Today, on 22 February, the virtual fair Skyon Expo will start, bringing together construction companies, architects and designers involved in the construction of the Skyon building. The event will take place on the platform for organisation of virtual fairs developed by Estonians.

According to Madis Laas, the founder of the virtual fair platform MultiCityTV.com, organisation of physical fairs is associated with increasingly high risks, because restrictions arising from the coronavirus are unpredictable. “We have ended up in a situation where companies are looking for safer and more efficient solutions for sharing their experience and establishing contacts. For many companies finding new customers and partners is a matter of survival.”

The first virtual fair Skyon Expo will take place on a unique platform developed in Estonia, which will allow participants to introduce their products and exchange contacts without flying long distances, meeting physically, and building one-off booths, which means saving both the environment and resources.

Skyon Expo focuses on the real estate sector, with the main topics being architecture, design, and construction solutions of the Skyon high-rise building which is being erected by Capital Mill on Maakri Street.

According to Tanel Samuel, a partner in Capital Mill, the MultiCityTV.com platform is a problem solver for many companies that want to quickly introduce their new developments, products, and services to potential customers, but cannot find any reasonable possibility to do that – organising physical fairs is a time-consuming and resource-intensive venture, and the risk of their cancellation is high. “Virtual solutions are flexible, fast and also permanent, because all information remains on the platform,” said Tanel Samuel, a co-author of the idea for the virtual fair.

“With our platform we are significantly lowering the threshold for organisation of a fair, allowing those companies which would never manage to organise a virtual, let alone a physical fair, to do that. This gives us an opportunity to join forces in marketing and sales, and to reach many more customers than participants of the fair could ever reach on their own with the same amount of money and effort,” said Laas, explaining the uniqueness of the MultiCityTV.com business model.

The virtual fair not only allows to replace cancelled physical fairs, but also offers fair organisers an opportunity to take their fairs to an even higher level. The opening show of the fair will be held virtually, which will allow guests of the fair to have a closer look at the Skyon high-rise building from any place in the world. All companies participating in the fair will also have their own virtual booth, where new products will be introduced to potential customers and active sales work will be done.

Virtual fairs have already been organised before, however, Skyon Expo was created on a platform that combines the main components necessary for the success of the fair: a virtual 3D environment, virtual fair booths, and digital marketing. Until now no such solution has been offered to customers.

• Any environment can be built in the virtual 3D environment, and so fairs will become available to those companies for which participation in physical fairs has not yet provided a good opportunity to present their products.
• Virtual booths offer the same features as physical ones – showcasing the company’s products and conduct of active sales in order to find new customers. However, unlike a physical booth, which is usually built to be used for a few days only, a virtual booth can be used for much longer.
• In addition, MultiCityTV.com offers a well-thought-out digital marketing solution, through which messages of the companies participating in the fair can reach the target groups more effectively.

The virtual fair and related marketing activities will last for three months, after which the booths will remain on the platform and can be continuously updated and introduced to customers in the future. “This makes our environment special compared to other virtual events and physical fairs. This is not a one-off project and event, but a platform where companies and customers can continue to come together,” Laas explained.

Although the first virtual fair is focused on real estate, the virtual platform can be used in all areas – from the introduction of cars or new technology to tourism.

Skyon Expo starts on 22 February with an opening show that uses Unreal Engine technology to create virtual worlds. Skyon Expo is the first project in the world to use this technology to host a trade fair. For Skyon Expo, the roof of the Skyon building and other environments inspired by the field of real estate have been chosen as virtual stages, where the host Eda Ines Etti will interview all the companies participating in the fair.

The opening show can be watched on 22 February at 14:22 on the virtual platform: https://skyon.eu/expo

Video introducing the opening show:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXFfFiRUD6A