Rohde & Schwarz Launches Virtual Showtime To Engage With Customers In Absence Of Trade Shows

Following the cancellations of NAB and IBC, Rohde & Schwarz has launched Showtime, a virtual sales and marketing initiative that provides a new and different approaches to customer engagement.

“Rohde & Schwarz is looking forward to participating in the first major tradeshow post lockdown. However, the future role of traditional tradeshows is under question following NAB‘s and IBC‘s cancellation, and we have to find new ways to engage with our customers,” said Cornelius Heinemann, executive vice president broadcast and media at Rohde & Schwarz.

While supporting the IBC 2020 virtual showcase, Rohde & Schwarz says it is also developing a new approach to customer contact that is “more focussed on individuals, more personalized to their specific needs and much better for the environment. Called Showtime Rohde & Schwarz, the new online initiative opens up the company’s most valuable human resources to listen to and answer the customers‘ specific questions. It facilitates hundreds of one-to-one online meetings with product experts, solution managers and development specialists to discuss the same subjects they would at the trade shows.”

Without leaving their desks, and irrespective of any lockdown restrictions, customers can schedule substantive face-to-face meetings over the internet. In addition, Rohde & Schwarz has scheduled a major campaign of solution webinars, masterclasses, online demos and video presentations, all aimed at informing and educating its highly valued customer base.

“This campaign ensures that none of our customers will suffer as a result of the current global social distancing measures,“ said Ciaran Doran, director of marketing, broadcast and media at Rohde & Schwarz. “We have made a major investment in online communications so that our customers need not skip a beat in the never-ending story of technology evolution and progression at Rohde & Schwarz.

“A real benefit of Showtime is that our customers can now bring all their relevant staff members to the discussion and demonstration, many of whom wouldn’t have made the ticket to Amsterdam or Las Vegas. What’s more, the time available is less pressured so we can go into more detail as the customer chooses so it’s a win-win all round,“ Doran added. “This global pandemic will force trade shows to evolve to bring professional buyers & sellers together — how far and how fast they are willing to evolve is uncertain.“

Showtime Rohde & Schwarz will operate over eight weeks, starting Sept. 8. To participate and schedule a one-to-one meeting with Rohde & Schwarz, go to www.rohde-schwarz.com/broadcast-media/showtime, where a timetable of webinars and other online events can be found.