Successful Meetings - December 2008 - (Page 33)

Trade Show Report The latest technology breathes new life into today’s expos By Andrea Doyle andrea.doyle@nielsen.com SHOWING OFF “Connecting Radiology” was not only the theme of last year’s Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) conference, but was a rallying call to its convention services staff. For the largest annual medical meeting in the United States, RSNA’s planners wanted to employ technology that would help exhibitors more effectively connect with attendees. Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) fit the bill perfectly. “From an exhibitor standpoint, this was the biggest breakthrough I’ve ever experienced,” says Jeffrey Masters, manager of the North American Marketing Events Group for Philips Healthcare, based in Andover, MA. “This technology allows me insight into my particular slice of marketing and will help us produce better events and exhibits in the future for our prospects. This is beneficial to sales, because a well-educated consumer is what we are looking for.” Masters has experienced the evolution of this meeting firsthand, as this was his 23rd RSNA conference. “This is now must-have technology for us. My background is with IBM, and I believe measurement is the key to all strategic planning and SUCCESSFUL MEETINGS DECEMBER 2008 events. In the past, we were running blind. Running with what we recovered in terms of leads; and as an event manager, I didn’t know if we moved the ball.” RSNA solicited Alliance Tech and Experient to help. They formulated a pilot program that employed RFID technology to measure visitor activity, such as how long each visitor stayed at certain product stations within each booth, information Philips found invaluable. It revealed that close to 10,000 attendees visited Philips’ booth over the week, and many revisited, resulting in a total of 62,000 trips. “We were able to see where our attendees visited and the duration of each visit. We also tracked the path of each visitor walking through the booth,” says Masters. The array of equipment on display ranges from X-ray machines, vascular imaging, and catharization equipment to information systems technology. Last year, there was a staff of 1,300 working in the booth, from all over the world. With the addition of the RFID technology, Masters hopes to have targeted staff on hand on days when they are most in demand, with PHOTO: BOKELBERG.US successfulmeetings.com 33 http://www.BOKELBERG.US http://www.successfulmeetings.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Successful Meetings - December 2008

Successful Meetings - December 2008
Contents
Editor's Note
Corporate Events
On the Record
Calendar
Research
Planner Spotlight
Personal Success
Technology Talk
Food & Beverage
Professional Development
Quick Tip
Tools of the Trade
On Site: Retire Those Tired Power-Point Slides
On Site: 12 Tips for Thriving on a South African Safari
Deep Impact
Recession-Friendly Speakers
Showing Off
Hawaii Insert
Places & Spaces
Mississippi Gulf Coast
Fort Worth
South Florida
Beijing
Gurus

Successful Meetings - December 2008