Heat Map vs Hot Lead

Kiki L'Italien streaming #assnchat from the trade show floor.
The sign is powered by LEDs and requires human power from the bike!

I appreciate we have access to a plethora of resources available to provide information and ideas that make us think, reflect and grow - with ideas to improve and adapt our events to our changing stakeholder needs. After listening to an #EventTech podcast today with one of my favorites John Federico aka Gadget Boy I am finding myself thinking about how we consider stakeholders, in this case exhibitors. During this show the guest's approach to meeting exhibitor expectations using event technology, specifically in this case, beacons and their ability to create a heat map surprised me. 

A heat map provides a digital visualization of where people are traveling through your event. It shows by colour or density higher volumes of traffic, and each beacon can indeed tell you exactly how many devices (presumably with their people attached) have gone past any specific area. This is useful for understanding flow, for managing in real-time movement of participants and allows for adjustments that can positively impact the guest and exhibitor experience. When combined with smart gamification strategies, push messaging and 'near me' tech, the possibilities become very interesting.

The suggestion from this guest was with a heat map and its data "we can show unhappy exhibitors how many people walked past their booths and provide evidence we have 'done our job' as organizers and provided them people to talk to". The conversation continues to note that any lack of success of a particular exhibitor at a show could be attributed to any of the following -  if their booth staff wasn't good / were on their phones / talking to people they already knew / were understaffed or had uneducated staff, etc. 

Anyone who has been an exhibitor knows how many resources - human and financial - are invested in participating in a show. Nobody takes this lightly, and while not all booths are visually stunning, and not all exhibitors stand out front with a smile waiting for the next guest to come and talk to them - there are many factors at play on both sides - flow, timing, placement of food and beverage, time of day, competing events within the overall program, and reasons the participant has attended and may be interested in talking to or meeting with as examples.

For exhibitors, trade show success is often judged on hard leads returned to the office and shows focused on buying with both buyer and seller understanding this purpose will deliver this. Often these shows include hosted buyers, across all industries and not just events / meetings because if your show is being judged on "hot leads" then bringing buyers who have business to do and can do this in the most expedient way is good for everyone.

Other shows will deliver success based on conversations which build or grow relationships; others when show education offers a way for thought leadership from the exhibitor to be shared. "Success" requires thoughtful activation and a responsible investment - understanding which shows get a tabletop and a banner with limited staff, vs. the shows where you bring out the big booth and a significant portion of your team, and focus on demonstrations, opportunities available and conversations.  For busy people attending a show where the majority of the suppliers they are interested in meeting are also in attendance makes sense from a resource perspective - time and financial. As organizers we need to ensure we allow enough time on the show floor at defined times for there to be adequate traffic flow for both exhibitors and guests - it is more than just a numbers-passing-by game.

To put this in perspective if you don't regularly follow or otherwise know me, I believe deeply in the power of technology and its ability to benefit human interactions. I have been actively using all types of #eventtech for some time. I have been a planner, producer, trade show designer and exhibitor; I have been the organizer and the client and I have also been responsible for spending tens of thousands to create memorable on-floor activations for multiple clients. I have also worked at QuickMobile and been behind the scenes where beacons have been used to heat map entire shows and tracked traffic patterns through a venue, a city and even back to origin airports. This data is used for real-time adjustments as well as future planning by many organizations working with a variety of savvy vendors and analysts to interpret and apply recommendations driven by the data. There are great success stories from PCMA, CES and SXSW who all used beacons in ways that made a positive difference to the experience.  

Ultimately success is defined by each person who attends, and perfomance is not defined or defended by a heat map. We need to consider the technology we implement - why and how it is applied to achieve interaction, knowledge retention, contact exchange and data collected within the realm of what is most useful - and take advantage of this ability to measure more clearly the impacts of face-to-face business events.

Events of the Future and Digital Fluidity

Is the above photo a trade show dream, where thousands swarm the floor, seeking information and not swag; seeking connections and not business cards; where organizations are cementing their brand presence and not merely taking up space?  It is hard to say what the individuals experienced, because we give so little energy in our typical planning cycle to thinking of the individuals.  We may create "buyer personas" and attendee profiles, generalizing to show our exhibitors the types of people they should expect to meet at our show, enticing them to purchase a booth and immerse themselves in the experience.  But how each person is able to build their own schedule, easily find their preferred exhibitors or those they seek to know more about, or find colleagues, friends, and potential collaborators who have similar interests - this is still missing for many.

I wrote recently for Corporate Meetings Network about the concept of Digital Fluidity and what this means to our event experiences and I believe we must become much more fluent in this new language, and the medium which lives in the pockets and purses of the individuals who attend.  They are busy, they are living with a certain amount of stress from work, life and the integration of the two in a continuously time - strapped world where 24/7 access is a reality for many. How can we use mobile and its inherent tools such as location via bluetooth or similar now built in to so many devices, or apply concepts such as flipped learning with augmented reality, and ease their journey through our event, allowing for deeper connections, more relevant learning to the time and space they are in now, and deliver events which are ultimately more meaningful, and create a thirst to return again?  It is these questions that keep me intrigued, that cause me to ask deeper questions of fellow planners and the smart people I work with and to continue to explore the many facets and components of mobile and how we can use it, quite simply, in a better way.   How are you using the new wave of technology to enhance your experiences?    

Grocery stores and Trade Shows

QuickMobile team prepping for a day at IMEX Frankfurt

What do grocery stores, trade shows and airports have in common? The more shows I go to, the more travel I do, the more it strikes me that there are many common elements to the experiences, which I share my first thoughts below.

1. They are all places with a LOT of people, some there by choice, some by necessity.
2. Traffic flow has to be thought out ahead of time and managed on a daily, or even hourly basis.
3. Music adds more to the experience than announcements.
4. The biggest companies get the prime real estate.  (do you know the premium for having your product beside a check-out stand?)
5. They SHOULD all have wi-fi!  (and often don’t)
6. They are full of possibilities.  
   1. If you are in an airport you are either going somewhere or meeting someone, both are opening up experiences you may not have otherwise.
   2. If you are at a trade show you are likely going to see people you know, meet with organizations you are aware of, and find new partners you could work with or new people you can collaborate with.
   3. If you are in a grocery store, you may be there planning a dinner party or deciding how you will eat this week – will it be white wine and popcorn, a brown rice cleanse or perhaps steak and red wine on Saturday night?  

I really love all of the above experiences. I like the planning , I don’t even mind standing in line and imagining what all the people around me are there for – What are they buying? Did they really think those shoes made sense for this? Why did they come?  Is their anticipation of the experience being met?  

The next time you are heading out to any of the above… tell me what you look forward to, or what really makes you crazy!

Dreaming up a Trade Show

Not only a trade show event, later pockets of hosted games,
food stations, dancing, and themed lounges allowed for connecting.

The more I attend trade shows, the more I long for these to become more human experiences, more immersive, more fun (yes, FUN) and to allow for deeper conversations that lead to mutually beneficial relationships to be developed and to flourish. 

How can we make this happen?  While I don't have all the answers by any stretch, I do have some ideas - some random, some gleaned from readings and some that have been fire-started in conversations such as those found on the weekly #expochat.

If you have ideas to share - please do!

1. Beacons, beacons everywhere. In our Event Alley Show last week we had to talk about the impact of these devices that allow us to track how people move through trade shows, and allow messages to be delivered to participants based on their interests ie. close to a session, person or exhibitor they are interested in.  Used with forethought, these have great potential to lead to meaningful and timely connections. 
2. Pop-up education. Navigating a multi-faceted schedule of appointments, meetings and sessions can be a daunting task, and yet we are also seeking knowledge enhancing opportunities at shows. What if these sessions just popped up - a few pre-set areas around the floor space, an app based message sent to participants, hostesses with overhead lollypop signs announcing the session and (adopting open space thinking) whoever comes - these are the right people to be there.  Make these full of bite-size, consumable information and facilitate these to foster conversation - allow the participants to own this space and time.
3. Why not a pop-up re-energizing dance break? 
4. Live interviews on the show floor, taking advantage of the wealth of knowledge we know is on the floor as industry professionals (in any sector) join the swarm.  Capture the ideas and the energy and live stream these interviews to a virtual audience. Engage this virtual audience as well - share their ideas, and share what they could participate in live should they attend next year.
5. Forego traditional aisles and consider hub-and-spoke or alternate designs, including spaces for introverts to pause, relax and reflect; lounges where at the very least water can easily be found; add key association mentors throughout to introduce people who may share common interests but aren't that comfortable introducing themselves to new people - for all but the deepest extrovert this can get tiring. 
6. Consider the role of the sponsor - and create relevant opportunities for the sponsoring organization which allow them to rise above the clutter, and are adding value for the attendees.  I know this seems basic, but it is not always what happens.  Traci Browne has many great ideas on her blog and I encourage you to read these thoughtful ideas. 
7. User-friendly apps. We use apps to track our fitness, food, schedule, finances, find directions to nearly everywhere, pay for parking and so much more, order transportation and yes, even plan our meetings for the most forward thinking organizations, and yet only some shows have great apps.  What to me is great? It has to be easy to navigate, include current floor plans, lists of who is there with at least basic contact information and in app messaging option, schedules of education and networking programming, social media integration (how I like to share my experience),  a place to store show information vs. collecting any paper / make notes, and an element of gamification to add to the experience and to drive traffic flow to all areas of the show.  Access to information that is easy to navigate should allow a deeper personalization of the experience for the participant.  Ideally this also allows for data to be collected which allows for improvements to the show the next year.
8. I want to discover hidden treasures on the floor - that perfect "je ne sais quoi" item you know your client can't live without; a supplier who not only has the service you require, but actually understands how to make my life easier - I don't want to watch one needless demo after another - I want my problem to be solved.  (hey, I said I was dreaming up my ideal trade show!)
9. wi-fi. that is all.

Smart Trade Show Idea

I have a confession, I love trade shows! I love walking through the entrance, seeing traffic on the floor, how organizations use booth space and design to engage clients, seeing colleagues and meeting people you have only had non-f2f interaction with.  This summer I enjoyed my time on the floor at MPI WEC10 - they drew you in with an excellent lunch that was easy to get to and energized you for the next hours on the floor, with some great suppliers to meet. Here the hosted buyer program many were on also worked well to connect qualified buyers with the right suppliers - something that for this reason continues to be popular at shows.

There were some great booths at Incentive Works, the larger hotel booths where you could come right in and at either a stand up table or sitting on comfortable furniture, with a beverage, catch up on the global properties available for your groups.  They did a great job of dividing this up by global destination so you could work through and really think about where you want to take your groups and meet appropriate suppliers along the way. 

Anyone who has spent any number of hours standing on a floor knows how hard this is - staying energetic and focused in a small space for A-type personalities is always a challenge and finding things to draw people in and have them remember you is tricky.  My favorite at this show was the Sheraton Parkway North who had their booth and surrounding area (good thing they were at the end of an aisle) packed with people who wrote a paragraph that started with "I _________ would love to book my next meeting ant the Sheraton Parkway North, only 20 minutes from downtown Toronto".  This paragraph was then analysed by a handwriting expert, she really knows her stuff - it was memorable, and it created a line that allowed the sales team to interact with those waiting - an excellent use of time all around!