Exhibition News September 2019 | Page 47

Tech The secret sauce of interactivity James Morgan, founder of Event Tech Lab, takes a look at some effective examples of interactive technology on the show floor A dding value to the visitor experience through attractive booths and the use of technology to provide an efficient information transaction between exhibitor and attendee has a direct impact on the success of any show. If visitors feel that the show experience was of real value, they amplify their positive opinion through word of mouth and social media. This creates brand loyalty and positions the show in a positive light for the next edition. This month I’m going to explore how organisers and exhibitors can provide pull factors that creates attractors. By using technology to create attractors and providing a frictionless transaction in retrieving product information without being ‘hard sold’ to, is a way to add value to the visitor experience. And, the secret sauce is interactivity. That’s certainly the case for the GES Smart Booth. The installation of well- known Poken information collection stations on either an exhibition booth or a Poken wall branded with exhibitor logos at a convenient place on the show floor, allows seamless information collection on exhibitor’s products. The cute little Poken hands given out to visitors are touched on NFC points and immediately information is transferred to the Poken. When back at the office, the visitor pulls out the USB device hidden in the Poken and downloads the information to a PC. This value-add to the exhibitor proposition, can create another revenue stream for the show organiser. Familiarity with how to interact is all important. There is definitely the advantage in deploying the Giant iTab. I have seen these screens around the world at various shows. iTab interactive screens look like giant smart phones, and everyone knows how to use a smart phone. The iTab is usually a successful attractor that can be used anywhere on the show floor. Organisers or exhibitors can add event apps, wayfinding apps, native apps from the Google Play Store on iTunes to the screen for visitors to engage with. Again, show organisers can create new revenue stream by third party hiring to exhibitors or use the screens in public areas to add value to the visitor experience. The last two examples of interactivity are bespoke applications. The first is from the NASSCOM Technology and Leadership Form in Mumbai. JWW Marketing and Event Solutions created an interactive information portal. An interactive booth was set up to allow ease of interaction. The purpose of the portal was to educate visitors on educational products. The booth had a main interactive touchscreen displaying tiles on particular types of information available through the portal. This was further connected to ten individual circular touch tabs surrounding the screen and representing the ten core skills that the organisation was promoting. The ten circular interactive tabs functioned by a visitor placing their palm on top of a tab. Immediately detailed information about the particular skill would display on the main interactive touch screen. The booth had queues of visitors wanting to interact with the technology. Finally – a Roulette Wheel – something we all know how to approach and use. Lithuania-based Altum Retail have created a programme that runs off a PC connected to an interactive screen. Visitors spin the wheel via touchscreen. The wheel is divided up into segments with some offering swag and others saying, ‘Spin Again’ or ‘No Prize’. For winners to retrieve the swag, they had top enter their details on the screen, making it easy for the exhibitor to collect leads in a fun interactive way. The most important aspects of the interactive activities discussed here, are that both information and lead retrieval can be a fun and frictionless activity. The value-add for visitors, exhibitors and organisers relies on deploying interactive technologies. September — 47