“Adventure Award” recipient Cyber Coex's 2011 launch succeeds wildly: expansion planned in 2012

"Adventure Award" recipient Cyber Coex's 2011 launch succeeds wildly: expansion planned in 2012

In June 2011, Coex launched an innovative online exhibition platform called Cyber Coex. The Korean-language platform offers online marketing consulting, digital ticketing, and exhibitor promotion tools for all 20 of Coex's trade shows. In 2011, Cyber Coex was used to promote 650 exhibiting companies and 5,000 products.

At this year's annual Korea Exhibition Expo held from December 14th to 15th, Cyber Coex received the "Adventure Exhibition" prize from the Korea Exhibition Organizers Association. The prize designated 2011's most innovative effort in exhibition and trade show marketing in the country. It was one of five industry awards presented during the show, and one of only two presented to exhibition organizing companies.

Planned initially as a simple online version of Coex's trade shows, Cyber Coex soon developed into a hybrid marketing tool that uses both social media and mobile applications together with traditional marketing tactics. Exhibitions are promoted through traditional media such as outdoor, television, and display, then linked to Cyber Coex via QR codes that can be scanned with a smart phone. In total, 213,000 unique visitors explored Cyber Coex within its first six months, and 8,300 attendees registered for exhibition tickets through the site.

Cyber Coex issues site visitors a unique QR code through their smart phones when they register. The QR code can be scanned at the exhibition hall entrance in place of a badge, making admissions 100% digital so entry is completely paper-free.

Social media campaigns require constant supervision and updating, and internet posts need dedicated writers to manage comments and keep content fresh. To meet the demands of a good social campaign, Cyber Coex recruited local students to help write each show's blog, Facebook, and Twitter. Korea's career-minded students have embraced Cyber Coex as an opportunity for marketing work experience, and three cohorts of volunteer writers have been recruited so far. The first cohort had only 50 students, but the current cohort has taken signups from 300.

In 2012, Cyber Coex will expand to promote guest exhibitions and shows that are hosted at Coex, but not owned or organized by the center. Plans for an English-language version of the site are also in the works. Coex will host 200 exhibitions and trade shows in total next year.