Exhibitions can cater to thousands of guests walking through the doors throughout the day. Organizers, exhibitors, and attendees hustle and bustle about the venue, looking at the attractions and engaging with each other in an attempt to drive business.
Communication is key at any exhibition or trade show, and WiFi significantly improves on-site communications. This post examines how WiFi can benefit organizers, exhibitors, and attendees at any event.
The Necessity of WiFi at Exhibitions
Presentations, interactive displays, and communications at exhibitions and trade shows rely on a stable, fast, and reliable network. WiFi allows organizers to collect data and analytics from attendees and exhibitors. Exhibitors benefit from enhanced engagement with attendees, and visitors get access to real-time updates on event information and interactive, immersive presentations.
The WiFi at these events provides a consistent, stable data flow and personal or group engagement. WiFi revolutionizes the trade show or exhibition experience for attendees by connecting them to the exhibitors, interactive displays, booths, and event presentations.
A robust WiFi network at these venues gives visitors access to event information like floor plans, schedules, and speaker profiles, with real-time updates. For exhibitors who want to stand out from the competition at the event, WiFi offers the opportunity to make it happen.
WiFi at exhibitions is an essential tool for capturing leads, delivering digital presentations, and analyzing attendees’ data on how they engage with the company. Exhibitors can transform their booth into a digital showpiece to make a great impression on attendees and attract more feet to their booth.
Event organizers benefit from WiFi networks. This infrastructure allows the organizer to review data on the attendees’ demographics, the event’s success, top exhibitors, and feet coming through the door, allowing for improvement in future event planning.
WiFi is a strategic asset elevating the attendee and exhibitor experience while allowing effective management of the exhibition or trade show by organizers.
WiFi for Trade Shows: Networking Beyond Business Cards
Exhibitions and trade shows are all about networking. WiFi networks facilitate these networking opportunities, allowing exhibitors and attendees to connect digitally. Custom mobile apps catering specifically to the event exhibitors and attendees prompt matchmaking with attendees and exhibitors.
Networking in the digital business environment supersedes the traditional route of handing out business cards and physical marketing materials. Digital exhibition experiences create meaningful customer and business connections, leading to valuable business opportunities.
WiFi networks play a critical role in facilitating these communications. Real-time updates on speaker changes, presentation times, and exhibitor booths or presentations are relayed directly to attendee devices.
WiFi facilitates collaboration apps and video conferencing tools, enabling virtual meetings, presentations, and negotiations between parties without the exhibitor needing to leave their booth.
Tips for Smooth Networking via WiFi
Organizers are responsible for setting up, monitoring, and managing the WiFi network at exhibitions and trade shows. They must conduct a proper site survey well before the event to determine hardware requirements for adequate venue coverage, especially if they want high-density WiFi coverage.
The event organizer should provide attendees and exhibitors instructions on connecting to the network for an optimal WiFi experience. Organizers must provide tech support for exhibitors and attendees to troubleshoot connection problems during the event.
The WiFi services offered at exhibitions and trade shows can determine the overall event results for attendees and exhibitors. Therefore, investing in the correct hardware to ensure optimal coverage, secure networks, and fast connection speed is essential to create the optimal attendee and exhibitor experience.
Exhibition WiFi Security: A Shield for Your Data
While WiFi is essential for any exhibition, it also presents a security risk. Failing to set up secure guest, exhibitor, and organizer networks creates opportunities for bad actors and hackers to penetrate and compromise systems and devices connecting to the network.
Cybercriminals look for weaknesses in WiFi security, and if they find one, they can cause massive reputational damage to the event organizer and the exhibitors. Attendees could have their devices compromised, with hackers stealing personal and financial data.
Implementing Top-Notch Security
Event organizers must implement the proper security protocols to prevent hackers from using it as a way to facilitate cybercrime. Event organizers must execute proper security protocols using WPA3 to secure data transfer. An encrypted connection means that bad actors will steal encrypted files, and there’s nothing they can do with them.
Organizers can set up “captive portals” and client isolation software to segregate the attendee, exhibitor, and organizer networks. This structure also prevents devices from communicating with each other at the venue, preventing hackers from hijacking attendees or exhibitor devices where they can steal data.
Organizers will monitor the networks throughout the show to identify security threats, manage and balance access loads, and prevent downtime. They should encourage attendees and exhibitors to bolster their security using Virtual Private Networks (VPNs).
Vendor WiFi Solutions: Bridging the Gap
Exhibition organizers have two options available to them when setting up WiFi for the event. They can do everything in-house and hire a team to set up and manage the networks, or they can outsource the WiFi management and setup to a specialist firm.
Both have pros and cons. While it’s beneficial to control everything in-house, it adds to overheads regarding salaries, insurance, and hardware costs. Plus, the event organizer will need to upgrade their equipment every few years to stay ahead of the changes in the technological landscape.
That’s a good approach for exhibition companies that host frequent events throughout the year. However, those companies hosting a couple of events annually will benefit from hiring their WiFi solution. Hiring the equipment and a team to monitor it removes the responsibility of managing these solutions while ensuring they have the latest WiFi technology at their event.
Interactive Exhibition WiFi: Engaging the Digital Native
The exhibition landscape continues to evolve as technology progresses. Today, events include virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) to enhance the attendee and exhibitor experience. These attractions require WiFi connectivity.
How to Set Up Interactive Features
Interactive features are essential at trade shows to drive attention, attendee engagement, and conversion. Let’s unpack a step-by-step process exhibitors can use to integrate these technologies alongside WiFi networks at exhibitions and trade shows.
Step #1 – Outline Event Objectives
Does your company want to gather data, improve attendee engagement, or showcase products?
Step #2 – Conduct a Site Survey
Determine coverage and bandwidth requirements. AR and VR apps demand low-latency, high-speed connections for effective, enjoyable event experiences.
Step #3 – Select Interactive Tech
What tech do you want to showcase at the event? AR, VR, touchscreens, and mobile apps are examples of technologies exhibitors can use at events. The goal is to create immersive and memorable experiences for attendees.
Step #4 – Implement User-Friendly Design Interface
Interactive technologies should feature a user-friendly interface, allowing seamless navigation and interactions. Think about adding elements like on-screen instructions, intuitive gestures, and prompts.
Step 5 – Collect Data and Event Feedback
Assessing the event’s success involves exhibitors leveraging the data collected from the network and interactive exhibition elements during the show. Exhibitors can assess which interactive features were popular with attendees and how exhibitors can improve the experience for attendees at the next event.
Conclusion
WiFi is a critical component of the modern trade show experience in the digital age. WiFi enhances the physical event experience for attendees and opens opportunities for hybrid events where organizers can stream the day’s events to a virtual audience in real-time.
WiFi presents organizers and exhibitors with strategic digital assets that improve communication and drive engagement between exhibitors and attendees, improving business conditions at the show. Setting up the WiFi network requires professional experience building, segregating, and isolating networks for optimal security.
Adding firewalls, captive portals, and rate limiting to the setup optimizes performance, prevents hackers from stealing data, and ensures a seamless connectivity experience for attendees and exhibitors across the premises.
In the trade shows and exhibition market, connections and experiences matter most. WiFi acts as a digital platform, bringing everything together. Take your trade show or exhibition to the next level of success and unlock limitless possibilities.