VIRTUAL SCREENINGS WORLDWIDE (September 21-30) is the fourth edition of the digital events which have twisted the content market during the pandemic: while most of the online events have performed bad or so during the lockdowns, VS has grown edition by edition and provides this fall many news and improvements. Now that the physical events are coming back, online events must be very productive to continue.
LA Virtual Screenings 2021, held by PRENSARIO and NATPE last May, was the most successful VS event for far. As it can be watched at the graphic, the video reproductions scaled from 7300 in May 2020 (the first VS edition) to 10.100 this May, a growth of 40%! VS Autumn, last September, was in 9200 views. This fall, VS Worldwide has the challenge that now there are many events, physical and online, but promises to continue the good evolution.
What is the secret of VS events? The ‘Inbound Marketing’, which means to make people enter the platform on their own, and to generate interactions due to their questions and interests. The ‘Outbound’ marketing’ is to approach people with proposals trying to convince them. In VS is the opposite: buyers are not obliged to anything, they enter the platform to do binge watching of contents and the sellers interact with them when they make many screenings, questions or requests.
Of course, to have global traffic is essential for making buyers enter. But when you have good databases and good digital tools, the contact happens. And then, the question is to have a friendly and very interesting platform. Virtual Screenings is just for programming and acquisition executives, because it has a ‘Netflix alike’ interface and making just 2 clicks, they are watching contents without limitations. In LAVS, there were single buyers from Italy and Mexico that made +230 screenings during the 10 days of the market, due to 18 visits of 13 screenings each (average). There was a buyer from South Africa that made 25 screenings, in just one visit. With VS, the binge watching of buyers take place.
What is new, what is different at VS Worldwide? Many tips: a new aesthetic design, stressing that all the regions of the world take part in VS WW, and with many fresh colors to connotate diversity. There are brand new special effects. A chat service inside every booth, to increase the real time interactions between buyers and sellers. There is more information of the contents at every step, at VS Billboard, VS Figures rankings, at the recommended products of the VS Market, inside the booths, to make easier the searches and recognition of appealed contents.
There is more automation to generate screenings, with more links through all the sections of the VS platform. At LAVS last May, the outside-booth screenings were already 35% of total. The intention is to enhance this percent. Also, there are more genre and buyer information at the daily newsletters of VS News, that in the past were from time to time and now are regular. The feedback reports for the exhibitors have been improved, with more key data available from a first sight. The VS Browser & Filters section -to make automated searches- is faster and more friendly now, especially to select types and genres of contents.
The rotation of the contents at the global screens -at the Entrance Hall, at VS Billboard and at the Platinum pavilion of the VS market- have been accelerated, to give access to more exhibitors when the user is entering and going from VS rooms. The VS Next section -a big success the last two VS events, with its panels and testimonials- now have links to watch or take information directly from the agenda. And so on…
The approach of Virtual Screenings Worldwide, with all of these, is really surpassing from the last May experience. The buyers have now many functionalities on hand to make their digital visits more productive. ‘Live the Experience’ is one of the main slogans of VS events, from the beginning. Keep moving forward.
Nicolás Smirnoff
