Hafele, a furniture fittings company used Exposure Analytics to assess their attendance at the 2018 Kitchen and Bathroom Show. Like many exhibitors, our client was looking for an independent, objective way to demonstrate the return on investment of attending a major trade show. Exposure Analytics was deployed to capture vital data to show the number of visitors, their movement around the stand, engagement rates, and dwell time.
The Challenge
Working out the value of attending a large scale exhibition is difficult, but the pressure to calculate return on investment is growing. The Kitchen, Bedroom and Bathroom Show only takes place once every two years, and Hafele had doubled the size of their stand from 2016, so being able to calculate the impact of the event was really important. Our client had previously measured attendance and interest by the amount of promotional literature given away and scanning attendee badges. They also use discounts and voucher activation to determine levels of engagement, but felt that these figures were only part of the picture and it was hard to know how many people had actually seen their stand and engaged with it. For evaluating and planning future events, they relied on gut feel for busy times, managing staff numbers, and assessing popular parts of the stand.
The Solution
Exposure Analytics provided clear data showing the number of passing visitors, the percentage who engaged with the stand, the average dwell time of those who stopped, routes taken around the stand and the flow volume. Discreet sensors around the stand give a really clear picture day-by-day and hour-by-hour throughout the four day show.
The Data
Our client had an inkling that Sunday was not the busiest day as it had been in previous years, possibly because of snow earlier in the week. The data confirmed this and showed a clear difference in visitor numbers over the four day event.
The pattern over each of the four individual days was broadly similar though, and that will inform our clients planning for their next big event.
The flow chart showed a clear path of movement between the Reception Desk and the VIP bar but also that people moved around the stand in different ways and that there were many routes taken around the stand.
The heat map also shows that all parts of the stand attracted visitors.
The Results
From a detailed analysis and evaluation of data captured by Exposure Analytics. Hafele can compare their sense of how the event went with statistics to either prove or disprove their feeling. The data confirmed that Sunday was not as busy as other days. Our client found the hour by hour analysis particularly useful. They commented:
“When you’re in the thick of it, you know the beginning and end of the day are quietest but it’s hard to keep track of the peaks in between and when the busiest times are. Exposure Analytics was really useful for showing us in detail when the busiest points were.”
The data is available in real time, for comparison immediately after the event and can continue to be accessed to help to plan future events.
The Future
Hafele will use the data and learnings from 2018 to plan for the 2020 Kitchen, Bedroom and Bathroom Show. They explained: “The biggest thing we recognise for 2020 is the need to resource the stand differently, we know the peak times so we can manage our staff more efficiently and reduce or eliminate waiting times for customers wanting to speak to us.
“The stand will be designed a bit differently with a clearer route through and more enclosed. Then we can see whether there is a clear flow and where people stop.
“We will use Exposure Analytics in conjunction with existing lead tracking and blipper information. Then we can tally unique visitors at the show with the number of leads and work out a percentage of leads per visitor. It is definitely a really valuable piece of software to invest in for our key event.”
Over the next two years Exposure Analytics will continue to develop and improve to offer even more sophisticated data and analytics to our clients. Can you afford not to use us for your next big exhibition? Get in touch to find out more or book a demo.