Ever thought about attending a rental tradeshow wearing pajamas? With the introduction of the virtual tradeshow, that's now a possibility. The California Rental Association's Rental Rally Online is the first virtual tradeshow of its kind and is truly unique. The show, which was online at www.rentalrallyonline.com and concluded in late October, made the attendee feel like part of a live trade show as much as possible, which added to its effectiveness.

Planned for Oct. 24-28, the show was extended until Oct. 30 because of the positive response and also to give Canadian participants — who found out about the show late because of mail delays — the opportunity to attend the show. Attendees from 46 states, Canada and Guam viewed the show over the course of a week, adding up to 453 registrants total. A total of 74 exhibitors participated in the first online show.

“We are really pleased with the results of the first show,” says Chuck Maltese, CRA executive director.

Preliminary responses from exhibitors responding to post-show questionnaires seem positive, according to Maltese. “It appears that exhibitors recouped their expenses and want us to do it again,” he says.

The show was free for attendees; participants needed only to register to view booths and show specials. Registration took only seconds, and included answering a few standard questions and choosing a username and password for re-entry to the show throughout the week. Once in, an audio introduction welcomed attendees to the site and explained how the site worked. The audio was a nice touch and added a personal element to the online show.

Once the attendee linked to the Exhibit Hall, he or she entered a virtual lobby, with colorful banner signs — much like a real trade show — indicating the various areas: Construction, General/Homeowner, Exhibitors, Show Specials, Awards, Service Providers and Party. Clicking on one of the options would take the attendee to a colorful grid that was the “floor plan” for the trade show. Moving the mouse over the booths brought up the company's name, address and phone number in a pop-up box. If interested in more information, clicking on the booth brought up the company's virtual booth, which might list product photos and information about the company and its products and services.

This page included an “Inquiry” link, which potential buyers could use to fill out a form to contact the vendor. Interested parties could request information, have a salesperson call, or request a demonstration of a certain product simply by checking a box. The “Order” link brought up a preliminary order form to request quotes, demos, contact from a salesman or more information. On both forms, an additional box was available for comments or other questions.

The best part, especially for rental companies that can't get to a live show, is that each exhibitor had a legitimate show special. The specials ranged from extended terms on credit to special pricing, free shipping on certain orders, or even a free duffel bag with every show order. The booths showed the company's show special, but clicking on the Show Specials link — or flag in the lobby — took the attendee to an alphabetical list of exhibitors, allowing him or her to see at a glance companies' show specials in the right column.

If the attendee didn't feel like browsing around the trade show all day, he or she could search for a particular company, product or service by using the “search by:” drop-down tabs in the left column.

No show would be complete without seminars, so they too were included in the online version of the rental tradeshow. The seminars took the form of informative articles, a slide show about rental rates, and the RER 100 Roundtable discussion, which could be listened to online.

Of course, as Maltese says, the online version of the show is in no way a substitute for a live show. “That's probably the biggest negative,” he says. “It's not the same.” Maltese says he enjoys seeing people he hasn't seen in awhile at a show, and likes actually walking the aisles. Although there's nothing quite like sitting in a seminar and asking the speaker a question in person, the online rally is an excellent starting point for a new concept.

The CRA is still looking at participant responses, but several that RER spoke with had positive reviews.

“The CRA should be applauded for developing the concept,” says Peter Cannon, media manager for Multiquip.

If you missed the first online show, have no fear. The CRA is already planning its next online show for the spring of 2006.

Like to see your rental company's Web site featured in a future Bricks & Clicks? E-mail Erin Whitehead at erin.whitehead@penton.com.