How Ontario GOLFEXPO Turned a Canceled In-person Event Into a Massive Online Success
The pandemic affected the event industry in many ways. Some organizers had to take extra safety measures, postpone their shows, or even…
The pandemic affected the event industry in many ways. Some organizers had to take extra safety measures, postpone their shows, or even cancel them. Ontario GOLFEXPO, one of Canada’s largest golf and travel events, went virtual due to a strict lockdown. Taking an in-person golf show online was risky, and expectations were low. Turns out, the organizers were in for a surprise:
“We had an overwhelming response! All of the exhibitors made as much, or even more, money than in the past live shows, and those who made the same amount saved on travel, lodging and other costs. With how smoothly and successfully it went for everyone, we now have to re-evaluate for 2022 with Covid still a factor,” Greg Chambers, National Golf Course Owners Association.
Compared to the usual 10,000–20,000 in-person attendees, the virtual Ontario GOLFEXPO got around 85,000 visits. We had a chat with Greg, one of the event’s organizers, to learn more. He shared with us the steps he and his colleagues Shawn Hunter and Blair Breen took to make the first online Ontario GOLFEXPO a success.
Choosing a platform
Greg told us that, in 2020, a similar golf show had to go virtual at the last minute. The event featured listings of golf courses and their offers. “Since we had more time to plan, we thought the consumer would want a little more,” Greg explained, “we wanted to get a visual effect of ‘as if they were going to the live show’ when they landed on the page.” His team still had the PDF floor plans they’d normally post on the event website. So they went with an interactive floor plan and got creative with it.
Show features
The key to a successful online event is keeping the visitors engaged and the show interactive. The virtual Ontario GOLFEXPO featured a live concert, contests with prizes, auction booths and more. Every company had a profile complete with descriptions, images, videos and ways to get in touch. Private Zoom meetings proved especially useful for selling pricier items like destination golf packages.
Schedules and specials
“About a day or two before the show, we were thinking of how people would find out about different specials. At a real golf show, you have them in neon lights or on a big billboard and change them daily,” Greg shared with us. His team took this idea online. They created a booth with specials that they changed every day. The show lasted a week, and attendees were coming back every day to see what was on and what was new!
Advertising and sponsorships
Just like in a live show, booth size and location matter. But going virtual gives exhibitors even more chances to stand out — booth shapes, colors and highlighting can all help boost exposure and sales. For sponsors that are only there to advertise, Greg and his team used our sponsorship packages. Read more about logos in headers and Featured listings, and learn how organizers use them to make more money.
Keeping it simple
While it’s tempting to pack every available feature into a virtual event, the audience may not be particularly tech-savvy or eager to learn. Keeping it simple and user-friendly removes unnecessary frustration on the user side. This is especially true for virtual first-timers. “For someone coming to an online show for the first time, we didn’t want them to get confused or intimidated and leave,” Greg explained. His team did receive some calls asking for details on how to use the floor plan, and they were relieved that they had chosen a basic solution. Overall, they were very happy with the result:
“We did a soft opening on the eve of the event to make sure everything was working properly, and sales started pouring in at 1 AM! It was young professionals working night shifts or just up late — they were the ones that normally weren’t close enough to a live show to attend but could quickly and easily hop on their computer or device. In the end, we were over the moon that we could actually take a show that’s completely different, go virtual, and still hit the budget and be profitable. And the exhibitors were very happy.”
At the time of the interview, Greg’s online expo already had over 300,000 views. He and his team are currently busy preparing for the next Ontario GOLFEXPO. We at ExpoFP are already excited about helping Greg make his next show a success.
