Open all hours

10 July 2000 00:00  [Source: ICB]

The world economy never sleeps, so ChemExpo, a 24-hours-a-day, 365-days-a-year, virtual trade show, is just the job for busy chemicals industry executives, says James Hannan, CMR publisher

To those that spend what seems like a disproportionate amount of time at industry exhibitions, the prospect of a trade show that never closes might seem daunting. Nevertheless, nearly 40 000 visitors a month prowl the 'aisles' of the chemical industry's only virtual trade show, ChemExpo.

ChemExpo, which can be found at www.chemexpo.com, is a cyberspace analogue to traditional exhibitions. Visitors come to ChemExpo to learn the latest industry news, exchange information with colleagues, and source products and services - 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. They spend an average of more than 16 minutes a visit - the equivalent of three days at a conventional exhibition.

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The new economic realities - and a host of attractive features - keep visitors flocking to the site. They understand that the world economy never sleeps. Quitting time in New York City coincides with the morning commute in Tokyo. As the sun rises over Silicon Valley, it is casting afternoon shadows in Ludwigshafen. ChemExpo helps its visitors to compete more efficiently and effectively as the world turns.

Interactive marketing

Developed and maintained by new marketing agency The Turnaround Team, and owned by Schnell Publishing - a Reed Business Information company - ChemExpo serves both as an information source and an interactive marketing communications vehicle. It has five major sections: news, show floor, bookstore, people connections and information centre. A powerful search engine and a Schnell Publishing site round out ChemExpo's offerings.

Visitors to the news section find a wealth of information drawn from Schnell's news-gathering activities. Daily news feeds from the editors of Chemical Market Reporter, and ChemExpo's real-time StockWatch, incite visitors to come back daily. CMR OnLine, an electronic version of Schnell's Chemical Market Reporter, is available to CMR subscribers, together with three years of CMR archives. Schnell's focus reports and a comprehensive calendar of events complete the news section.

ChemExpo also draws visitors to the show floor, where 90 exhibitors have booths. For an annual fee of $12 000, exhibitors can display comprehensive descriptions of their offerings and capabilities. Booths also provide visitors with direct access to the exhibitors' own web sites. Exhibitors receive monthly statistics detailing the number of visitors to their booths, and the average length of a visitor's stay.

While on the show floor, visitors can also source products and services. Using ChemExpo's search engine, they key in a desired product or service, and receive a listing of suppliers. The product/supplier database is derived from the OPD Buyers Directory. If the search turns up an exhibitor's company, that company's logo will appear at the top of the search-results page, ahead of the other listed companies. In addition, if an exhibitor is cited in CMR OnLine, the citation is hyperlinked to the company's exhibit booth.

An additional way for exhibitors - and others with products and services for the chemical industry - to attract buyers' attention is through banner advertising. Rotating throughout all the areas of ChemExpo, banner advertisements are an increasingly important part of the media mix for well-informed marketeers. Banner advertisements on ChemExpo are particularly effective for several reasons. Not only do the advertisers get views and click-through numbers monthly, they are also notified by e-mail when a registered user of ChemExpo clicks onto their advertisement. Unlike conventional advertising, banner advertisements engage the viewer and enable advertisers to know how many viewers saw their advertisements and, in many cases, the identities of those who clicked on them.

Stay in touch

ChemExpo's people connection allows visitors to stay in touch with colleagues from around the world by becoming part of its Business Card Exchange. Personnel changes in the industry are updated weekly in the 'people on the move' section. ChemExpo's employment classifieds, also in the people connection area, list the newest job postings in the industry.

Visitors seeking the latest in industry directories from companies such as Synapse Information Resources, Chemical Advisory Service, and the China National Chemical Information Center, can order the books directly from ChemExpo's bookstore. Subscriptions to Schnell's publications can also be ordered directly from the bookstore.

ChemExpo will continue to be driven by the industry's changing needs. New information sources, customised information delivery, and a unique stock index are all on the horizon, as are powerful technologies for finding and linking information.

See you at the show.

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