They are in the calendar as a fixture depending on your industry. Whether it is Retail Week, Marketing Week Live, The Ideal Home Show, Mobile World Congress or even The National Wedding Show, they remain an important fixture. But this, is set to change. We are entering a new generation, and one that is particularly exciting. On the face of it, the intervention seems straightforward, but in reality, its effects are huge. With the simple optimisation of a Wi-Fi system for location based analytics, it is as if venue owners, event organisers and exhibitors can see for the first time.
It seems surprising that for so many years, the importance of events has been underestimated due to the challenges involved in their evaluation. A wealth of solutions have been voiced, tested and quickly removed and what many have been left with is badge scanners, clicker counters and hastily filled out internal feedback forms. Wi-Fi simply answers all of these challenges by providing accurate data passively and non-intrusively on more than a third of attendees.
So what are we going to see?
Well this is interesting. As well as an instant upshift in the efficiency of events, we are going to see a lot more of the ‘i’ word. Yes, innovation. Much of the innovation in stand design, event decision and engagement strategies over the previous few years has gone largely unnoticed. Visitor analytics brings these to the fore. Rewarding highly successful stands and quickly showing those that have rolled out last year’s with a facelift, there will be greater returns. In effect, a positive feedback loop will result in more event organisers and exhibitors being able to innovate in the delivery of new engagement measures such as augmented reality which have often just been paid lip service to.
The other benefits can be seen internally. Events are going to take greater priority in marketing and management meetings. For many years marketeers have been forced to justify every penny, resulting in increasing spend on performance metrics. Events have therefore taken a back seat, especially when guaranteed returns can be seen elsewhere. This new data is going to change all that. It is hugely powerful for the often overworked and underappreciated event organisers that have to bring so many things together each time with huge stresses.
It is also hugely exciting for the consumer. Event organisers will have more money to spend on attracting and justifying the right attendees. At the same time, they will then be able to cater for their needs better, focusing efforts where needed and optimising the flows across and event space. They can also manage the major attractions including product launches and keynotes speakers.
It is an exciting time and there isn’t a loser out of the whole process. Money is just spent better, providing an all-round more exciting experience for everyone. So, whether you are looking to catch a glimpse of the latest smartphone, learn about the latest marketing methodologies or simply have a look at thousands of wedding suggestions, you are about to enjoy yourself quite a bit more. With so much time devoted to the virtual world, it is great that this can all happen in reality.
By Jan Isakovic, CEO from Storesense Expo.
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