Successful deployment of Crowd Connected’s Colocator platform at London’s ExCeL showcase marks a step-change in attendee movement data available to organisers of exhibitions, trade shows and conventions.
Crowd Connected, a UK-based mobile location data specialist, is squarely taking aim at the indoor events market with their completely updated indoor positioning engine, Colocator. With new analytics developed specifically for exhibition-type environments, Colocator was used by ITE Group’s Bett Show 2019 – an exhibition that attracts over 34,000 visitors and 850+ exhibitors.
The visitor tracking solution works by adding a simple plug-in to an event’s existing mobile app. Using multiple techniques to accurately and reliably position mobile phones – including GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth and even measuring signal strengths between phones – Colocator provides reliable real-time data on visitor movement, both offsite and onsite.
It combines footfall analytics and visitor engagement in a single platform. It is the only software that provides the tools to:
- track mobile app users persistently in the background around the entire event environment
- process consistent high-quality data (at scale and in real time)
- influence audience behaviour through location-based messaging
This data is visualised in a series of easy-to-digest graphical representations such as heat-maps, charts and tables. Colocator also provides a fully-fledged visitor engagement module which enables audience segment creation and content management for scheduling and delivering highly targeted push messages.
The fully updated software was successfully deployed for Bett 2019 at London’s ExCeL, where a raft of new reporting features was also provided. This showcased how Colocator brings a cost-effective solution to a number of common challenges faced by organisers of exhibitions, conventions, trade shows, congresses and the like.
To date, Crowd Connected has focused on large-scale outdoor events through its visitor tracking solution, Colocator. Colocator is licensed globally by prominent entertainment brands including Live Nation and AEG, as well as across leading sports organisations including football, golf and motorsport.
James Cobb, Crowd Connected’s founder and CEO, commented: “Most event organisers scan visitors in and out. But they have had little, if any, visibility of what visitors actually do in between. And, going one step further, organisers have lacked the ability to influence visitor journeys around the show environment.
“Getting reliable data on their visitor movement has been a problem for event management teams. Feedback from the biggest show organisers, from mobile app developers and from our own market research, told us that existing visitor tracking solutions, without exception, weren’t delivering.
“Sensor-based solutions come in a number of different guises. The best, in terms of data granularity, are simply too costly. Other solutions promise much more than they are capable of delivering. Often the data collection is patchy and inaccurate.”
Explaining the value of this to event organisers, Cobb highlighted three applications: “First, the behavioural data we gather enables high value visitors to be identified. This can be used to inform visitor marketing as well as content selection and scheduling.
“Second, the ability to influence visitor behaviour is also high on the agenda for many shows. Our software enables organisers to direct footfall to particular areas of the floor which helps encourage discovery. Ultimately, we help personalise the show experience, and make the mobile app itself more valuable to the user. We also enable show management to identify and communicate with non-visitors – i.e. those who have pre-registered but have not shown up.”
“Third, an obvious application is in combating exhibitor churn which is a perennial headache for almost all big shows.”
Philippa Brook, Head of Project Delivery for ITE Group: “The addition of Crowd Connected’s technology for Bett 2019 demonstrated just how effective our mobile app could be. We were able to gather valuable visitor behavioural data, to deliver impactful messages to attendees and to examine the potential for managing visitor flow. There is genuine enthusiasm about how we might further benefit from Colocator, to deliver on our objectives for the show, for example through enhanced visitor segmentation.”
The Bett 2019 mobile app was supplied by Goomeo, a leading developer based in France.
Commenting on the collaboration, Goomeo’s Marketing and Sales Manager Florian Courgenouil said: “We’re delighted to be able to offer Crowd Connected’s location intelligence to our entire customer base. We’re really convinced of the value this can bring to show organisers and what we saw at Bett simply confirmed this.”
Author: Molly Hookings
Molly joined the editorial team in March 2019. She has several years’ experience working in broadcast and journalism, as well as marketing and PR. Past experience includes working for the BBC and independent publishing houses. If you have a story you think Molly might be interested in, please email: molly@eventindustrynews.com
