Emerge 2008 Blog
Exhibitors and Attendees in their Natural Habitat - Tools & Metrics for Analyzing Showsite Behavior
Filed under: Exhibitor & Attendee Analysis, RFID, lead retrieval Dave Lutz @ 12:55 pm on 30/12/08
This session occurred on the final afternoon of IAEE. We had excellent attendance and even better audience participation. The session was moderated by Jennifer Hoff, National Trade Productions.
Roger Lewis from Alliance Tech reviewed the various alternatives for capturing attendee behavior including human observation, video capture and RFID.
Tony Lorenz from ProActive/Freeman presented the business case for measuring attendee and exhibitor behavior. He also gave us a great punch list for ideas on what to measure.
Finally, Mickey McManus from MAYA, shared highlights of the two whitepapers he did earlier this year that were sponsored by The Expo Group. You can download free copies of The Invisible Exhibitor and The Invisible Attendee by following the links.
Also, here’s the link to the slides used for this session. Thanks for participating!
System Integration - Session Handout
Filed under: Software Integration Shawn Pierce @ 2:17 pm on 13/12/08
Turnout for this session was not as good as expected. An 8:00 am start after a long night of receptions once again won over.
There was excellent dialogue from those that were able to make it. Hanley Wood is blazing new trails on integrating various systems and using the information to the benefit of our exhibitors, attendees and overall business improvement. The slide deck has been uploaded to SlideShare.
If you have questions on what Hanley Wood is doing or recommendations that benefit our stakeholders, please jump into the conversation.
Web 2.0 and Social Media for Event ROI - Session Handout
Filed under: Linking Strategies, Social Media Jason Fellman @ 5:44 am on 13/12/08
It was great to see how much interest there is in emerging technology and how to leverage Web 2.0 for Events. The session had very few empty seats with quite a few standing in the back. Great turn-out for a pre-conference breakout!
The slide deck that includes strategies and tactical tools that event organizers can use for leveraging Social Media and Web 2.0 can be accessed here…Web 2.0 Powerpoint on SlideShare
You can extend the learning for all of us by asking any follow-up questions or by posting your success story or idea in the comments section of this post. Thanks for participating in this session!
Is Your Event Website Optimized? Session Handout
Filed under: Linking Strategies, Search Engine Optimization Dave Lutz @ 6:40 am on 11/12/08
The Search Engine Optimization (SEO) session on Tuesday 12/9/08 at IAEE Expo! Expo! was very well received. We had good audience participation. The session could have easily gone another 15 - 30 minutes to capture even more ideas and lessons learned. Special thanks to my partners in crime - Aaran Coole with ASP, Inc. and Stephen Nold with MeetingTechOnline.
For those that attended, thank you for your participation and feedback! Here are the session handouts for tips on optimizing your event website. If you have any feedback or recommendations that you’d like to share with our community, please feel free to comment on this blog. SEO is a journey for all of us.
Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing
Filed under: Exhibitor & Attendee Analysis, RFID Mickey McManus @ 4:18 am on 09/12/08
Data-centric show management can be a powerful way to tailor your event, but it can be dangerous, too, without either a broader definition of what constitutes data, or a more holistic understanding of the event experience not necessarily captured in the data.
It’s becoming easier and easier to generate data with tools that capture, manage, and analyze it. RFID is the tip of the iceberg, and it’s likely that most mid- to large-size events will be increasingly “instrumented” in a variety of ways that give the organizers a view into the workings, effectiveness, and ROI of their event.
But we’ve seen several things go wrong with an over-reliance on numbers alone:
* Artificial picture: Quantitative information can tell you a lot about where people came from, how long they stayed, what they disliked, and so on. Slicing and dicing that information lends the illusion of understanding and control, such as the ability to market to ever narrower audience segments. What it misses out on are the stories behind those numbers, or the experiences that aren’t (or can’t be) captured. It’s more effective to augment quantitative data with qualitative data that provides insights into human motivations and the kind of tidal shifts that provide forewarning before they show up as measurable data.
* Data not action: Even though mountains of data are collected now, with far more to come, it’s not always useful or actionable. We’ve seen the reports presented to top event organizers in the industry, and they’re often composed of little more than chart junk. What’s not available is the kind of information that would make a difference to exhibitors or attendees.
* Stovepipes: Organizers may be willing to spring for a magic bullet — some new technology or service that will solve an immediate, well-defined problem. But a whole collection of such magic bullets build up over time and add up to a fragmented experience (for organizers, exhibitors, and even attendees) with stovepiped information, rather than fluid and seamless experiences.
* Partnering: All of the number crunching that organizers do doesn’t always mean they really understand the deeper issues. We’ve repeatedly heard from exhibitors that they feel treated like prey, ripe for the harvest by organizers who view them as cash registers rather than as valued business partners who are essential to the success of an event. Although this might have worked in the past, exhibitors are living in a world of “Google adwords” where doing incredibly targeted advertising is just a few clicks away. Conferences aren’t the only game in town.
* Human experience: People are getting pretty savvy about artifice. Precisely targeted marketing — even if it’s relevant — made possible by a data-centric environment can fall flat and even destroy relationships rather than build them if it’s not perceived as authentic. People are ready to cut the crap, cut to the chase, and form real connections that help them get ahead and make a difference. The unique thing about conferences is that they have people actually connecting with each other. Given that the bandwidth of a human when face to face is a million times that of the bandwidth you have with just voice or email alone and you’ve got a huge opportunity to make something special happen, don’t forget it.
There’s a lot of room for growth in this industry for players that take into account those factors I noted above. There are a few encouraging signs of life here and there by those with foresight. But business as usual will simply hasten the demise of events that don’t truly understand their stakeholders, instead of just measuring them.
Learn more about some of MAYA’s exhibitor experience findings here . . .
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Data + Analysis Tools = Relevant Event
Filed under: Exhibitor & Attendee Analysis Tony Lorenz @ 9:46 am on 15/12/08
Roger Lewis noted in a previous post that he is anxious to hear about the tools and metrics being used to analyze show site behavior. And Shawn Pierce posted about the need to integrate and access the most robust data possible. The situation becomes optimal when you have both the data and the tools to break it down. One of the best applications I have found and that we use often at ProActive is Meeting Metricssm, a product of GuideStar Research.
Among the many benefits of this Web-based system are real-time reporting, ease of data compilation and its specialized design, specifically created for the meetings and events industry. Working with our clients, we use pre-event survey results to craft meeting content and check the pulse of an industry prior to an event, and then measure learning and experience outcomes post-show to deliver a true ROI figure.
Whatever tool you choose, be sure it has the ability to track and compare historical data. If you have year-over-year information on attendee interests, buying preferences and interaction levels, it will be much easier to provide a compelling, relevant event that exceeds all participants’ expectations.
Web 2.0 Knowledge Resources
Filed under: Social Media Jason Fellman @ 10:13 am on 03/12/08
I’m often asked the question, “Where can I go to learn more about web 2.0 and social media”. Here’s my quick answer:
The SQUARED Root - yes, its a shameless plug…but there’s some really good stuff here
MeetingTechOnline - a good site dedicated to technology for the meetings industry
Mediapost - a resource for media, marketing, and advertising professionals
eMarketer - all things interactive marketing
Clickz - articles and blogs for digital markers
Mashable - this site is the epitome of a web 2.0
Conversation Agent - tons of great blogs and info
Chris Brogan’s Blog - social media guru’s blog
What other resources can you recommend?
IT Spend - Get Your Fair Share
Filed under: Software Integration, Technology Procurement Dave Lutz @ 5:37 am on 03/12/08
Earlier this year, I did a bit of research and penned an article…IT Spend - Get Your Fair Share The article was written specifically for the Meeting and Event industry. Most folks attending IAEE are responsible for large shows that contribute (big time) to the profitability of their organization.
What doesn’t make a lot of sense to me is that many organizations tend to invest disproportionately into technology solutions for these cash cow events vs. other business units. Is that happening in your organization? How are you making the business case to increase your IT budget and keep your events throwing off the profit that your organization has come to expect? Where are you planning to spend more money in 2009?
Got Booth Analytics?
Filed under: Exhibitor & Attendee Analysis, RFID, lead retrieval Roger Lewis @ 2:20 pm on 16/12/08
Most event managers come back from trade shows and conferences with what looks like lots of data. We’ve all returned to the office with hundreds of names, but we aren’t sure x, y and z. In other words, we’ve captured the lead, but we know little about the person’s buying preferences and likelihood to purchase. What product areas did they visit? How much time did they spend visiting?
When radio frequency identification (RFID) is used in an exhibit booth, you are able to obtain data that can enable you to analyze the behavior and preferences of your attendees. Combine that information with lead data captured and you are able to deliver quantifiable ROI.
Next week, I will be speaking with Tony Lorenz and Mickey McManus about the tools and metrics for analyzing showsite behavior. I’m eager to hear and learn from your thoughts about this subject.
Leveraging Your Data…what to expect
Filed under: Software Integration Shawn Pierce @ 4:12 am on 02/12/08
During ExpoExpo! 2007 I served on a great panel that discussed the building blocks necessary to integrate and utilize systems and data. I encourage you to take a look at last year’s presentation so that you are up to speed for 2008: eMERGE Executive Panel - Technology Procurement - Shawn Pierce, Stephen Nold, Dave Lutz and Stephen Graham ( Download Presentation ).
Also last year I posted several BLOG comments surrounding technology as it applies to our industry. Take a moment to breeze through last years posts: http://emerge.iaee.com/2007/SPierce/.
In this years presentation I plan to move beyond the basics and offer up how to actually start gathering and integrating data. The session will culminate with a demonstration of Hanley Wood’s newest web site portal system for our attendees and exhibitors. This new portal was ONLY possible because we took the time and effort over the years to integrate our data.
By leveraging all of our integrated systems our customers now have one place where they can: edit their profile, edit/add a registration, review/act upon their social networking connections, order items from Freeman Online, review their history in ANY Hanley Wood event, purchase their booth or sponsorships, get industry news, and much more. One single sign-on gives our customers access to our major vendor’s systems as well as our internal back office systems.
These portals launched the first of November and we are already seeing a tremendous response. Exhibitors love the one stop shopping and having to only remember one password.
Integrating data is what makes this all possible.
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