Exhibitors take note: Conference attendees are addicted to their mobile devices. Just look around at your next event and see how many people are looking at their phone or tablet as they are sitting, standing or walking. If you are trying to find a way to encourage meeting participants to cross paths and gather at your booth, rent a charging station as a way for them to keep connected remotely and keep them on the show floor.
Pensa, a strategic marketing consulting firm who has been involved in a pilot project with charging stations, believes if you have them people will come. “We’re looking to create something that complements its surroundings and invites people to hang out and recharge. We have also found that where people gather — opportunities develop,” stated Marco Perry, Principal Founder of Pensa.
If you still need be convinced of the value of charging station rentals, look where people charge their mobile devices. They will use any outlet available to them including the one in the back of a meeting room, convention dead space or even the hotel’s cocktail lounge. So, given that attendees usually visit the trade show floor several hours into a conference, it only makes sense that they might be hunting for an outlet on the floor or feel compelled to return to their hotel room — thus cutting down their interaction time with you, the exhibitor.
Concerned about the investment fee associated with charging station rentals? Don’t be because you can sell sponsorships that can run PowerPoint presentations, photos or videos that will loop on the top portion of the station. In addition, you can streamline information about your organization, thus enforcing your own brand awareness as attendees stand by their mobile devices checking emails, posting social updates or texting.
Be sure to check the floor’s Wi-Fi access if you are investing in your own private network to make certain they do not interfere with each other. If there is enough need for Wi-Fi on the floor, the show manager may recommend a Wi-Fi network array rental unit to handle the needs of several exhibitors.
The key is to create a space where attendees can recharge themselves while recharging their mobile devices. Creating a “living room” look and feel with comfortable chairs and a video wall rental or Plasma TVs can allow attendees to relax and view what is going in different parts of the conference, thus keeping them engaged and connected.