Build Online Ecology to Boost “CAEXPO on the Cloud”

Written by Li Min and Ma Xiaotian / Translated by Qu Wenyuan

On April 26, 2022, China-ASEAN Expo (CAEXPO) Senior Official Meeting was held via video link, marking the official roll-out of the preparatory work of CAEXPO in 11 countries. The meeting disclosed that the mode of the 19th CAEXPO is “365-day CAEXPO on the Cloud + 4-day physical exhibition”. Since the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, the exhibition industry has gone through daunting challenges. In order to maintain development, the industry is pulling all-out efforts to find solutions, among which online exhibition is most highly recommended. Why does the “CAEXPO on the Cloud” stand out among different exhibition forms?

Technical support: to be a blacksmith, you need to be tough yourself

Since the 17th CAEXPO, the online and offline exhibition mode featuring “Physical Exhibition + CAEXPO on the Cloud” has been adopted. The CAEXPO on the Cloud has fully tapped the potential of online exhibition by means of cloud display, cloud conference, cloud negotiation, various live broadcast promotion conferences, supply & demand product launch events, and “one-to-one” video matching. It is because of the strong technical support that the CAEXPO can manage to keep open for 365 days.

Combining intelligent service technology of AI and big data, the “CAEXPO on the Cloud” can realize multi-languages and multi-channels output to meet the needs of precise matching and real-time interaction between supply and demand sides, online international conferences, and business negotiations. In addition, the conference room that allows 100,000 people to be online together has also greatly improved the efficiency of communication between supply and demand sides.

In the website of CAEXPO, you can find that the products from ASEAN countries shown in the exhibition page have been categorized according to “Pavilions of Commodity Trade”, “Investment Cooperation”, “Advanced Technology”, and “Trade in Services”. There are also more subdivided sections under each subject, which can make it much easier for consumers who are visiting the “Cloud Exhibition Hall” to gain information about their interested products. It is a truly people-oriented service. Meanwhile, the national pavilions of the “CAEXPO on the Cloud” are also kept open for “365 days” without closing. A slight touch on the screen would give you an easy access to the introduction of participating countries and the exhibitors in a timely and orderly manner. 

At the Premium Goods Festival of the 18th CAEXPO, the invited influencers introduced a series of products to consumers around the world in the live broadcast room. The viewing volume was over 4.3 million times within an hour of live broadcasting. In the end, the live broadcast room has submitted a gratifying result to the online CAEXPO with a total of over 550,000 transactions and over 18.55 million views. The data has shown the world the infinite potential of online exhibitions.

The “CAEXPO on the Cloud” has also received unanimous praise and recognition from exhibitors. “It is a more convenient platform for us to interact with consumers. I think it is a good way. It can help everyone to have a better understanding of the exhibition. I hope the online exhibition will be further improved so that more friends from all over the world can feel the charm of CAEXPO. All in all, I wish the exhibition more successful”, said the interviewed exhibitors. 

Diverse culture: the social media covers the event all year round

Online exhibitions are different from traditional offline ones. On the Internet, consumers’ attention is a scarce resource, and it takes a long time to increase engagement to ensure that the information about the exhibition is not overwhelmed by the massive online contents. Therefore, the success of “CAEXPO on the Cloud” is inseparable from the continuous covering of the CAEXPO by social media.

On China’s video-sharing platform Douyin, the CAEXPO’s account continuously updates throughout the year with diverse themes and interesting forms. Whether it is the sharing of commercial information with economic values, the recommendation of tempting local food, or the sharing of stories from “old friends” of the CAEXPO, they all received subscriptions and discussion of a large number of netizens. Through the camera lens, the audiences can experience the cutting-edge technology of the world, the exotic customs exhibitions of various countries, and a bite of CAEXPO. While popularizing the knowledge about the CAEXPO, short videos with different themes can also fully raise people’s expectations for the exhibition, thereby contributing to the increased viewer’s engagement to the “CAXEPO on the Cloud”.

Social media has also become an online public platform for CAEXPO to promote China-ASEAN friendly exchanges. The Douyin official account of the CAEXPO does not only publish the introduction of “Sanyuesan Song Festival”, a traditional festival of Guangxi Zhuang ethnic minority, but also the speech delivered by Mr. Dody Edward, Director of the National Export Development Bureau of the Indonesian Ministry of Trade, the monologue of the cross-border live streamer in Thailand, and the recommendation of Filipino food, and so on. Contents from different countries and different fields complement each other, reflecting the mutual equality and inclusiveness of the “CAEXPO on the Cloud”.

Interesting and lively: programs and games enhance the fascination of the CAEXPO on the cloud

The special programs of “More Fun about CAEXPO” launched by Guangxi cloud client are almost less than 3 minutes long, which is in line with the habit of today’s audiences to obtain information in fragments. With witty and humorous language, and relaxing and pleasant soundtrack, the program introduces highlights and trivia about the CAEXPO in an easy atmosphere, such as “What fruit needs the largest import in China”, “What is ASEAN Day” “What is the relationship between CAEXPO and RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership)” “How Cambodian rice is on the table of Chinese people” and a series of fresh and interesting knowledge. This lively way of knowledge sharing has both attracted audiences to learn about the CAEXPO and raised everyone’s expectations.

WeChat mini-games are widely received due to their interesting gameplay and strong social sharing attributes. In fact, almost every year during the CAEXPO, there are related mini-games going viral in WeChat Moments. The mini-game “ASEAN Jigsaw Puzzle Battle” has become extremely popular in the moments by virtue of its high competition of dexterity; The game rules of “How much do you know about the landmarks of the ten ASEAN countries” are very simple: you only need to play within 60 seconds to just move the small icons of the landmark buildings of the ten ASEAN countries to the map of the corresponding country as fast as possible. It is an interesting quiz game for all ages. Most importantly, almost every year the featured mini-games of the CAEXPO are accompanied by lottery activities, encouraging a large number of players to take the initiative to learn about the CAEXPO and participate in the CAEXPO!

What’s more, various mobile VR Applets available during the CAEXPO can allow audiences to experience the exotic customs of the exhibition halls of the 11 countries of the CAEXPO at home only with a slight touch on mobile device. “CAEXPO on the Cloud” is not a simple online exhibition hall, but an online eco-system composed of various network forms. Breaking through the limitation of space of traditional exhibitions, the online CAEXPO can reach the public in China and ASEAN countries and beyond, enabling more people to know about the CAEXPO and making it never close in real sense.

Online CAEXPO can reach the public in China and ASEAN countries and beyond, enabling more people to know about the CAEXPO

In 2022, the CAEXPO featuring new technologies, concepts and creations is about to kick off. We expect the 19th CAEXPO can present audiences a more innovative CAEXPO!