When presenters and sponsors choose to participate and spend thousands of dollars on your event, they expect data so they can measure results. And as a host, spending hundreds of thousands of dollars, you expect data to measure results as well. With virtual events, this data is readily available through an event platform like MeetMax. On-site, RFID is really the only way to gather attendance tracking data on a large scale.
Manual QR scanning is fine for rooms with 1 or 2 sessions, or for lead tracking at a booth. But it is intrusive and unreliable for large-scale tracking. RFID is the only technology able to reliably capture session attendance on a large scale - whether for sharing with presenters, determining CEU credits, or simply understanding what attendees value most.
What RFID tracking delivers is close to real-time information about who attended each session and how long they were there. When done well, it does so in a passive, unobtrusive manner that is almost invisible to attendees.
We’ve heard from many event professionals that they would love to implement this technology but struggle to make it cost-effective. And we completely understand this dilemma. Here are our top 3 tips to make RFID more affordable and ensure operations run smoothly.
1. Share the Costs
There are many creative ways to share the costs of RFID with speakers, exhibitors, and sponsors. Because this data is invaluable to them as well as you.
A speaker wants to know who is in their audience to build relationships that could lead to a sale. At investor conferences, presenters want to know who attends because these are potential investors in their firm.
You can fit RFID into your budget by offering to share the RFID insights and data as lead data with your presenters at a cost to them.
2. Badge Printing
Your badge design can make a big difference in your overall costs in supporting RFID.
TWST Events keeps this very simple. Card badges with embedded RFID tags are only fractionally more expensive than ordinary stock, and by printing the badge and encoding the tag simultaneously - we help you save a lot of money on badging.
- Badge stock is affordable
- Badge printing is fast, with short lines and no increase in stations
- No need for multiple sets of equipment for printing and scanning
- No manual steps, so no human error
The result is elegant but affordable badges - whatever color and design you want - but with the key Attendee data buried in the RFID tag.
3. Easy-to-Deploy Scanning Equipment
At TWST Events, we use floor mats as entry scanners - so discreet that attendees take no notice of them. No intimidating arch trusses. Exit scanners are a combination of mats and a few simple tripod antennas.
Ahead of time, we will go over the floor plan with you - to understand traffic patterns and develop a layout scheme for scanners. This allows us to set up and deploy the scanners rapidly onsite. This keeps your labor costs manageable.
RFID is a wonderful technology that allows on-site events to get back to the same level of attendee data that hosts enjoyed with virtual events. At TWST Events, we have been working on the service for many years - and have rigorously tested a variety of equipment, and ways of deploying. We have settled on one that is simple, discreet, easy to deploy - and most importantly, affordable. Contact TWST Events to find out more.
