Over 4,700 leisure marine professionals signed up for METSTRADE Connect

by Petra IJmker, METSTRADE 14 Dec 2020 21:27 PST 10 December 2020

Over 4,700 leisure marine industry professionals from 23 countries signed up for the first virtual METSTRADE Connect, sponsored by Raymarine, held on the 10th of December.

During the day, 12 knowledge sessions were organised with a total of 55 speakers. Visitors, sponsors and speakers have made 1,500+ connections in total. The first research figures show that the quality of the virtual show was rated with a 'very good'.

What did the attendees say

Several quotes to express the experiences about the new virtual way to connect:

• "Very professionally done and well organised, with many features that haven't been available on other virtual platforms, and without any seeming technical hitches"
• "The layout of the studio and the technical solution worked seemingly very well, and with a very professional impression. The LIVE chatfunction alongside the screen at all time enhanced the experience and gave a feeling of being part of something together"
• "Easy to join, can select papers and presentations easily"
• "Nice to connect with people I would have seen at the RAI"
• "Some new ideas presented, especially in design awards (DAME)"
• "Connecting with others thanks to chat and interested icon"
• "Your organization, possibilities of connecting, excellent performance on main stage"
• "System was working perfectly and the announcements were on time. It was nice to be present there and efficient networking. Thank you."
• "Interesting speakers and topics, well organised and easy to join a presentation."
• "Having a little bit of that famous METSTRADE feeling..(business buzz)."
• "Hearing different perspectives on industry trends Connecting with like-minded people in different parts of the world."
• "Personal interaction with company decision makers."
• "An engaging event and appropriate to the year we have had, and its impact on our industry."
• "Having time to attend the different speaker topics which during a normal Mets show is difficult, too busy..."
• "You made the best out of what was possible under the circumstances given. The ability to motivate connects and the valuable content are fantastic. Well done!"

Facts and figures

Some remarkable results after METSTRADE Connect are:

• Over 4,700 leisure marine industry professionals registered
• Over 1,800 attendees viewed the Plenary Session: State of the Industry
• More than 85 sponsors shared their products and innovations
• 1,500+ connections were made between visitors, sponsors and speakers
• 12 knowledge sessions with 55 speakers inspiring the global leisure marine industry
• Boat Builder Awards have recognized business achievement in this challenging year with a virtual ceremony with winners in 5 different categories
• The DAME R&D Excellence in Adversity Award had 47 product entries, with 1 award winner and 4 shortlisted nominees
• Attendees from 23 countries have watched 1 or more videos
• The top five countries are: The Netherlands, Italy, UK, US and Germany
• The average viewing time of a session was 14,37 minutes per video.
• Average of 85 attendees per session

Director Maritime METSTRADE, Niels Klarenbeek: "I am delighted that, despite the current circumstances, we have found a way to virtually connect the leisure marine industry. By offering knowledge sessions in combination with an intelligent network platform. We strongly believe in the power of meeting in person and we look forward to organizing a physical show again next year."

Virtual platform is still open

The platform is still open until the 31st December 2020 to view the knowledge sessions and to make connections and chat. The live video meetings option is available until the 17th of December. Please visit METSTRADE.com/connect for access to the platform.