Before COVID-19, an important part of companies’ budgets for marketing was spent on trade shows and fairs. In 2020, when nearly all physical events were cancelled, some companies that were planning on exhibiting their products at shows faced significant losses, while others were agile enough to seize the opportunity and change strategy.

If there are any lessons to be learnt from what we experienced last year, it’s that digitisation is no longer just an option, but rather the inevitable way to go. We are already changing our mindsets to a ‘new normal’ in which we study, work and socialise in a hybrid way that encompasses both virtual and face-to-face realities. Attending events will not be the exception.

That’s why it’s important to be prepared for a new way of doing business in which, even if the Trade Fair Industry starts to reactivate, an important part of a company’s efforts and resources are going to be focused on the virtual world. Manufacturers and retailers must think of new ways to showcase their products on digital platforms, which allows for their brand to be constantly present while also assuring the scalability of the number of leads.

In these terms, Architonic works like a 24-hour digital fair that stays open 365 days a year, showcasing the best products to architects and designers on a global scale. Our specific product search provides a powerful tool, much more efficient than a fair in terms of reaching the specific solution or product that customers are searching for.

But let’s be honest, the instance in which your customer gets to see and interact with your products is irreplaceable and it is a fundamental aspect of the sales process. Face-to-face contact is something unique to fairs and events and that’s why we are all looking forward to that moment in which we will be able to physically meet manufacturers, retailers and the design community again. In the meantime, we want to contribute to that momentum, normally generated by fairs throughout the year. The most important fairs in cities such as Milan, Frankfurt, Paris and Chicago – just to mention a few – lay an important role in our industry, providing a sort of rhythm and giving structure to our efforts during the year.

With this in mind, at Architonic we have created the Global Design Agenda, an architect's programme of 15 design weeks in which professionals will find product launches, market trends and planning insights.

We have crossed some of the leading fairs with the main industry sectors which are also the main navigation groups we have on Architonic. Each week is dedicated to a specific product category or sector, including, among others, Furniture, Lighting, Building Construction, Office, Kitchen and Bathroom. Architonic’s users are invited to dive into rich and relevant curated content – features, video stories and discussions – across our multiple channels, and be kept up to date with selected brands’ talking points in our daily Architonic newsletter. Manufacturers, meanwhile, have the opportunity to participate in branch-specific, Architonic-led industry webinars that will cover today’s challenges in digital marketing.

Each design week is presented on a specific landing page displaying content from professional experts addressing architects and designers, as a framework for the corresponding topic. On the same landing page, space is made available for Product Launches and Brand Positioning – just as it would be at your brand’s booth during a live fair. This very architect-targeted commercial content is produced by our Editorial team, in order to communicate your brand’s message through an engaging narrative for our professional audience. Brands will also have the chance to participate with their own products in order to give their audience an overview of what is happening in the market.

With this new landing page typology, Architonic, the leading searching and specification tool, now enters the field of ‘discovery’, which is basically what visitors to fairs expect in order to gather more information and knowledge. A flaneur moment in which you can roam freely among different brands and products displayed on different virtual booths.

And what kind of audience and reach can you expect during these design weeks?

With the recent acquisition of ArchDaily, as well as its long-term partnership with Designboom, Architonic has created a perfect virtual stage based around these three complementary channels. Since the three of them are also global leaders in the industry, you will achieve the most visibility for your brand and products with the chance of maximising your audience. With an already engaged community of architects and designers that translates into more than 2,5 million visitors per week, it will not be difficult to bring people to your product launch or landing page.

© Architonic

Welcome to the future of Trade Fairs!