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

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

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