Text Messaging Adds to Tradeshow Matchmaking
By Heidi Genoist -- Tradeshow Week, 1/17/2005
When Julian Bourne left the engineering industry in 2003 to found Proxpro, a Boston-based tradeshow technology firm, he probably didn't dream he'd be working with the world's largest exhibition organizer within a year's time. But that's what happened.
The SMS-based matchmaking service caught the attention of Reed Travel Exhibitions last year, because it's the first (and for now, only) product designed specifically to help tradeshow attendees network with each other through their mobile phones. Proxpro was christened at Reed's World Travel Market in London last November, and later that month it was used at Clarion's Mortgage Business Expo, also in London.
Proxpro's U.S. debut was equally auspicious, with IDG World Expo adopting the cell-phone matchmaker at its San Francisco Macworld last week. Organizers of the event said they were impressed by the new technology's potential.
Although Bourne, claiming he was nervous about competitors getting their hands on proprietary information, would not give specific numbers of people who have used Proxpro so far, he estimated an average adoption rate of about 10 percent of attendees per show. He also pointed out that all the show organizers he's pitched the idea to have signed on, and his re-sign rate so far is 100 percent.
The high interest should come as no surprise, say organizers, who every day deal with increasing numbers of show participants demanding ways to help them use their time more efficiently.
"At World Travel Market, we have about 45,000 people coming through the hall in four days, and at Reed Travel Exhibitions, we're very keen on matchmaking, appropriately using modern technology," said Alix Blumson, the company's customer relationship management director.
Proxpro helps tradeshow attendees find the precise type of person they're looking for: Before a show, users — attendees and exhibitors alike — go to the Proxpro Web site (linked to the show's site), enter their profile and the profile of the type of buyer or seller they hope to meet.
From that point on, at any time — before, during or after the show — they can activate the service on their phone using a code. Like instant messaging services on personal computers, Proxpro lets users know who else is "online"; in other words, that they're free and where they are.
The key is, it only notifies users of those types of attendees they've requested. Then, interested parties can text message each other to set a meeting. Their identities are protected until they wish to reveal themselves.
Bourne got the idea for Proxpro during his term as global president of British industrial product manufacturer Morgan Crucible, a job that required him to spend two-thirds of his time traveling and visiting exhibitions. "I felt so frustrated that all the people immediately around me could be very useful, but there was no way of reaching out and connecting with them," he said.
So, he did some market research. According to his findings, 65 percent of business travelers in general — and 80 percent of exhibition attendees — felt the same way he did.
Armed with that information, and using his own capital, he created Proxpro to benefit both show organizers and visitors.
The cost structure is simple. Users pay their telecom carrier, which forwards the charge to Bourne, who then splits the profit with the show owner. At Macworld, for instance, communications cost 99 cents each. Registration and searching are free.
More importantly, Bourne stressed, the service adds value to the exhibition for participants and extends their experience beyond the tradeshow floor and dates. "It rewards in-person attendance at tradeshows," making it a more positive experience for everyone, he said.
He hopes to build closer relationships with show organizers as the product catches on, so they can put Proxpro's button on their Web sites, promote it in their marketing materials and share data with his company, making the product work more efficiently.
"What I've found staggering is how readily the tradeshow industry is adopting this," said Bourne.
Blumson noted, "Assuming you've registered and marked your profile effectively, for around 3 pounds, you're given a very targeted contact who's in your vicinity. That's a good deal."
Direct feedback from users at World Travel Market is still being analyzed, she said, but project managers from Reed Travel Exhibitions found Proxpro exciting. "We have a show in Barcelona it would be brilliant for," she said.
Clarion representatives were equally pleased. "This system is extremely simple and will put intermediaries directly in touch with people they want to meet," said Andy White, show director of Mortgage Business Expo. "It is a completely non-invasive way of meeting people, in that you never need give away your telephone number or surname."
