Registration: Meeting the Challenge

Ten years ago, tradeshow registration systems were so similar that tradeshow managers had an easy job of picking one; the only variables were customer service and cost. Today, more and more, managers can look to registration companies as technological partners, providing solutions for challenges that go way beyond simply recording who attended the show and making badges for them.

Recently, Tradeshow Week spoke with a handful of registration providers asking them about very specific challenges:

• Dan ZumTobel, vice president of sales and marketing, Registration Control Systems
• Mike Sorgani, sales manager, ITN Intl.
• David Lawton, vice president of sales and marketing, Convention Data Services
• Bob Lucke, executive vice president of product management, Experient

Challenge: A tradeshow manager wants to closely control, and even sometimes limit, entry to the showfloor.

Solution: Demanding two forms of identification, including picture identification, before issuing a badge or badge holder, charging high fees for reprinting badges and hiring sufficient security personnel are smart steps. Badges can even be equipped with attendee photos.

“The Intl. Council of Shopping Centers' (ICSC Spring Convention, Leasing Mall & Trade Expo) embarked on a year-long campaign to secure digital images of their thousands of members so that badges can be printed with photos,” ZumTobel said. “For on-site registrations, just one click took a photo as part of the registration system.”

As he noted, this is one challenge that does not necessarily have an inexpensive solution.

“Because of the cost, photo badges haven't caught on universally,” ZumTobel said, “but when pictures are on badges, badge security is easy.”

Challenge: A tradeshow manager doesn't really know what he or she can use a registration system for.

Solution: Talking with many registration companies about their capabilities will give tradeshow managers an idea of available offerings. “Ask your company for what you want,” ZumTobel said. “Things initiated by a client get done much faster than internal projects.”

“Keeping an eye on the horizon is part of any job,” Lucke said. “RFID (radio-frequency identification) and green initiatives will continue to be important. And many of us can also see where the cell phone will be used more frequently as part of the tradeshow experience. I recently checked in for an airline flight and used my cell phone to display a bar code, which let me on the flight. Text messaging has already been used for instant surveys at some conferences, so pretty soon at tradeshows, instead of being told to turn off cell phones, we'll be required to turn them on.”

Challenge: RFID seems like a good idea, but it is so expensive.

Solution: Industry experts agree views differ on the current usefulness of RFID tags as part of tradeshow badges. Most companies acknowledged long-range RFID tags aren't yet cost-effective for tradeshows but, Sorgani said, his company is clearly on board with regard to the near-field versions. Major technology shows such as CTIA Wireless and Mobile World Congress are successfully using near-field RFID technology on badges.

“I'm an exhibitor, too, so I see the problems on the exhibitor side with regard to multiple databases and multiple passwords just to navigate one tradeshow,” Lawton said. “I can see the day when everything an exhibitor needs, from airline and hotel reservations to furniture and AV rental, is in one central database. Some of that consolidation is being done now, but the future will bring full integration.”

Challenge: Exhibitors repeatedly ask tradeshow managers how soon they will have a list of leads from their lead-retrieval system.

Solution: Companies can provide lead retrieval systems now that upload lead information in real time to files on the Internet. Lawton explained that, not only can exhibitors immediately access lead information, but also “we can send an e-mail to attendees a day after a show closes referring them to a personal Web page listing all the exhibitors they visited.”

Show management, having access to the same lead information, also can see when specific attendees visited exhibitors. That information is useful for a number of different reasons, including the ability to adjust future showfloor designs.

Challenge: Attendees complain that the show is just too large to see it all.

Solution: “Trying to sort through a catalogue an inch-and-a-half thick while on a crowded showfloor is time wasted and may prevent an attendee from coming to a future show,” Lucke said. “We are seeing a big push by tradeshow managers wanting to personalize shows for individual registrants.”

Enhanced technology allows show managers to get quite a bit of information from attendees before they ever leave home.

“Once an attendee indicates areas of interest or knows which specific exhibitors he or she wants to see, a personal schedule including conferences, special events and visits on a showfloor can be developed,” Lucke added.

Challenge: Long lines at on-site registration areas.

Solution: Attendees are learning to avoid long lines by pre-registering and then picking up a badge or badge holder once they arrive at the show. Self-service stations can streamline the badge pick-up process with an attendee simply entering a name from a keyboard or by swiping a bar code printed on a confirmation letter him or herself.

For individuals who have not pre-registered, on-site registration can still be a time-consuming process, Sorgani said. It also can add an expense for the show manager since staff and equipment are required. Again, having an attendee enter information increases accuracy, though it does not necessarily save time or money.

With regard to equipment, Sorgani said, “most technology providers will give price breaks if new technology is provided at an event.”

Lawton added, “The increasing popularity of online registration and on-site self-service will reduce, but not eliminate, the need for temporary personnel. Although we see some shows requiring exhibitors to register online, attendees typically have several means of registering, one of which will include typists on-site.”

Challenge: Like almost everybody in business, tradeshow managers must respond to requests from their customers for green solutions.

Solution: Pre-registration is not new, but online registration is now the norm, providing gobs of information for show and association marketing while eliminating the back and forth of paper systems and mailers.

ZumTobel said plastic badge holders may be on their way out as well. His company's customers have universally accepted a new badge, printed in color on recycled paper, secured by a reusable clip, all the while costing 30 percent less than traditional badges because a badge holder is not required. Affordable color printing also means attendee and show logos can be printed on badges.