Virtual events definitely have their attractive aspects. Leading virtual event provider On24 says the benefits of virtual events include: cost-savings in time, travel and logistics expenses, attracting larger and more varied audiences, and monitoring attendee engagement. By conducting marketing events online, Advantech and our channel partners are able to reach out to customers in every corner of the world, wherever there is an internet connection.

In June, Advantech industrial automation group (IAG) launched its very first virtual event, the Automation Online Solution Forum (online ASF). With the theme of Intelligent Automation, Seamless Integration, the event featured keynote speeches by industrial automation experts, and an interactive online trade show.

Up to now, three live events have been held. During the opening hours of live events, event participants may talk to Advantech staff and partners through online booth chats. In addition, the online tradeshow and seminars are also available on demand and registered participants may walk in anytime they wish. IAG marketing director Yulin Chen shared her opinion of holding virtual events, “In the past, it was not possible for us to hold a global program when we held physical tradeshows or seminar due to time and location constraints. But online ASF makes global streamlined marketing events truly possible. With an online environment, customers from around the world can visit our virtual tradeshow 24/7. It enables the conducting of events with teams from different regions. ”

The accumulated registrants of IAG’s online ASF have exceeded 1000, with the count starting in June when the program was launched. About 85% of those registrants have actually visited the virtual event, with an average dwell time of, get this, eighty minutes. This is a very promising result and it shows that customers are willing to spend time to learn about our products and solutions in an easy-to-navigate environment.

Mr. Rob Elder, President of Ontor Ltd., in Canada said, “A very informative and unique way to keep informed on the news from Advantech. Many informative videos and strategic perspectives on where the company is headed for the future.”

Mr. Zacarias Dieck, General Manager of SD Industrial in Mexico said, “I believe the idea is great. The problem I see is that being in the office even if you want to dedicate time to view the ASF online, there are always interruptions that distract one's attention. As always, the information in the Advantech presentations and guest speakers were great and very valuable. I liked the idea that there were people you could chat with along with good presentations, and the booth idea is also very good. There just needs to be a way to get us out of our office with a well-planned agenda so that the online ASF could be more effective.”

Joe Chemmanam, Senior consultant of Cognizant Technologies in India told us," I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your efforts to organize the online seminar. The seminar was very informative and in future I would like to see more seminars on Industrial Automation trends and embedded motherboards."

We encourage channel partners to co-host virtual events with us. Channel partners may add their own webcasts and booths based on the current event structure. This can save greatly on time and effort expended. Advantech marketing teams are available to assist partners with their marketing needs.

IAG plans to hold three more live events in the near future. Following is the upcoming online ASF schedule:

September 20 Korean (Korean)
October 4 Japan (Japanese)
Late October Greater China (Chinese, for Machine Automation sector)