INTERNET MEDIA: Go-events pushes region's event marketers Web-side

<p>Go-events.com is moving onto Asia's Web scene with a bang, opening </p><p>up its Hong Kong office this month. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>In typical break-'Net time, Go-events kicked off its August '99 </p><p>operations in the Lion City as a business-to-business event information </p><p>site and a content syndicator for the region's major search engines and </p><p>portals. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"Event organisers tend to typically promote their sites by accumulating </p><p>a database of information and it's the same series of people they're </p><p>always inviting," said Go-events.com chief operating officer Patrick </p><p>Chouinard. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"Go-events.com opens up organisers to the world of the Internet and </p><p>gives them access to people who are interested in the events but who </p><p>wouldn't otherwise be on their distribution list". </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Content syndication dictates that when an event organiser wishes to list </p><p>on Go-events.com, their event can also be found on one of the firm's </p><p>channel partner sites, including China.com, hongkong.com, South China </p><p>Morning Post (www.scmp.com) and I-Quest's international business </p><p>traveller portal, WorldRoom.com. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>According to Mr Jim James, Go-events.com CEO and founder, one per cent </p><p>of all partner site users look for event listings. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>And at present this traffic alone is garnering a total of two million </p><p>monthly pageviews. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"One of the challenges is managing to build the brand with a consistent </p><p>image - we're catering to people worldwide that are interested in a </p><p>number of different types of events, from conferences, exhibitions and </p><p>training, to education. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"We cover every (event) from pig farming in China through to venture </p><p>capital in Silicon Valley," said Mr James. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Set to launch Zhongwen.com, Go-event's Chinese JV partner site within </p><p>this quarter, he believes content syndication so far in Asia has not </p><p>been "considered particularly sexy"; relying largely on ownership rather </p><p>than aggregation. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"Content is going to be king - it's what you need to leverage traffic </p><p>and revenue," Mr James said. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>To date, much of the site's success has been through word-of-mouth </p><p>marketing, building content, creating the community and generating </p><p>commerce around that community. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>However, wising-up to the need for more impactful efforts, one third of </p><p>Go-events.com's undisclosed annual budget is being poured into this </p><p>year's marketing directive. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>This includes rolling out a newsletter, sponsoring pages of the </p><p>Singaporean online magazine, Asia 21 (www.Asia21.com.sg) and </p><p>distributing banner ads on China's Web Union network. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"We're not trying to be a portal or compete with portals," said Mr </p><p>James. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"And we don't do editorial - all the content is value-added by the </p><p>publishers themselves." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Go-events.com's key draw is a real-time events information feed, with </p><p>content updated by regional and global event companies, vendors and </p><p>trade associations. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>And the future for the site lies in ecommerce. Go-events already boasts </p><p>online registration capabilities, linking up-and-coming events such as </p><p>Comdex at Singapore Informatics 2000 to prospective attendees. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"We will be able to supply the individual with discounted hotel rooms </p><p>and bonus points for buying tickets through Go-events.com - we're </p><p>building a platform for permission marketing," Mr James said. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>