Key words: NFC, Mobile phones, Congress,
delegates
This article was written by Samantha
Dixon and published on the MPI Website. In the article, Samantha summarizes the
advantages for planners to use technologies such as Near-field communication
(NFC). This is a tool that can be used by event planners in many different
ways. As an example, it enables smartphones to communicate using a radio
frequency. This new tool works when only one of the devises is powered. It
works similarly to Bluetooth but of course in a better way. The author of the
article gives a concrete example which is: “A chip with no battery of its own
can be inserted into something as small as a piece of paper. One device acts as
the writer, the other as the reader. However, with two powered devices,
peer-to-peer data transfer is possible”. Even if NFC works similarly to Bluetooth,
there are still considerable differences.
1. The connection between the two devices is 60 times
faster than with Bluetooth.
2. NFC is more secure as it allows for a closer operating
range, which is perfect for congested areas.
With the NFC, consumers are able to pay
and directly receive their receipt on their mobile phones! Some banks have
already adopted this mode of payment such as American Express. Corbin Ball even
goes as far as saying that NFC is the step forward and we may turn into a
cashless society.
The events industry, slowly comprehends
its use for events. For instance, NFC can be used to enhance interaction and
experience, especially for corporate events. It also allows for a higher
networking.
Currently, NFC can be useful in 9 ways
for meeting planners. As mentioned before, NFC can be used as a contactless
payment method. This works especially great for small transactions. For
instance, delegates of a congress would be able to pay their food on the congress
premises with their phones. They will also be able to see their cash balance
directly on their phone. The London Olympic Games have used this contactless
payment method during the Games in order to allow athletes to pay at thousands
of shops. The second way, which will prove very useful by some event attendees,
is using NFC for automatic ticketing. As such, delegates can wear a bracelet
that holds all their information, payment methods, etc… They can wear it at all
times throughout the congress duration. This means that attendees don’t need to
worry about posted badges/tickets, a registration centre at the congress or
spending money and time on phone calls. As mentioned above, NFC is particularly
useful for social networking. Delegates are able to share information, photos,
videos, etc.. more easily and faster, whilst sitting next to each other! Furthermore,
information can be exchanged easily, such as maps, timetables, business cards,
or also, exhibitors can easily display the information they want to show. The main benefit of sharing information in
this way during exhibitions is that no paper needs to be printed, therefore it
diminishes the environmental damage and the visitors do not have to carry heavy
paper around.
Another way that NFC can be used at
events is for obtaining leads. For instance, sales representative can focus on
actually selling their products, instead of concentrating on obtaining contact
details. In that example, NFC can be used to obtain contact details by
prospects who are interested. One way that would be of high interest for event planners
would be during the registration process. Similar to the wristband previously
mentioned, delegates could have one card with all their contact details that
they would scan at the entrance of the congress. They can also scan their card
at the entrance of break out sessions for instance, in order to mark their
presence and to get the slides. This enables the event planner to know who has
attended the session.
Currently, there are two main providers of NFC technologies
that are Poken and Getvoo. At the moment, congresses that wish to use NFC
technologies hand-out the devise to attendees, as not all of them have phone
which enable the use of NFC. Furthermore, attendees feel connected when they
get given a devise at congresses, so it does seem that the trend is not to
develop phones that enable NFC use.
There are 3 main reasons why firms
should and want to invest in NFC.
1. To be first ones to use the technology and to be
innovative.
2. Use it as marketing tool – being a pioneer in using
such a technology will allow for visibility and exposure in the media.
3. To save money- NFC enables to collect contact details
a lot faster than with regular staff.
This new technology will definitely be
used by event planners and attendees in the next decade or so. It is also
important that event planners should always be on the look out for new
technologies that they can incorporate in the organization of their event.
The article can be found on:
http://www.mpiweb.org/Portal/Technology/20130205/A_New_Meeting_Frequency
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