Create Buzz at an RFID Event

A really cool demo can get attendees talking about you, which means more people will stop by your booth.
Published: March 9, 2015

In my last post, I wrote about the benefits of performing preshow marketing to ensure that you get the right leads at an RFID conference (see Get the Right Leads at an RFID Event). At the event, you can generate buzz—and get more attendees to visit your booth—by investing time before the show to create a really cool demonstration of your product or service.

Just showing how your product works is not going to create buzz. One year at RFID Journal LIVE!, Omni-ID put passive ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) tags (said to not work well in the presence of water) in a fish tank containing live fish, and then read those tags. People still mention that demo to me. It was memorable and proved a point the company was trying to make—that it had tags that could withstand being in water, and that could be interrogated in and around liquids.

An attention-getting demo must appeal to the segment of attendees you most want to reach. If you’re targeting retailers, for example, it would be a mistake to provide a demo in which you track basketballs going through a hoop. It would also be a mistake to show how you can read tags on apparel items on shelves. Why not have a clock and invite attendees to replenish the shelves with the few items missing, offering a prize for the fastest time?

It takes time to think of a great demo and work to put it together, but it can really pay off if attendees are all talking about it. Plus, you can always film it and use the video after the event to make your website more interesting, or to get the attention of folks on your mailing list.

Mark Roberti is the founder and editor of RFID Journal. If you would like to comment on this article, click on the link below. To read more of Mark’s opinions, visit the RFID Journal Blog, the Editor’s Note archive or RFID Connect.