writers and editors before their autumn holiday issue deadlines, the PR firm held this virtual convention in mid-September. The virtual event featured four virtual “booths” that attendees visited to learn about a range of brands, from day-to-day to high-end: custom chef-designed dishware and luxe glassware, user-friendly kitchen accessories, mops incorporating essential oils, and tried-and-true cookware.

The 90-minute virtual event was run as a virtual trade show, with attendees divided into four groups and individually rotated through each of the four “booths.” Each group spent 15 minutes in each “booth,” watching a presentation and having the opportunity to interact with the speaker/brand by chat.

Rally Point Webinars’ Virtual Convention Difference

Rally Point Webinars’ Virtual Convention Difference

• Since virtual event production was not an in-house skill set of the PR firm, they contacted Rally Point Webinars to plan and facilitate the event. The virtual convention opened with music, welcoming remarks, and a simulive video presentation by the “best bartender in the world” (winner of a nationally-televised competition for bartending) mixing up an autumn-themed cocktail created just for the event. 

• By using Rally Point Webinars’ virtual event platform, each speaker was able to customize his or her virtual booth with branded colors, logo, videos, polls, links to websites, and downloadable PDF product spec sheets. Rally Point provided a dedicated moderator for each booth to ensure no questions were left unanswered.

• To prepare the speakers for the virtual trade show, Rally Point Webinars worked directly with each featured brand to stage the virtual booth. The Rally Point Webinars team ensured lighting, camera angles, and sound quality were ideal, working ahead of time to prepare all speakers and walk through a dry run of the event. During the event itself, Rally Point Webinars provided virtual support to attendees.

• The shift to a virtual convention proved successful for the PR firm, with its featured clients gaining placement in dozens of magazines, blogs, podcasts, vlogs, and more just in time for the holiday shopping season.  

Questions about hosting a virtual trade show or convention for your business or professional services company? Contact Rally Point Webinars today.