Event planners are always looking for creative new ways to optimize attendee engagement without sacrificing event ROI. Luckily, event technology, specifically RFID wristbands can help planners do both. RFID wristbands have continued to prove to planners to be a powerful solution for live events. But what specific types of events should RFID wristbands be used for? Conferences? Festivals? What are some creative ways to utilize RFID wristbands?

What Events Can Benefit From RFID Wristbands?

Whether you’re using RFID wristbands for gamification, cashless payments, access control, or for one of its many other benefits, the technology can be utilized for many different types of events. RFID wristbands are commonly used for conferences, exhibitions, trade shows, experiential events, concerts, festivals, product launches, and other corporate and large-scale live events.

If you’re hosting a live event and need to optimize the attendee experience, increase event security, track attendees, and collect data, then RFID wristbands are for you.

Engage Guests with Gamification

One of the unique ways to incorporate RFID technology at your next event is through gamification. Gamification, a technique used in the event industry to engage attendees through competition and play, is a popular way amongst planners to improve companies’ relationships with their attendees. Using RFID wristbands, planners can optimize their attendees’ gamification, while collecting valuable attendee information.

Specifically, planners can create a scavenger hunt, where attendees have to visit different sessions, fill out surveys at kiosks, visit a sponsor’s booth, etc. and scan their wearable to collect “points”. These “points” can be redeemed for a prize at a game desk. For prizes, attendees could receive a branded t-shirt for 250 points, an extra drink voucher for 500 points, a ticket voucher to a future event for 1,000 points. Even after attendees have won, event staff can encourage attendees to continue to play to win new prizes.

For multi-day events, a scavenger-hunt-style gamification game is an ideal way to promote continual attendee engagement at your event.

Easily Offer Food & Drink Vouchers

Another unique way planners can utilize RFID wristbands at their next event is to offer attendees free food and drink vouchers via cashless payments. With cashless payments, planners can pre-load attendees' RFID wristbands with a set amount of food and drink vouchers. Throughout your event, if attendees want something to eat or drink, they can simply scan their wearable to pay at vendor stations.

Because RFID wristbands store all activity (e.g. what attendees scan) and personal information (e.g. name, email, credit card information), planners using cashless payments on RFID wristbands can ensure the correct attendees receive the correct vouchers. Not only do these two technologies help planners eliminate attendees from obtaining extra food or drinks, but the cashless payments on RFID wristbands also helps promote vendor transparency, which can increase your event’s overall ROI.

With cashless payments via RFID wristbands, planners can control attendee vouchers by eliminating secondary voucher sales and optimize food and drink expenditure.

Have Guests Become Brand Ambassadors

Whether you’re hosting an experiential event, tradeshow, exhibition, or another type of event, generating buzz on social media during your event can help your company grow its business. To ensure social media buzz around your event utilize your attendees and RFID technology.

Planners can set up photo booths, eye-catching backdrops, graphics, and kiosks throughout their event. During event registration, these photo booths can be teased and attendees will be prompted to connect their RFID wristbands to their social media accounts as a way of receiving and sharing event photos. During the event, attendees will scan their wearable, snap a photo, and the images will automatically be shared on their social accounts for all their friends to see.

In addition to photos, the RFID wristbands can also automatically share branded content to attendee’s social accounts. For instance, wristbands can share event updates, like contests an attendee has won, sessions they attended, or their favorite event highlight.

Let your attendees become brand ambassadors for you by utilizing the power of RFID wristbands.

Improve Guests’ Medical Care & Personal Security

In addition to social media, RFID wristbands can be used to improve your attendees’ potential medical care and personal security at your next event.

Because RFID wristbands have been proven to be the most secure identification technology, when compared to barcodes, chip cards, etc., it makes sense for planners to incorporate these wristbands into their next event to improve their attendees’ medical care. Specifically, in addition to holding attendee’s credit card information, RFID wristbands can hold other attendee information, like emergency contacts and health information. For large events, having attendee’s health information, like food allergies, accessible is important. In case of an emergency, an attendee’s wearable can be scanned and this information can be accessed to help the attendee receive proper medical care. In addition, if an attendee loses his or her wearable device can quickly be deactivated and replaced so attendees do not have to worry about their information being stolen.

Whether planners and event staff use RFID technology to keep track of attendee’s health information or account for their whereabouts in case of an evacuation emergency, wristbands are an easy way to enhance your event’s security.

Conclusion

Although RFID technology has been around for about a decade in the event industry, the possibilities for planners to incorporate this technology into their events is constantly evolving. Whether you’re hosting a tradeshow, exhibition, festival or another type of event, RFID wristbands can always be incorporated to engage your attendees and increase your event ROI.

Are you looking to implement RFID wristbands at your next event?  We’ve curated a 4-Step RFID Event Check Guide that will help you discover if RFID is right for you. Download the free guide here.