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As the year draws to a close, we find ourselves reflecting on the incredible journey we’ve shared with you, our valued event producers. At Validar, we often marvel at the dedication, creativity, and sheer determination you bring to the table. Today, we want to take a moment to express our heartfelt gratitude for your unwavering efforts and the profound impact you’ve had on our company and the events we’ve supported together. Celebrating the Heroes Behind the Scenes Event production is an art and a science, and you—our partners—are the true artists. Behind every successful check-in, beautifully printed badge, seamless registration experience, and wonderful attendee journey is your meticulous planning and hard work. You are the ones who anticipate every detail, troubleshoot unexpected challenges, and ensure that every attendee feels welcomed and valued from the moment they arrive. Your ability to transform visions into reality is nothing short of inspiring. Whether it’s a corporate conference, a glamorous awards night, or a bustling trade show, your expertise creates the foundation for meaningful connections and memorable experiences. Your Role in Shaping Validar’s Success At Validar, we pride ourselves on delivering innovative event registration, attendee behavior tracking solutions, and engagement tools. None of our efforts would be possible without you. Your feedback, collaboration, and trust push us to innovate and refine our offerings continuously. Every event we support is an opportunity to learn and grow, and we owe much of our success to your insights and partnership. From integrating cutting-edge technologies like contactless check-in and personalized badge printing to managing and tracking complex attendee journeys, your leadership allows us to do what we do best: enhance the attendee experience. A Year of Milestones—Together This year, we’ve had the privilege of supporting events that spanned the globe with both self service and fully serviced deployments. Every event showcased the brilliance of your work, especially the growth we’ve seen in customers excelling at deploying Validar technology with remote support only. You have proven more than capable of managing our Event Technology for the most complex events! You entrusted us to provide seamless registration, striking badge printing, and robust attendee tracking. We’re humbled by the trust you’ve placed in us and honored to be a part of your success. Looking Ahead to 2025 As we prepare for another year of events, we’re more committed than ever to supporting your vision. The ever-evolving world of event production presents new challenges and opportunities, and we’re excited to continue working together to innovate and elevate the attendee experience. Thank You! From everyone at Validar, thank you. Thank you for your partnership, your tireless efforts, and your belief in what we can accomplish together. You inspire us every day, and we are so grateful to be a part of your journey. Here’s to another year of creating unforgettable events—together. Warmest regards, The Validar Team

CREATING A GREAT FIRST IMPRESSION: THE IMPORTANCE OF ONSITE REGISTRATION First impressions matter, especially in the fast-paced world of events. For attendees, the onsite registration experience is often their first interaction with an event, and it sets the tone for everything that follows. A seamless and efficient check-in process not only creates a positive impression but also helps ensure the event’s overall success. In this article, we’ll explore why onsite registration is critical, how to perfect it, and what trends are shaping its future. I. THE PSYCHOLOGY OF FIRST IMPRESSIONS AT EVENTS First impressions are powerful. Within seconds of arriving at an event, attendees begin forming opinions about its organization and quality. This psychological phenomenon can have a lasting impact, influencing their mood, engagement, and overall satisfaction. Research shows that people form first impressions in just seven seconds. For event organizers, this window is incredibly small, yet it’s packed with potential. A chaotic registration desk or long lines can frustrate attendees, while a smooth check-in process conveys professionalism and care. EXAMPLE: Imagine arriving at a tech conference where attendees are greeted by smiling staff, directed with clear signage, and checked in within moments via a QR code scan. This effortless entry leaves a positive impression, setting the stage for a great event experience. II. THE ROLE OF ONSITE REGISTRATION IN EVENT SUCCESS Onsite registration is more than just a logistical step—it’s a key moment in the attendee journey. It provides the first opportunity for organizers to make attendees feel welcome and valued. COMPONENTS OF EFFECTIVE ONSITE REGISTRATION: * Quick and hassle-free check-in. * Professional and personable staff. * Seamless technology focused on attendee experience (e.g., PKPASS File, self-service kiosks) * Personalized badges that foster networking. PK Pass file-1.jpg [https://validar.com/media/PK Pass file-1.jpg] IMPACT ON EVENT SUCCESS: * Establishes trust in the event's organization. * Encourages attendees to engage more actively in sessions and networking opportunities. * Reflects the event’s overall quality and professionalism. III. KEY ELEMENTS OF EFFECTIVE ONSITE REGISTRATION A. STREAMLINED CHECK-IN PROCESSES The first step to effective onsite registration is ensuring efficiency. Long lines and delays are top attendee complaints and can sour the event experience before it even begins. SOLUTIONS: * Use technology like a PKPASS file or facial recognition to expedite check-ins. * Offer pre-registration options to reduce on-site bottlenecks. EXAMPLE: A major business summit introduced self-service kiosks versus pre printing badge media, cutting average check-in time by 60% and receiving overwhelmingly positive attendee feedback. B. PROFESSIONAL AND FRIENDLY STAFF Staff are the face of your event. A well-trained, approachable team can ease any attendee concerns and ensure the check-in process runs smoothly. Customer empathy is key when meeting an attendee at checkin! KEY PRACTICES: * Train staff to handle technical issues, answer questions, and guide attendees with a smile. * Position staff strategically to provide assistance where it’s most needed. C. CLEAR SIGNAGE AND NAVIGATION Proper signage eliminates confusion and reduces stress for attendees. BEST PRACTICES: * Use large, clear fonts and arrows to direct attendees to registration desks. * Include multilingual signs for international audiences. EXAMPLE: A large-scale music festival used color-coded signs to guide attendees to different registration zones, improving crowd flow and reducing complaints by 30%. CONCLUSION A seamless onsite registration process is the cornerstone of a successful event. It creates a strong first impression, sets the tone for the day, and ensures attendees feel valued. By focusing on efficiency, professionalism, and emerging technologies, event organizers can elevate the attendee experience and drive event success. FAQS 1. Why is onsite registration important for events? It sets the tone for the attendee experience and reflects the event's professionalism. 2. How can technology improve onsite registration? Technologies like QR code scanning, self-service kiosks, and mobile apps streamline the process and reduce wait times. 3. What are the common challenges in onsite registration? Long wait times, technical glitches, and untrained staff are frequent issues. 4. How does staff training impact attendee experience? Trained staff ensure efficiency and provide a welcoming atmosphere, leading to higher satisfaction. 5. What are future trends in onsite registration? Contactless check-ins, mobile app integrations, and personalized badges are emerging trends shaping the industry.

The world of event registration is rapidly evolving, with new technologies and trends driving how attendees experience events from the moment they arrive. In 2025, staying ahead of these changes means more than just impressing your attendees—it’s about streamlining your processes, being sustainable, and offering a personalized touch. Whether you're an event professional or a business owner looking to optimize your event strategy, understanding these top five registration trends will ensure you’re delivering a seamless experience for your attendees. In this article, we’ll explore the latest in contactless check-in, mobile app integrations, personalized and eco-friendly badges, and more, all while highlighting how Validar’s solutions can help you stay at the cutting edge of event registration. Trend 1: Badge Media can be a great networking utility for attendees Anything you can do to encourage attendee networking is worth considering, and the badge credential is where eyes go first when attending an event. Using your badge media to define unique attributes that might be of interest can be helpful. For example, using different lanyard colors for different attendee types, printing designations that depict particular interests or event goals can be great conversation starters to break the ice. Why Badge Media Matters Badge media will always be top of mind when planning for an event. It’s important to consider font size, branding elements, lighting and networking attributes that can be used as a tool for attendees to better navigate your event. Smart badges are becoming a trend and have been proven effective to help with networking. Cost can be an issue though. How Validar Aligns with This Trend Validar has been printing badge media on demand for over 20 years, and we’ve learned a ton from some very smart event marketing teams. We believe the badge credential is a vital part of every event, and we like to deploy with all of the aforementioned elements in consideration. To us, the badge is a conduit to our greater value from an attendee tracking and attendee networking perspective. Trend 2: Eco-Friendly Badge Media is top of mind with most event producers Sustainability has become a top priority for event organizers, with eco-friendly badge media emerging as one of the most popular ways to reduce environmental impact. Gone are the days of plastic-laminated badges. Instead, recyclable materials and sustainable printing practices are becoming the norm, aligning with the values of both organizers and attendees. We recently attended IMEX, the largest industry event of the year and attendees were asked to pre-print their badge and bring it with them. When we arrived we grabbed a paper badge holder and cloth lanyard. This was an excellent example of deploying eco friendly badge media! How Validar Aligns with This Trend Validar’s badge printing technology offers full-edge printing on eco-friendly materials, ensuring that your badges not only look great but also help reduce waste. By personalizing badges with the latest printing technology, Validar helps enhance networking and sustainability efforts at the same time. Trend 3: Accommodating Attendees at Airports and Hotels In a fast-paced world, attendees appreciate every convenience they can get. Offering them a smooth registration experience at airports or hotels makes a big difference in how they perceive your event—and can set the tone for their entire experience. First impressions matter, and this trend is all about optimizing that initial touchpoint. Why Airports and Hotels? Many attendees are traveling long distances to attend conferences, trade shows, or corporate events, and the last thing they want to worry about is dealing with a hectic check-in process once they arrive. By offering registration kiosks or mobile check-ins at airports and hotels, you save your attendees time and make their first interaction with your event a breeze. How Validar Aligns with This Trend Validar’s vCheckin system allows for remote check-in, which means your attendees can register as soon as they land at the airport or when they arrive at their hotel. This convenient option helps eliminate lines at the event venue itself, providing a much smoother registration process overall. Trend 4: Pre-Printed Badges to Minimize Onsite Configurations Efficiency is king when it comes to event registration, and one trend that continues to gain traction is the pre-printing of badges before attendees even arrive. This not only reduces the amount of equipment and staff needed on-site but also ensures a faster check-in process. Why Pre-Printed Badges Are Popular Pre-printing badges is a practical solution for reducing the onsite registration footprint. Instead of setting up multiple badge printing stations at the venue, organizers can prepare badges in advance based on pre-registrations. Attendees can simply pick up their badge holder and lanyard and be on their way, significantly cutting down on wait times. How Validar Aligns with This Trend With Validar’s PK Pass file, customers can leverage a digital badge for access to an event. Very similar to consumer events such as NFL and NBA games. Asking attendees to pre-print their credential is on the radar! Trend 5: Facial Authentication for Fast Check-in and Badge Swaps Facial authentication technology is one of the most exciting trends in event registration for 2024. It not only speeds up the check-in process but also provides an additional layer of security. This is especially useful in larger events where attendees may need to swap badges or move between different sessions. Fast, Secure, and Seamless Facial authentication can help organizers check in attendees faster than ever before. By scanning an attendee’s face, the system can instantly verify their identity and print a badge (or activate a pre-printed badge), cutting down on wait times. In addition, facial authentication can help prevent badge fraud, ensuring that only the right people gain access to specific areas. How Validar Aligns with This Trend Validar has aligned with best in class, cutting-edge facial authentication tools, helping event organizers create a fast and secure check-in process. This technology will be coming out in 2025 as a solution to protect from badge swaps and to speed up the check-in process. Conclusion As event registration technology continues to evolve, it’s crucial to stay ahead of the trends. In 2025, smart eco-friendly badge media, more event check-in opportunities, and facial authentication are driving the future of event registration. By adopting these innovations, you’ll not only improve the attendee experience but also streamline your event operations. To stay ahead of the curve, consider how solutions like Validar’s vCheckin platform can help your event registration process be more efficient, sustainable, and attendee-friendly. FAQ Section Facial Authentication help with badge swaps? Facial authentication can be a fast and excellent authentication mechanism to make sure attendees have paid for their attendance. Are eco-friendly badges durable? Yes, eco-friendly badges are designed to be both sustainable and durable. Many are made from recyclable or biodegradable materials without sacrificing quality. How do personalized badges enhance networking? Personalized badges include key information like attendee names, companies, and interests, making it easier to strike up conversations and foster connections during events. Why are pre-printed badges beneficial for large events? Pre-printed badges reduce onsite registration bottlenecks, allowing attendees to quickly pick up their badges and head straight into the event without waiting in line. Can registration systems support offsite check-ins? Yes, with systems like Validar’s vCheckin, attendees can check in remotely from airports or hotels, saving time and reducing onsite congestion.

For sales teams, trade shows, conferences, and corporate events represent high-stakes opportunities. These settings offer a concentrated environment of prospects, industry leaders, and potential clients. However, event success for a sales team goes beyond just showing up with a booth and marketing materials—it requires meticulous planning, strong support from event organizers, and well-executed follow-up. This article explores how event organizers can align their efforts with the goals of sales teams, ensuring they have the right tools, data, and support to close deals and make meaningful connections. Whether you’re planning to exhibit at a trade show or you're producing your own corporate gathering, understanding the salesperson’s perspective on event day can help ensure your event maximizes its potential for both organizers and sales teams. 1. Pre-Event Planning: Setting Sales Teams Up for Success Effective pre-event planning is crucial for the success of any sales team. As an event organizer, the more you align your plans with the objectives of the sales team, the better the outcomes will be. Coordinating Event Goals with Sales Objectives Sales teams approach events with specific goals in mind, whether it's generating leads, closing deals, or nurturing existing client relationships. It’s essential to understand these objectives upfront and design your event to help achieve them. This involves open communication between your team and the sales team from the early planning stages. Ensuring that sales teams are involved in decisions like booth placement, session timing, and networking opportunities will increase their chances of success. Pre-event, leverage and reward your sales team to drive attendance from their customers, partners and prospects. Events provide an excellent opportunity to accelerate the sales cycle. Allow your sales team to provide input on session content The sales team is your front line when communicating and pitching to customers. Leverage their experience, and adjust your event content based upon what they believe will resonate well. Technology Tools for Sales Enablement Event technology plays a significant role in sales team success. As an event organizer, providing solutions that enhance lead tracking and follow-up will enable your sales team to capture data more efficiently. Equip them with tools that integrate with their CRM systems to ensure seamless lead handoff post-event. Be prepared to track content consumption (session tracking) Be prepared to allow your customers, partners, and prospects to tell you the impact your session content had and to request a meeting if needed. (Session evaluations) Be prepared to categorize the impact your one on one product demonstrations on moving the needle (Lead Retrieval with custom qualifier) Be prepared to integrate all of this data into your CRM system 2. Maximizing Sales Team Engagement During the Event On event day, sales teams must balance their time between engaging with attendees, managing leads, and presenting their products or services. As an event organizer, there are several ways to enhance their experience and ensure they can focus on what matters most: connecting with customers and prospects. Sales Team Setup on the Event Floor Event organizers can significantly influence the success of sales teams by strategically placing booths in high-traffic areas and ensuring the sales team has all the resources they need at hand. Booth design should encourage open interaction while also offering areas for private conversations. Offering tech support, such as ensuring stable Wi-Fi and easy access to charging stations, can make a big difference for teams working with mobile devices and laptops. Tools for Tracking Attendee Behavior Knowing where attendees spend their time and how they engage with different event elements is valuable information for sales teams. Event organizers can provide this data through tools like passive and active attendance tracking. Technologies such as Validar’s session tracking allow sales teams to monitor attendee engagement, providing insights into which sessions or exhibitors attendees interacted with most. Supporting Sales Pitches and Presentations Another important role event organizers play is ensuring sales teams have access to the necessary equipment for delivering engaging presentations. This includes AV setup, quiet spaces for meetings, or even a designated demo area. These elements can help sales teams leave a lasting impression on potential clients. Allow attendees to communicate to sales through technology Session evaluations provide an excellent opportunity for an attendee to request a meeting, or ask questions regarding event content. Before deploying though, make sure you have a plan in place to get this data into your sales team's hands. Customize the lead retrieval you use in your booth to allow the attendees to categorize where they fall within the buying cycle. Key Statistic: Research shows that companies that engage directly with attendees on the event floor can increase their number of qualified leads by up to 25%. 3. Post-Event Follow-Up: Converting Leads into Sales After the event concludes, the hard work of converting leads into actual sales begins. Event organizers can provide significant support in this phase by ensuring seamless access to data and facilitating smooth communication between the event and sales teams. Providing Detailed Attendee Data Post-event reports are a goldmine of information. Organizers should ensure that all the attendee data collected during the event, including booth visits, session participation, and engagement levels, is easily accessible to sales teams. This allows them to prioritize high-potential leads and tailor follow-up communication accordingly. Your sales team will want to know what content was consumed, the impact that content had (did it generate renewed interest), and what question arose due to their experience and journey. Integrating Event Data into CRM Systems Ensuring that event data integrates smoothly into the sales team’s CRM system is crucial for post-event efficiency. This can be achieved through platforms that sync attendee data with CRM software, allowing sales teams to track leads, manage follow-ups, and measure ROI. Personalized Follow-Up Strategies One-size-fits-all follow-ups are no longer effective. Event organizers can help sales teams by providing data that allows for more personalized post-event communication. For instance, knowing which sessions an attendee attended or which booths they visited enables sales teams to craft tailored follow-ups that resonate with specific interests. Statistics to Include: Studies show that sales teams that follow up with leads within 24 hours after an event experience a 60% higher conversion rate. 4. Common Challenges Sales Teams Face on Event Day While events present great opportunities, they also come with challenges. As an event organizer, it’s important to understand these challenges so you can mitigate them and support sales teams more effectively. Uncoordinated Logistics If there’s a misalignment between the event’s schedule and sales team priorities, it can hinder their ability to perform. For example, scheduling key sessions during peak networking times may reduce the availability of attendees for sales conversations. Technology Malfunctions Sales teams rely on a range of tech tools during events, from lead capture apps to presentation equipment. Poor Wi-Fi, faulty connections, or malfunctioning tech can significantly impact their ability to collect leads or deliver pitches effectively. Competing Priorities Sales teams often juggle numerous tasks during an event, from staffing the booth to attending sessions and networking. As an organizer, offering support through dedicated event staff or streamlined scheduling can help alleviate these pressures. 5. FAQs for Event Organizers Catering to Sales Teams 1. What information should I provide to sales teams before the event? Refer back to this blog post [https://validar.com/blog/marketing_stack_integration] to answer this question. 2. How can I help my sales team capture leads more effectively at events? Equip them with lead capture tools customized to be a natural extension of the conversations they have, and to categorize leads by value. Placement of booths in high-traffic areas can also increase engagement. 3. What’s the best way to support a sales team on event day? Ensure they have the necessary technical resources (Wi-Fi, AV equipment) and that logistics align with their priorities. 4. How can post-event follow-up be streamlined? Ensure that all attendee data is easily accessible post-event and integrate it with the sales team’s CRM system for seamless follow-up. 5. What technology should event organizers provide to sales teams? Sales teams benefit from lead capture tools, CRM integration, and attendee tracking software. The Role of Event Organizers in Sales Success Sales teams are critical stakeholders in events, and their success often hinges on the support they receive from event organizers. By providing access to attendee data, aligning event goals with sales objectives, offering tech tools, and ensuring smooth post-event processes, event organizers can create an environment where sales teams thrive. Ultimately, the collaboration between event organizers and sales teams is key to making events a valuable experience for everyone involved. With careful planning, logistical support, and the right technology, you can ensure your event is a platform for sales success.

Gamification is becoming an increasingly popular method to boost attendee engagement at events. By incorporating game-like elements into your event strategy, you can encourage participation, create memorable experiences, and achieve your event goals more effectively. If you’re thinking about adding gamification to your event, here are four essential tips to ensure success: 1. COMMUNICATE EARLY: MAKE ATTENDEES AND EXHIBITORS AWARE OF YOUR ENGAGEMENT TOOLS To get the most out of your gamification efforts, it’s crucial to inform your attendees and exhibitors about the engagement tools available to them before they arrive. Send out pre-event communications that highlight these tools, and consider including detailed instructions or demonstrations on your event website. The earlier they understand how to participate, the more likely they are to engage fully when the event begins. 2. RECOGNIZE AND REWARD THE RIGHT ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITIES It’s important to identify the engagement activities that align with your event objectives and reward them accordingly. Whether it’s attending sessions, participating in discussions, or interacting with exhibitors, offering meaningful rewards can drive the behavior you want to see. At Validar, our attendee behavior tracking solutions can provide a plethora of critical interactions, whether it be consuming session content, engaging with exhibitors, providing session and overall event feedback or engaging Attendee to Attendee. Whatever your event intent is, gamification can be customized to help you meet your goals. Attendee Activity-1.jpg [https://validar.com/media/Attendee Activity-1.jpg] 3. SHOWCASE ACHIEVEMENTS: LET THE COMMUNITY SEE RECOGNITION AND REWARDS Public recognition can significantly enhance the impact of your gamification strategy. Make sure that achievements are visible to the entire event community, whether through leaderboards, social media, or announcements during the event. This visibility not only motivates participants to engage more but also creates a sense of accomplishment and community among attendees. 4. SELL YOUR ENGAGEMENT TOOL AS A SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITY Gamification can be more than just a tool for engagement—it can also be a valuable sponsorship opportunity. There are many prominent and visible brandable components associated with gamification. Many brands monetize these assets by creating sponsorship opportunities. You can not only cover the cost of your engagement tools, but also create an additional revenue line item. A win-win for everyone involved. LeaderBoard.jpg [https://validar.com/media/LeaderBoard.jpg] Call us if you want to learn more! [https://validar.com/demo]

If your events are intended to generate demand, this post is for you. Validar has been in the event-based lead management space for over 20 years, and we understand very well the value event data can have when integrated well with your marketing stack, whether it be Eloqua, Marketo, Salesforce, or perhaps your AMS (Association Management Software). Oracle Eloqua.png [https://validar.com/media/Oracle Eloqua.png]Marketo Adobe.png [https://validar.com/media/Marketo Adobe.png]Salesforce Logo.png [https://validar.com/media/Salesforce Logo.png] If you’re producing your own proprietary event, we believe there are five (5) data sets that should automatically be posted into your Marketing Stack for during and post event treatment. DID YOUR CUSTOMER, PARTNER, OR PROSPECT ATTEND THE OVERALL EVENT? For many companies, this is the only dataset posted, usually post event for nurturing and treatment. Validar’s vCheckin application captures this data in real-time and makes that data available for treatment with any system via our Event Insight Rest API. WHAT CONTENT DID YOUR CUSTOMER, PARTNER OR PROSPECT CONSUME AT YOUR EVENT? Session attendance tracking is a strength of Validar’s whether it be passive or active. By integrating this data into your marketing stack, your nurturing can be more personalized based upon your attendee’s entire journey. WHAT IMPACT DID THIS CONTENT HAVE ON YOUR CUSTOMER, PARTNER OR PROSPECT? Core to Validar’s unique value proposition is our ability to allow attendees to tell you about their experience leveraging our EventHub® Attendee Toolset. With EventHub®, you can not only score and benchmark your session content, you can also capture the renewed interest your content generated from an individual attendees perspective. If an attendee wants to continue the conversation by asking for a meeting, your systems and sales team should know this, live during the event. DID YOUR CUSTOMER, PARTNER OR PROSPECT SIT THROUGH A PRODUCT DEMONSTRATION? One on one demonstrations are invaluable for buyers, and it is important that your systems know what products attendees have delved into during your event. Capturing these conversations is usually done with lead retrieval. Getting lead retrieval data into your marketing stack for treatment can enrich communication and nurturing. WHAT IMPACT DID YOUR PRODUCT DEMONSTRATION HAVE ON YOUR CUSTOMER PARTNER OR PROSPECT? This is where custom lead qualifiers can be valuable when deploying lead retrieval. Use these qualifiers to allow each attendee to control how they want to be treated during and post event. If they have a need and interest, capture their pain points and skim these hot leads off of the top by bypassing Marketing Automation. This activity should be pushed to sales live during the event! Here is an example of what a record should look like when pulled in Salesforce during and post event. Salesforce record view-1.png [https://validar.com/media/Salesforce record view-1.png] I see Harry Potter attended the overall event, attended three (3) sessions, saw a product demonstration on the show floor, and has requested to meet with Sales regarding that conversation. Imagine how much more effective your post event activity will be! Call us if you want to learn more! [https://validar.com/demo]

There are no better means to drive demand from customers, partners, and prospects than through a well-produced event. Where else can you meet personally with subject matter experts, people with like minded challenges and needs, see a personal demonstration and have breakfast, lunch, and dinner served? We love events, and our customers continually impress with compelling content and amazing experiences that have a tremendous impact on their attendees. A well deployed Boolean logic Opt-in or Opt-out question can be an excellent tool for you to capture the renewed interest your content generates, and to allow your audience to control how they want to be treated during and post event. You can also better capture and get the credit you deserve for the product demand you generate. Here are three (3) great Opt-in and Opt-out tips to consider when planning your next Demand Gen event. 1) ALLOW ATTENDEES TO OPT-OUT WHEN CAPTURING LEADS AT YOUR EXHIBIT. If you’re leveraging a raffle or giveaways to drive traffic to your booth, that’s great, especially if you’re using this investment to increase sales lead volume. Most leads will be what we call “trinket seekers”. That’s ok. Capture their contact information but treat them accordingly with an effective Opt-out question. Opt-out lead capture-1.png [https://validar.com/media/Opt-out lead capture-1.png] If deployed well, 10% of your captured leads should have a defined interest and need, with the remainder falling into an incubation status for your marketing stack. The economic value of categorizing your leads in this fashion can be extraordinary if you skim the good leads off the top. If you don’t, it will take your Marketing Stack at least 3 to 6 weeks to find that 10% and by then the percentage will reduce due to lead decay. 2) ALLOW YOUR AUDIENCE TO OPT-IN WHEN DEPLOYING SESSION EVALUATIONS. Session evaluations can be an excellent tool to score and benchmark your event content. It can also be used to segment your session audience via a simple Boolean logic question so you know not only who attended a session, but who wants to meet with a subject matter expert regarding the session topic? Boolean Logic question.png [https://validar.com/media/Boolean Logic question.png] We have some excellent use cases of brands leveraging session evaluations to drive meetings to their sales team live during the event. Your sales team, and marketing stack should know each segment and have been prepared to treat Opt-In hand raisers live during the event and post. 3) ACCOMMODATE INTROVERTS WITH A WELL-PLACED OPT-IN QR CODE LEAD FORM WITH AN OPT-OUT QUESTION. Are you an attendee that likes to avoid a sales pitch while walking the show floor? There are many out there and your exhibit should accommodate. QR Code Lead Form-1.png [https://validar.com/media/QR Code Lead Form-1.png] We often provide our customers with a branded lead form in addition to customer lead retrieval for this purpose. On this lead form, include an attendee facing Opt-out question, especially if you’re providing incentive for the form completion. Let us know if you’re interested in learning more [https://validar.com/quote] about how Validar can help you your event pipeline and or want to see some excellent use cases.

Validar has been delivering Onsite Registration and On Demand Badge printing for nearly 20 years and we've experienced everything that you can imagine. The tribal knowledge our team possesses is one of Validar's greatest assets and as a courtesy to our customers, we decided to pick their brain by asking all Validar employees this question. WHAT IS ONE TIP OR SUGGESTION YOU WOULD SHARE WITH A NEW CUSTOMER WHO IS CONSIDERING PRINTING A CREDENTIAL ON DEMAND VERSUS PRE-PRINTING? Here are the recommendations shared. Tip #1 - Don't create badge stock with a very small window to house the QR code. It's too variable to get it to align perfectly across every reg scenario, and it ends up not looking great! Tip #2 - For QR check-in, you may need to adjust the brightness of your phone or take your phone off dark mode for the QR to be read as efficiently as possible. Tip #3 - To tear the badge, rip up (not down) Tip #4 - When it comes to badges for different types of attendees, keeping things simple can really make your event planning smoother. Instead of dealing with various pre-branded badge designs, go for one that works for everyone and print the attendee specific, including attendee type, on-demand once they check-in. This way, you can use all your check-in stations for everyone, no matter their attendee type. Having just one type of badge stock means you don't have to worry about having different printers pre-loaded for each type of badge. It saves you the hassle of figuring out how many printers you need for each type and where to put them. Plus, with one badge design, you don't have to worry about directing people to different pickup spots based on their badge type. It's less confusing for everyone involved. So, sticking with one badge design and printing attendee specifics on-demand is not only easier but also saves you money and time. It's a win-win for both you and your attendees!" Tip #5 - The number of man-hours your event team will spend organizing preprinted badges into alphabetized rows/packets for attendee pickup can be very high, especially if it is an event with a few thousand attendees. You will then spend more man-hours consolidating packets throughout the course of the event as attendees arrive, and more hours after that in rectifying your list at the end of the event to figure out who actually attended. Tip #6 - Printing on demand allows us to fix anything while the guest/attendee is present. When we preprint, we aren't always able to catch what the client wants for their name or email or company, which means we end up printing that badge twice. There is a lot more reprints when we preprint. Tip #7 - Prepare for lots of extra time on your hand onsite - the on demand printing takes so much strain off of your staff during the event reg. We felt silly having so much staff onsite! Tip #8 - Get creative! The sky is the limit and we can print some innovation solutions to elevate the attendee and client event experience and efficency of the event overall. Tip #9 - Printing on demand is more efficient versus going through a stack of pre printed badges especially for larger events. It also seems to be a more personal check in experience. Bonus tip: If printing on a double sided perforated paper badge, avoid printing name credentials on both sides as this can lead to consequently producing two badges by tearing the badge in half and sharing the other side to someone else who is unregistered/not paid. This topic is near and dear to Validar, and the conversation we've had on this topic at our annual summer gathering is always enlightening. We love delivering an epic attendee first impression for our customers. If you're interested in learning more about Validar's vCheckin Onsite Registration platform, let us know! [https://https://validar.com/quote]

Many Associations and Companies are challenged with keeping their communities involved and engaged after their marquee event. Keeping content fresh and valuable for the entire community is a never ending process, and engagement overall drops precipitously. This is where a good loyalty program can help to encourage, recognize, and reward attendee engagement with the intent of raising engagement overall, just like your favorite Airline or Hotel Rewards program. Validar has learned a ton from some very smart event marketers on how to best leverage gamification to drive attendee behavior that they desire. We’ve also seen some excellent use cases of brands effectively leveraging gamification for extended events. Here are some tips to consider for event programs that have multiple activations per year, in different formats such as small intimate events, webinars, or hybrid events with content and sponsored assets hosted for an extended period of time. 1) CREATE A PROGRAM WITH BENEFITS THAT RESONATE WITH YOUR COMMUNITY. Have you ever purposely flown one airline for the MVP benefits, or additional miles? Your loyalty program should be structured in a similar fashion. Those that engage at a high level should earn benefits that resonate with the entire community! If done well, your end of season events could earn community member benefits that warrant attention! Loyalty Program Levels.png [https://validar.com/media/Loyalty Program Levels.png] 2) REWARD ACTIVITY THAT IS IMPORTANT TO YOU. This is easy when you’re an Airline or Hotel. Buy a ticket, or stay and earn points! With events, you can be more creative, whether it be rewarding attendee to event, attendee to session, attendee to exhibitor, attendee to attendee, or attendee to session evaluation activity. We’ve seen some extraordinary results of brands increasing KPI’s such as the following: * Session evaluation response rates * Average sessions attended per attendee * Attendee to Exhibitor visit percentage * Average number of exhibitors visited per attendee. A loyalty program focused on encouraging behavior that aligns with your program intent can be very useful! 3) PROMOTE YOUR LOYALTY RECOGNITION TO THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY! Let the entire community see your recognition and rewards! This is a great tool to help raise engagement across the entire community. At each event, recognize those that have earned it, and encourage others to emulate. MVP Gold.png [https://validar.com/media/MVP Gold.png] 4) KEEP YOUR DIGITAL ASSETS (SESSION AND SPONSOR CONTENT) ACTIVE! Many brands have learned the value of recording event content and hosting it over time for community members to consume. Many platforms host sponsorship assets as well such as digital booths, product related content, videos etc. By active, we mean reward your community members if they consume this content, or engage with digital sponsor assets. Validar has an engagement platform called EventScore [https://validar.com/products/eventscore] that was enhanced during the Pandemic. EventScore is fully integrated with a corporate gifting platform called Loop & Tie [https://www.loopandtie.com/]. Gifts can be curated by type and distributed on a point threshold basis just like an Arcade Prize Counter, or random drawings. Let us know if you’re interested in learning more [https://validar.com/quote] about how EventScore can help you increase engagement activity for a single event, or your entire community event series.

INTRODUCTION Officially launched in August of 2010, the VMware User Group (VMUG) is an independent, global, customer-led organization, created to maximize members’ use of VMware and partner solutions through knowledge sharing, training, collaboration, and events. They are managed by an association management firm, Innovatis Group. Every year they produce a Global event series called VMUG UserCons. At these one-day conferences, attendees can connect with hundreds of VMware users, attend educational sessions led by industry experts, receive an inside look at exciting VMware and partner products, plus much more all at no cost to the members. This event provides an excellent opportunity for VMware Users to learn and network. It also provides an excellent opportunity for other companies to sponsor and exhibit to get access to this community to generate valuable business connections. 2nd slide image.png [https://validar.com/media/2nd slide image.png] VMUG NEEDS VMUG is a non-profit organization focused on maximizing knowledge sharing, enhancing the attendee experience and finding efficiencies, all while keeping expense mitigation top of mind. The Innovatis Group works with several vendors and because VMUG was in the market for a solution that would deliver a best-in-class attendee experience prior to and during their event, could track content consumption, and score content effectiveness they sought out Validar to be their partner. EVENT TECH PLATFORM VALUE Validar was chosen to be VMUG’s onsite registration and attendee tracking event technology provider. This decision was based upon Validar’s ease of deployment, live remote support capabilities, and the depth and breadth of their products. The Innovatis Group team also made the decision to take on the on-site responsibilities to lessen deployment costs for the organization of VMUG. The Validar solutions deployed in a self-support fashion were: Validar® vCheckin Onsite Registration integrated with Fonteva Validar Session Attendance Tracking – self scan stations Validar vCapture Lead Retrieval EventHub® Attendee tool integrated with CrowdCompass EventScore Gamification With these solutions VMUG members were able to receive a best-in-class attendee experience and the team was able to track each journey, score session content on a Likert scale, and recognize / reward attendees that engaged in an exceptional fashion. More specifically, they used EventScore to reward attendees for going to sessions, engaging with Exhibitors, and providing feedback on session content. SELF-SCAN SESSION TRACKING Being a free event, human resources are not as plentiful as they might be for fee-based events. Most companies require a human resource to man a session scanning device to make sure attendance counts are accurate. VMUG was originally concerned that attendees would bypass self-scan stations. To over come this, they provided incentive to their community, and leveraged Validar’s EventScore Gamification platform. EventScore was used to recognize and reward session attendance, and session feedback. This proved to be so effective that some attendees attempted to scan themselves into multiple concurrent tracks to earn more recognition and points. Subsequently, Validar had to add a feature to the solution to only allow points for one session per concurrent track. The incentive did resonate well with attendees in all markets. 5th slide image.jpg [https://validar.com/media/5th slide image.jpg] SESSION EVALUATIONS GAMIFIED! The best way to gauge your performance as an event producer is through candid feedback. The Innovatis Group recognizes this, and they did a brilliant job leveraging EventScore to foster active participation and feedback on session content to better inform real-time decisions for VMUG. Validar believes evaluation response rates (% of session attendees that complete the session evaluation) need to be at least at a 15% or above to have a data sample representative of your audience. We also benchmark best-in-class event performances across common Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s). The VMUG UserCon Series results were extraordinary, especially regarding evaluation completions. With the Validar solution, each attendee was invited to provide session feedback via the Validar EventHub® Attendee tool, integrated with CrowdCompass. If an attendee was tracked going to two (2) sessions, they were presented with a unique survey for only those two sessions, with content scored on a Likert scale. Attendees were recognized a rewarded for this feedback. VMUG performed very well! Attendees completed on average 38% of evaluations presented across 23 events globally! The average across 10 of our best-performing events for this KPI is 11.65%. EXHIBITOR ENGAGEMENT GAMIFIED The VMUG UserCon exhibiting community is a vital component to their event program, and making sure their exhibitors receive the lead volume and quality they expected is a big focus. VMUG also leveraged EventScore to recognize and reward attendees for visiting their exhibitors. This event series has proven that gamification can increase attendee to exhibitor engagement rates. One of the KPI’s that Validar benchmarks is Attendee to Exhibitor visit percentage. 55.64% of Attendees visited at least one exhibiting sponsor across 23 events globally! The average across 10 of our best-performing events for this KPI is 36.59%. 7th slide image.jpg [https://validar.com/media/7th slide image.jpg] CONCLUSION Getting results like this requires not only a great platform, but a great team that knows how to leverage technology. The Innovatis Group sets high expectations for the organizations they support, and they expect their technologies partners to match their level of performance and excellence. We’re very proud to have been of service. Let us know if you are into a deeper dive into these solutions.