January 2002

Technophobes might prefer to retrieve messages from handwritten slips posted on a corkboard. But at SUPERCOMM 2001, held June 3–7, 2001, in Atlanta, technophiles used Internet kiosks placed throughout the Georgia World Congress Center to locate exhibitors, juggle schedules and exchange e-mail.

“A conference messaging system allows attendees to communicate amongst themselves,” says Carey Callahan, President of Centerville, MD-based TEC Communications, which developed SUPERCOMM’s system. “If you drop an Internet connection into the kiosk, that’s giving it global communications capability.” 

In this latest incarnation, an on-site communications system can use the show Web site as a portal to services — such as voice and e-mail messaging; exhibitor, product and session locators; appointment schedulers; surveys; job boards; matchmaking and destination guides.

While a custom-designed interface can deliver similar services, using the show’s Web site is not only more economical, it’s more robust. “Show managers have gone to great expense to produce an online trade show, but if they don’t bring it to the show site, they’ve only done half the job,” says Anne Abbott, President of Tradeshow Multimedia Inc. (TMI) in Mayfield Village, OH, a provider of interactive information systems for the exhibition industry. 

The challenge is setting up a system that maximizes value to attendees yet minimizes time away from the show floor. Options include kiosks that run on alocal-area network (LAN), workstations grouped in Internet cafes and infrared beaming stations to transmit data to personal digital assistants (PDAs). 

Kiosks on a LAN connect to a local server that hosts the show databases and applications. The interface mimics the Web but prohibits access to the Internet — except for e-mail, which runs through a proxy. The Travel Industry Association of America used the CISTEMS on-site messaging and communications system to help travel professionals coordinate meetings with suppliers at its annual meeting, held Aug. 25–29, 2001, in Vail, CO. “They used it to get things done on site,” says Richard Milliand, President of CISTEMS in Alexandria, VA. The kiosks restricted external e-mail functions to receiving and replying, and limited time on a terminal to 1,000 characters or four minutes.

An Internet cafe provides unfettered access as an enticement to stick around the convention center and attend more events. Canon Communications LLC in Los Angeles placed Web cafes in exhibit halls for each of three co-located shows — MD&M East / Atlantic Design & Manufacturing / Plastec East 2001, held June 5-7, 2001, in New York City. Attendees could use the show Web sites to schedule appointments and, with TMI’s ExpoToGo, download contact information to PDAs. 

Internet beaming stations for PDAs are the latest trend. Although any workstation can be set up to download show data to PDAs through a hot synch cradle, these stations transfer data with the tap of a button, eliminating computers altogether. A wireless network pushes information to PDAs without cradles or beams. At the World Economic Forum, held Jan. 25–30, 2001, in Davos, Switzerland, each of the 2,200 delegates received a Compaq iPaq Pocket PC customized to provide wireless e-mail messaging, meeting and delegate information, and event schedules — updated every two hours. 

“When you go wireless, and everyone has access to the equipment, then it’s a valuable communications tool,” says Jeff Rasco, CMP, Senior Vice President, Meeting, Event and Trade Show Strategies for JRDaggett & Associates in Austin, TX. A frequent speaker on meeting technology, Rasco recommends an interface that supports the most popular PDA operating systems (Palm OS and Microsoft Windows for Pocket PC) for attendees who bring their own devices. 

The evolution of on-site communications is leading to wireless networks where kiosks and cafes are replaced by PDAs. Then, attendees will have the portal to planning tools in the palms of their hands. And that could make their show experience even more productive.

Cathy Chatfield-Taylor covers technology solutions for business and industry. 
E-mail: cathy@cc-tunlimited.com.

• Budget wisely. Expect to pay $1,000–$2,250 per Internet-connected terminal. Allow one terminal per 1,000 attendees, or two per 1,000 for social groups. Add up to $25,000 for infrared beaming stations.
• Cluster kiosks. Locate kiosks in convention center lobbies, registration areas and other high-traffic spots. Drive traffic through the exhibit hall with cafes in low-traffic areas. 
• Set up components. Provide stations with monitor, keyboard, speakers and shared printer on the desktop. Hide computers in locked cabinets with rear access as a theft deterrent. 
• Engage passersby. Idle terminals that display slick graphics and appealing animations draw users in to explore the offerings. Add pizzazz with a colorful monitor frame, and underwrite the cost with a sponsor logo.
• Sell sponsorships. Design screen savers, trivia contests, crossword puzzles and other games to get sponsored messages across in an interactive way. 
• Solicit donations. Exhibitors can pay for the privilege of pushing their products by donating PDAs. With everyone using the same operating system, you’ll save the expense of accommodating multiple formats.
• Limit access. Lock down the browser home page, eliminate external links or run the Web site on a LAN to prevent users from surfing the Internet instead of using the show site.
• Log usage. Ask users to log in with their registration numbers, or by swiping badges, to record how much traffic each terminal gets, then use that data to sell future sponsorships.