ITN Shortlisted for Prestigious Award

ITN has been shortlisted for the 2014 Event Technology Awards.

Our use of BTAGs on the IBC Media Wall has been included in the award category "Best Use of Technology at an Exhibition/Trade Show."

Winners in all categories will be announced in London tomorrow.

Proximity Technology Trending, Says FreemanXP

Team members of FreemanXP scouted the floor of EventTech 2014 in Las Vegas this week (where ITN was an exhibitor) and nominated the top tech trends in experiential marketing based on the products they saw on display.

Heading the team's nominations was proximity technology.

"Proximity technology is growing in popularity as the barrier to entry is getting lower and lower–expect wearables, RFID, NFC, and more to play a big a role in event environments moving forward," the team reported.

ITN’s BTAGs Deliver Content at NAVC Conference

When it comes to wowing attendees, exhibitors and sponsors, content is king.

That’s why the organizers of the NAVC Conference 2014 took advantage of ITN’s new BTAG to deliver attendees content by touch inside the NAVC Conference New Product Gallery.

Thirteen companies participated in the juried new-product showcase, always a popular feature of NAVC’s annual event. The organizers provided each participating company an ITN BTAG, programmed to deliver collateral materials relating to the product on display.

NAVC Conference 2014 attendees—like attendees at every B-to-B event—were hungry for new product information, and BTAG made it amazingly easy for them to acquire it.

Simply stated, a BTAG is an NFC reader or “hotspot.” When an attendee touches a BTAG with his or her badge, the device records the touch. When uploaded to ITN’s cloud, that touch is processed as a request for digital content. The content is sent to the attendee as a link via email.

In addition to functioning as an NFC reader (able to record badge-touches), the BTAG functions as an NFC tag (able to pass information to other readers). That means attendees can also use their NFC phones to interact with BTAGs.

BTAGs are compact, self-contained, battery-powered units. Each unit is Bluetooth enabled, allowing it to connect to a mobile phone and upload badge-touches to ITN’s cloud.

At your event, you can display BTAGs anywhere by affixing them to posters, signs, walls, stands, kiosks, tables or countertops.

You can assign to a BTAG any Web content (URL) you want: Websites, YouTube pages, Facebook pages, e-literature, presentations, photos, etc. Attendees who touch the BTAG with their badges receive an end-of-day email with a link to that content. Attendees who touch the BTAG with their NFC smartphones link directly to the URL.  You manage the content assigned to the BTAG through the BCARD Portal.

And because all the BTAG touches are uploaded to ITN’s cloud, they are available for tracking and analysis at any time.

ITN’s new BTAG gives organizers an innovative tool for adding value to their events. The solution is ideal for providing content that supports keynote addresses, educational sessions, sponsors’ exhibits, and special displays like the NAVC New Product Gallery. BTAGs can also be used effectively for gamifying any event.

Event Producers Name Top 10 Event Tech Trends

A new research report from The X Letter, The Next Tech Trends for Live Events & Experiences, explores the 10 technologies most likely to have significant impact on live events, according to a survey of event producers.

Seven of the 10 technologies included on the list are specialties of ITN:

• Cloud-based event planning tools captured the Number 2 spot
• The Internet of Things captured the Number 5 spot
• Wearable technology captured the Number 6 spot
• RFID/NFC captured the Number 7 spot
• Beacons captured the Number 8 spot
• Big data captured the Number 9 spot
• Real-time attendee analytics captured the Number 10 spot  

You can download the complete report by visiting The X Letter.

NFC Hotspots Simplify Content Delivery at Cartes America 2014

Exhibitors were the beneficiaries of a big leap in content delivery technology at Cartes America 2014 this week in Las Vegas, courtesy of ITN.

ITN, the official lead retrieval provider for Cartes 2014, provided every exhibitor who ordered a lead retrieval solution a complimentary BTAG, an innovative wireless hotspot that capitalizes on near-field communication (NFC) to simplify the delivery of content to attendees.

Attendees take advantage of the self-serve hotspots by touching them with their show badges. The touch logs the attendee’s request for whatever content the exhibitor has assigned to the BTAG.

Links to that content are provided to the attendee at the end of each day of the event through an email.  A cumulative email is also sent at the close of the event with all the links assigned to all the BTAGs the attendee touched throughout the entire event.

Email opens and click-throughs are tracked by ITN’s back-end system and reported to exhibitors.

Exhibitors at Cartes America 2014 were impressed by the BTAG’s elegance. ITN has made it easy for exhibitors to upload product information and assign it to a BTAG. And they appreciated the fact that attendees don’t need a special device to collect that content—all they need is their event badge. BTAGs make it easy for attendees to bring home sharable product info, and easy for exhibitors to identify by attendee who’s interested in their products.

As well as functioning as an NFC reader—able to read badge-touches—each BTAG is also an active NFC tag able to pass information to other readers.  As a result, attendees can also touch any BTAG with an NFC phone or tablet to acquire content. In this case, the attendee’s device simply opens the Web link assigned by the exhibitor to the BTAG.

BTAGs are self-contained, battery-powered units that can be affixed with Velcro to any surface, including posters, signs, walls, tables, counters, kiosks and other structures.  A BTAG can also be worn by booth staff, or deployed on pods supplied by ITN.

NFC Gets Thumbs Up

EventTechBrief reports that International CES is pleased with its decision to use NFC badges at its 2014 show.

Laurie Lutz, Vice President of CES Operations, told the newsletter she was pleased with the advantages the technology offers.

“NFC is the best technology to use, bar none. It’s easy to manage the data. It allows unlimited options on what you can do on site, whether it’s access control, ticketing, lead management or games. It’s fast, versatile, very simple in any environment and makes updates instantly,” Lutz said.

Lutz said it was ITN's mastery of NFC that attracted her organization to the company in the first place. 

“We wanted the International CES to be on the leading edge and make sure that we were taking advantage of the best and most innovative technology out there,” Lutz said.

Innovations in the credentialing process came into play as well.

ITN's ability to distribute onsite badge production citywide allowed International CES for the first time to forego mailing registrants their badges before the show.

“We had over 30% of people pick up their badges at remote locations we set up like the airport or 15+ official hotels before they even arrived at the show," Lutz said.

"It was amazing seeing so many people step right off the shuttle buses or taxis with their badges and be able to walk right into the show."

Read the full story.

Intel Free Press Likes ITN's NFC "Smart Badges"

Intel Corporation's Free Press has nothing but glowing praise for ITN's NFC-enabled "smart badges."

"The so-called Internet of Things is expected by industry watchers to be among the major themes at International CES in Las Vegas," Free Press writes. "More everyday objects are becoming 'smart' and that extends to the trade show badges attendees wear at the annual consumer electronics industry gathering."

That "smartness" is thanks in large part to the embedded NFC chips provided by NXP Semiconductor.

"The intent of the smart badges with wireless chips is to ease information exchanges in situations such as checking in at booths and events as well as storing information like lunch tickets for media attending the show," Free Press says.

Read the full story here.

BTAG: Your Content at a Touch

ITN's latest innovation, BTAG, is a near-field communication (NFC) hotspot that delivers content whenever an attendee touches it with his or her event badge or NFC smartphone.

BTAGs allow attendees to gather content during your event in the easiest way imaginable—by turning their NFC badges into “digital tote bags.”

BTAGs give you an innovative new tool for communicating throughout your event:

• BTAGs are ideal for event producers who provide content for education, marketing or customer experience enhancement. They're also the perfect solution for exhibitors who want to enhance an in-booth demonstration or presentation by providing attendees collateral.
• BTAG is a BCARD Reader (able to capture badge-touches) and an NFC tag (able to pass information to other readers). That means attendees can also use their NFC phones to interact with BTAGs.
• You can assign to a BTAG any Web content (URL) you choose: microsites, e-literature, video, audio, slides, etc. Attendees who touch the BTAG with their badges receive an email with a link to your content. Attendees who touch the BTAG with their NFC smartphones link directly to the URL.
• You manage the content assigned to the BTAG through the BCARD Portal. You can change the content at any time.
• On site, you can deploy BTAGs anywhere by affixing them to posters, signs or any surface; or by asking your representatives to carry them.
• Every BTAG is a self-contained unit, powered by a battery that lasts up to seven days. Each unit is Bluetooth enabled, allowing it to connect to a mobile phone and upload badge-touches in real time to the BCARD Portal, so you get a live picture of attendees’ interest in your content.

ITN Introduces BTAG

Drive Engagement with Gamification

Games have always scored high as a traffic- and engagement-building tactic. The reasons why are well understood. Games satisfy attendees’ innate needs to compete and win recognition. They also offer attendees the opportunity to bring home highly coveted “swag.”

But today, with the appearance of “gamification” on everyone’s hot-topic list, plus attendees’ near-universal fascination with new mobile technologies, games are undergoing a renaissance at events.

In their own way, ITN's near-field communication (NFC) event badges are contributing to the renewed enthusiasm. Event producers who use ITN have a distinct opportunity to "wow" their attendees with a game, because they can treat every attendee's badge as a "virtual swag bag."

What makes this possible is the ability to encode, as well as read, an NFC chip. That feature of the chip makes the event badge a key ingredient of a buzz-worthy and highly memorable game.

To succeed, you need to design a game aligned with your event's goals and that attendees will find alluring. Here are some design alternatives:

Skills competition. Suppose you want to increase traffic at some specific location.  You could design a game that challenges attendees’ physical or mental skills—anything from hitting a target to taking a quiz. An attendee could earn the right to play the game by completing an action (answering a simple question, for example), for which she earns a digital token that you write onto the attendee’s badge. The attendee then redeems the token to play, and earns more tokens (also written onto the badge) based on the number of points scored in the game. Afterwards, the attendee redeems all the digital tokens won for a matching-level prize by visiting your winner’s station.

Treasure hunt. Suppose you want to offer exhibitors a traffic-building sponsorship opportunity. You could design an old-fashioned treasure hunt. Attendees could earn points toward prizes by visiting a series of exhibits, where each participating sponsor rewards them with tokens written onto their badges. After the series of visits, the attendees would circle back to the lead sponsor's exhibit, where they would enter a prize drawing by redeeming their digital tokens.
 
Game show. Suppose you want attendees to actively listen, while you communicate a lot of information. You could train a presenter to act as MC, and design a game show that challenges players’ knowledge. Attendees would play by using tablets that—before activating the game—capture their contact information with a touch of the show badge and prompt them to answer a quiz. Based on their game-show scores, players would be awarded variously valued digital tokens (written onto their badges), which they could redeem for the corresponding prizes.

Mission. Suppose you want to collect market research from attendees. You could send them on a “mission.” Under this scenario, attendees would earn digital tokens on their badges by visiting a series of kiosks, where they complete your research surveys, presented on tablets. Players who take part in the mission (even the ones who don’t complete it) would receive real-time recognition on a leaderboard and through social-media posts, as well as collecting digital tokens they can redeem for rewards.

Chance. Suppose you want to draw a crowd and maximize word-of-mouth throughout the event. You could design a game of chance. Attendees who play would win digital tokens worth various amounts that they could redeem for refreshments at participating concessions throughout the venue.

Want to boost attendee engagement? Consider integrating a game into your next event.