Everything you need to know about the new virtual expo for the vape and CBD industries brought to you by Vapouround Magazine and The Cannavist.
“VOXPO has something for everyone. For us this is a massively exciting project and the next logical step for two industries known for their innovation – David Turner – Director.”
VOXPO’s next live event will take place from November 18-20 from 10am until 6pm Central time, USA.
As the coronavirus pandemic has forced us to look again at the ways we carry out everyday things, so VOXPO is a new way at looking at expos now that the traditional live shows have been put on hold.
But what is VOXPO and how to you take part? Here Vapouround director David Turner explains what VOXPO is all about and why there is such a buzz of excitement around it.
Q. What exactly is VOXPO?
VOXPO is essentially an expo which you can attend and exhibit at without having to travel anywhere at all. There are no flight costs, no hotel costs, no hassles in getting your stock over there and no worries with overzealous custom officials. Whether you’re a vape or a CBD company, it’s a vehicle to get your brand out there globally and generate new business and leads.
Q. So it’s completely virtual then?
Exactly. Everything from exhibiting to attending can be done online and you can access it from the comfort of your own home or office.
Not at all. You don’t need to download anything special to access VOXPO. It’s all done via one simple URL that you access in exactly same the way you access any other website. If you’re an exhibitor, then you get your own unique URL to help you build your booth with a simple custom editor. There’s nothing about the experience for anyone that should deter or confuse people. Before we had our first live show at the end of July, we tested the platform with various members of staff at our head office, all with differing levels of technical knowledge, and we had a 100 percent positive feedback rate on its ease of use.
This is something we’ve had on our radar since the back end of last year. We always have a schedule of upcoming products and initiatives and we like to keep everything fresh and evolving. VOXPO is one of many things we have planned but we pushed it forward due to the terrible things happening around the world with COVID-19 and its effect on physical travel. Over the past five years we’ve met a lot of people and made a lot of friends in the vape and CBD industries and we felt VOXPO was something that could also help their businesses through a difficult time if we brought it forward.
Q. How does VOXPO work for visitors?
We have worked hard to keep the entire experience nice and simple. Firstly you register to attend. There’s no charge at all for attending. When you access the expo you’ll see both a vape and a CBD hall, plus an auditorium. Let’s say you head into the vape hall. As you would with a physical expo, you’ll then have a large selection of booths to visit. When you visit a booth, you’ll have various options such as video presentations, brochures, catalogues, spec sheets – essentially anything you might need to find out more about their products. If you like what you see, you’ll be able to link to their online e-commerce presence and buy. If you want further information, then there will be various ways to get in touch with the exhibitors.
Q. Will you be able to talk to the exhibitors like you can at a physical expo?
Yes. The VOXPO platform will be live for 365 days but within that period we will have four “live expos”, each lasting for three days where all the exhibitors will have members of staff in their offices or home offices sitting ready to answer any questions you might have.
Q. How are you getting around the fact that people won’t be able to sample products?
There’s a two-fold way of looking at that. Firstly, in the current climate and with social distancing and hygiene, do you really think that many people, even if given the chance, would feel totally comfortable sampling products at a physical expo? Secondly, you’ve got to think about VOXPO in terms of its length and duration. At a physical expo you’ve got two to three days to push a deal over the line – that’s your window. At VOXPO you’ve got the full year. There’s time to engage fully with any contacts you make there. Time to send the samples and then follow up.
Q. Do you see this replacing physical expos?
Absolutely not. Physical expos are a cornerstone of the industry and as media partners to many of them we can’t wait for them to get up and running again. The ultimate aim of VOXPO is to complement physical expos and not to replace them. There’s more than enough room for both physical and virtual expos.
Q. You mentioned an Auditorium. What happens there?
The auditorium will form a key part of VOXPO. This is the place where you can find some fantastic guest speakers covering topics on both the vape and CBD side of things. There’ll be something there for everyone whether you are an expert, beginner or just curious.
Q. What exactly is the target audience for the event?
Plain and simple, this is an event for everyone. If you’re a business owner there’ll be new products and brands for you to consider. If you’re a vaping or CBD lover, then it is the same for you. If you’re a smoker looking to quit or considering using CBD to aid you with some particular aspect of your life, then come along – we’ve got you all covered.
Q. How has the response from the industries been?
In a word – phenomenal. We had a great demand from exhibitors as soon as we launched and our first live three-day show was a huge success. The July-August show saw visitors from 82 countries, 9,151 video views, 23,654 booth visits and 14,809 document views. For the exhibitors it’s an incredibly competitive price for what is a full years’ worth of global exposure and there is a huge level of excitement of what VOXPO can achieve.
Q. Sounds good. When does it go live?
The first live show went live between July 31 and August 2 while the next show will be live from November 18-20, 2020 from 10am until 6pm Central Time (USA).
Q. Is there anything else you’d like to add?
I’d just like to reiterate that there’s something there for everyone. For us this is a massively exciting project to work on. We see this as the next logical step for a pair of industries known for their innovation and a step that we feel people are going to thoroughly enjoy and get massive benefit from.
Q: How do I take part in VOXPO?
Just head over to https://voxpo.vfairs.com/en/ and click on the “Register” tab on the top right hand side of the page.