Once upon a time “engagement” meant scanning attendee badges and drawing them into a booth with a witty presentation and free gifts. Today, technology offers engagement that lasts before, during and after the show. Once, leads were collected, literature was mailed, and from there the trail often went cold. Now, electronically delivered literature can be tracked. Attendees collect what they want. Exhibitors know when attendees read the information and can follow up accordingly. Show organizers know where people went on the show floor and what they were most interested in. Sessions can be evaluated in real time.

On the networking side, paper name-tags and business cards have been replaced with electronic badges, proprietary devices and mobile apps that allow attendees to connect with the right people — both exhibitors and other attendees — and collect their contact information and download it to their own contact-management systems. It’s no longer just about lead retrieval — it’s about making connections that matter.

It all adds up to a richer on-site experience for attendees, better value for exhibitors, more measurement for show organizers — and the potential for more business to be attributed to the event. And that makes the trade show experience an even more powerful tool for all involved.

So it’s all good news, right? Well, yes. The challenge is sifting through the offerings — most of which didn’t even exist a few years ago — to find the technologies that are best suited to your events. That’s where we
come in. Here’s a look at some of the newest and most innovative technologies in the engagement space and what they can offer you and your customers.

PRMconnect-Leadature

Leadature is a kiosk-based lead-retrieval system that allows attendees to request only the literature they want to receive from a given exhibitor. The kiosks can be customized with electronic trivia games or
sweepstakes to draw in attendees on-site. After users play the game or answer the questions, they are led to the interface where they can pick and choose from the company’s offerings, which can include interactive files and video as well as traditional literature. Materials are sent from PRM’s servers directly to the attendee’s inbox. Once attendees open files, the interface allows them to send immediate inquiries to the company right in the file. It also notifies the company that information is being read and by whom, allowing sales teams to follow up on leads at just the right time.A viral marketing feature allows the user to forward literature to a colleague, and that too can be measured. Conference managers can also use the system to deliver and track literature about conference sessions.

www.prmconnect.com

Living Tradeshow

Living Tradeshow could be called the iTunes of lead generation. That’s because the interface through which attendees view exhibitor literature resembles the iTunes experience. Here’s how it works: Prior to the show, exhibitors upload all of the documents they would normally have shipped to the show floor into the Living Tradeshow interface using their own personal login. During the show, they rent or are given a netbook by show management. At registration, attendees are given a simple and inexpensive device similar to a TV remote called a Crick-IT.

During the show, attendees point and click the Crick-IT device at a sensor in each booth to request information. Everything they request is collected on their personal page on the Living Tradeshow Web site in an interface with that iTunes look and feel. Attendees can then access all the information they requested in one place for a full year after the show by inputting their Crick-IT device number into the online interface.

The system gives exhibitors on the show floor or in the home office access to leads in real time using the netbook, the Internet or a smartphone. And booth and sales staff can also add notes to attendees’ profiles as they speak to them in the booth.

When attendees log into their accounts, exhibitors can track who is accessing their information in real time. All exhibitor and attendee info is available online until the next show.

www.livingtradeshow.com

BusyEvent

BusyEvent offers lead retrieval, networking capabilities and document management in one product that’s tied to another of those remote-type devices distributed to attendees on-site called a Belinker.

First, a PURL (personal URL) page is set up for attendees when they register, which they can enhance and update. During the show they use their Belinker to collect information on products, exhibitors, speakers, even other attendees. For instance, to add another attendee’s contact information to a PURL page, type in their badge number. To add a product, enter its product code into the Belinker. All the information is electronically downloaded in real time.

Exhibitors also set up a virtual booth using BusyEvent that includes all the literature they want to share. On the show floor, they can use the Belinker to download leads by entering badge numbers, which are all automatically downloaded to the Exhibitor’s PURL page. Contacts can be rated so leads can be qualified, and exhibitors can see who is accessing their pages online. Show managers can also use BusyEvent to access extensive show data.

The Belinker can be used for audience response and surveys during conference sessions as well. BusyEvent can also work on smartphones.

www.busyevent.com

Three Stage Media

Three Stage Media offers a mobile application, document-management system and social-networking product, which can be purchased individually or together. Virtual Totebag allows attendees to collect
literature from the show by texting a code or using a mobile app to request the information they want. Everything is accessed in one place online by visiting virtualtotebag.com. Exhibitors can view who has requested their documents, as well as who has downloaded them.

The Three Stage Media suite of products does not require any devices to be handed out on site. Instead it utilizes attendees’ cell phones with the most extensive capabilities available through
smartphones.

www.threestage.com

Sherpa Solutions

Sherpa offers a complete mobile app that works in conjunction with a social-networking and lead-generation platform. It also offers electronic networking capabilities through an electronic badge. The capabilities are offered through three products.

First, ActivePortal is a Web-based networking tool that allows attendees and exhibitors to store and access information pre- and post-show by setting up personal profiles. It allows users to find each other, book
appointments and build agendas. It also offers comprehensive CRM capabilities for exhibitors.

ActiveTouch is a complete mobile application that allows the entire ActivePortal product to be available on the smart-phone. It also includes additional services such as a people finder, document management
and dynamic wayfinding. The “Here and Now” feature allows users to enter their location into the app and automatically see not only all the booths that are around them but information about the booths including special deals or promotions being offered by each exhibitor.

ActivePassport adds additional functionality and an electronic badge to the ActiveTouch and ActivePortal products. The badge provides positioning using active RFID. It works with sensors installed every 100 feet and one sensor per meeting room. Proximity sensing allows badges to sense other badges, and a button on the back of the badge allows people to exchange contact information electronically, which is automatically downloaded to the ActiveTouch and/or ActivePortal product. Proximity sensing works attendee to attendee and attendee to exhibitor, which allows exhibitors to use it for lead capture. The badges can also be used for audience response and eventwide bookmarking.

www.sherpa-solutions.com

Market Art/You Are Here

The You Are Here product from Market Art is an interactive floorplan and show directory system that runs on 42-inch touchscreen kiosks throughout the show floor or through a mobile application. When attendees walk up to the screen they are shown where they are on the floor. They can enter booth numbers, meeting rooms or other locations on the floor and the system will dynamically direct them to their destination.

The system also functions as a directory. Users can search for companies by product category or by company name. Exhibitors can include interactive marketing onto the system including videos. Users can also e-mail themselves information from the exhibitors.

The product also includes information on educational sessions and special events. Screens can be used to promote special events and could be used in case of emergency to disseminate information.

The mobile app includes all the same functionality plus social networking features.

www.marketart.com

Map Your Show

Map Your Show is another interactive floor-plan that works on kiosks or as a mobile app through the Show Mobile product. The floorplan can also be accessed online, and can be updated in real time. Contact information, and a built-in e-mail form give attendees and exhibitors the ability to start forming their relationships before the show.

Exhibitors can update product and service information any time, so their listing can match their marketing cycle. And they have access to a CRM system that can log and track calls to exhibitors.

Attendees can opt in to receive information from companies of interest. An agenda planner gives them exhibitor and session information in a calendar they can print and take to the show. Or they can view it at the show using Product Locator kiosks or through MyShow Mobile on the smartphone.

www.mapyourshow.com

SNIPP and XNIP

SNIPP and XNIP both function as trackable document-management centers.

First, exhibitors set up an account and upload materials to it. Once they do so they receive a code, which they promote during the show. Attendees who want access to printed materials can text the exhibitor’s code to an overall show code.

After the show, all of the literature the attendee requested will be available to them in PDF form, either sent to them in an e-mail or accessible through a Web site for download. Exhibitors can use SNIPP and XNIP to track who has accessed their information. Interactive documents and videos can also be downloaded. An additional benefit is that the exhibitor’s code can be promoted not only in the booth, but also on print ads, Web sites or enhanced listings in a show directory or mobile app.

www.xnip.com
www.snipp.com

MingleStick

MingleStick is a keychain device distributed to attendees and exhibitors on-site that allows people to exchange identity information by pointing the devices at one another and clicking. At the end of the day (or show), users plug the MingleStick into a USB drive on a computer (a Web connection is required to access the information), and all of the contacts made during the show are uploaded to the user’s personal Web page. Users sign into their page and see full profiles of every contact they made.

Exhibitors can also create their own customizable page where they upload documents and videos. They can rent a MingleStation for their booth. Attendees use their MingleStick to connect with the station and download the exhibitor’s information to their personal page.

No personal information is actually stored on the device. Instead it contains an ID number associated with each account, so if the device is lost, no personal information is lost with it.

www.minglestick.com

Spotme

Spotme uses RFID and a device distributed to attendees on site to help show participants connect with each other and share information. It also allows show organizers and exhibitors to create interactive games like scavenger hunts, and it includes audience-response and attendee-tracking information.

Before the show, exhibitor and attendee information, including company literature and other documents, is uploaded to the Spotme system so it can be formatted for the Spotme device. Changes can be made any time before the show and even at the show by Spotme technical support staff.

Once the device is distributed at registration, where each user’s picture is taken and the device is customized for their use, Spotme can be used to search for people, products or vendors using its free-form
search functionality. Simply type in what or whom you’re looking for and Spotme will notify you when they are within 30 feet. Or users can send a text message using the device to set up a meeting or use the RFID technology to exchange electronic contact information via the Business Card Exchange setting. All of the business cards are sent to each attendee within a post-event e-mail along with all other information they have collected on exhibitors or conference sessions. This information is all trackable by show organizers and exhibitors.

Organizers can also use Spotme’s RFID technology to create contests, drawings or games where, for instance, attendees are rewarded for visiting every exhibitors’ booth. This can be done by placing RFID tags at each vendor location. Attendees scan in at each booth, affording exhibitors the opportunity to send them a message or even a video about the company. These stats can be compiled at the end of the show in a report to each exhibitor on how many attendees visited their booth.

www.spotme.com