Tech
T
he festivalisation
of both trade and
consumer shows is a
continuing trend. But what
can organisers learn from
the technologies that are
used at festivals and can
they be adapted for use in
the exhibition space? This
month the topic of RFID in
the consumer show space is
explored. It’s a trend that is
popping.
A prime example of
leadership in this area is
the New York Comic Con.
The show is held in October
across three venues – Javits
Centre, The Hulu Theatre
at Madison Square Garden,
and the Hammerstein
Ballroom at the Manhattan
Centre – in NYC. The
biggest popular culture
event on the East Coast
of USA attracted 250,000
attendees in 2018. But how
do the organisers enhance
the visitor experience
through technology? In this
case ReedPOP – a division
of Reed Exhibitions – has
turned to festival technology
to create a more immersive
experience. This is based
on using Radio Frequency
Identification technology in
multiple ways.
New York Comic Con
producer and senior
marketing manager at
ReedPOP Fallon Prinzivalli
was interviewed about how
they have festivalised their
event. When RFID was
first launched at New York
Comic Con a few years ago,
it was primarily to help do
RFID pops
James Morgan, founder of Event Tech Lab,
looks at how RFID has been enhancing the
fan experience and preventing counterfeit
tickets at New York Comic Con
two things. First, rid the
market of counterfeit tickets
that they had encountered
in previous years. Second,
to assist in keeping track
of visitor numbers in the
venues at any given time
throughout the event.
This was done by having
visitors tap in and out of the
venues. From a practicality
standpoint, RFID badges
that are activated and tied
to a unique attendee also
help cancel out stolen badges
and the organisers can
reissue them to the visitor
who actually purchased the
badge.
As the show grew each
year, ReedPOP took
advantage of the technology
to add in more experiential
functions. It became about
enhancing fan experience
through RFID. Their team
began by gamifying the show
through their XP program.
NYCC fans who activated
their badges were able to
tap them around the event
at specific locations and
then entered to win instant
prizes and a grand prize.
The instant prizes were
anything from first row
seating in exciting panel
discussions, to a free photo
opportunity with a celebrity,
to an exclusive item from
one of the exhibitors. The
grand prizes in the past have
been trips to other ReedPOP
conventions around the
country or a VIP experience
at NYCC the following year.
ReedPOP also utilises this
technology to surprise and
delight visitors in a subtler
way. Prinzivalli states, “not
many people know this, but
when we get the end of year
RFID report, our marketing
team picks the top 10 fans
who were in the building
the longest (based on when
they tapped in and out)
and sends them a fun prize
pack of exclusive items and
merchandise from the show.”
Future plans are to sync
the RFID technology within
the mobile app so that as
visitors tap around the event
and receive a digital badge
that will be added to a leader
board. The team is working
on this in the coming weeks
to roll out a full scavenger
hunt for 2019’s show, where
winners will be rewarded
with prizes. There are plans
to implement cashless pay
for visitors so they can pay
exhibitors – with the tap of a
badge - for what they want to
buy while they shop around
the show. There is also scope
for social media activations
as well as providing sponsors
with communications
opportunities through the
use of RFID connectivity.
Clemi Hardie from
badging and registration
company Noodle Live says
that, “consumer events focus
on ensuring that guests feel
they have gained value for
money and encouraging
them to purchase products
from exhibitors. The
exhibitor’s metric for success
tends to be how much money
they make on the day.”
So, should organisers
be thinking how they can
enhance with visitor and
exhibitor experience using
technology such as RFID?
June — 47