Beacon update: what can we learn from Pokémon Go?

Last summer, the online and offline worlds converged as Pokémon Go took over the streets and got people of all ages moving. Could that success be translated into B2B events in some way? The answer is yes! The combination of an event app and a beacon network allows you to easily create interaction between the real world and the digital world during your events.

Checking in digitally instead of registering, or sending out surveys to the participants of particular sub sessions; beacons, minuscule Bluetooth transmitters, allow all this and more to become possible. Events venue DeFabrique is the first venue in the Netherlands to install a full-coverage beacon network. ‘In doing so, we offer a great deal of added value for event managers and their guests,’ says commercial director Sybren Ophof.

“DeFabrique becomes the first events venue with a beacon network”

Higher returns thanks to beacons
Beacons enable connection between the online world (event app) and the offline world (the event itself). This technology allows organisers to serve their audience better and map out the exact ROI (Return on Investment) of their events. For example, they can send out an automated email containing more information to visitors who spend more than five minutes at a particular fair stand. Or how about a screen that displays the names of people who are nearby and have indicated that they want to engage in networking?

Affordable event app
A network of over 50 beacons has been installed and carefully tested at the DeFabrique former mixed feed factory in Utrecht. The beacons send out signals that communicate with the event app. As creating individual apps for each event would be very pricy, DeFabrique will be launching its own app in October, which will be able to manage several events at once. This way, the DeFabrique events venue is making its beacons available to everyone.

‘Beacons enable easy connection between the online world (event app) and the offline world (the event itself)’

Beacon Game for quick insights
Beacons constitute the leading technological development that is expected to deliver incredible results in the field of marketing during the years to come. Even so, beacons still remain a strange, foreign concept to most event managers. To briefly and effectively sum up the advantages of beacons for these event managers, DeFabrique has developed a Beacon Game in collaboration with HKU University of the Arts Utrecht: the Beacon Brainstorm Box.

Want to know more about beacons? If so, consider participating in our beacon workshop!
The first edition of our beacon workshop took place on September 19th. It turned out to be a very successful, inspiring morning! That is why we will be organising a number of additional beacon workshops soon. In a mere two hours’ time, you and a small group of your co-workers will learn all there is to know about the various applications of beacons, simply by playing the beacon game. This workshop will introduce you to a number of practical applications for beacons that you can use in your visitors’ Event Journey and will teach you about a number of options to gain more insight into the ROI of your events.

Sign up for free to vie for a spot in this exclusive workshop!