Three letters were made mainstream in the past year but have only been buzzing around the event planning industry recently. Even The Big Three (Google, Apple, and Microsoft) have been touting it at all their product releases. It is expected that all future mobile devices will support these three letters: NFC, otherwise known as Near field communication.
In its simplest terms, NFC makes it easier to process transactions, exchange digital content, and connect NFC-enabled electronic devices, cards and tags with a touch. Event planners have already begun to creatively integrate these into their events.
1. The first thought that comes to mind is to use NFC as a mobile payment transaction service. Attendees can make purchases on-site just by swiping their NFC-enabled phone
2. Event planners can place a NFC tag at their event that will check attendees in when they swipe their NFC enabled phone over it
3. Reduce the cost of printing by allowing attendees to download a copy of the agenda at a conference by simply tapping it on a tag at one of the booths at the event
4. Vendors at tradeshows can implement NFC by placing tags around their booth where attendees can tap to obtain more information on the Vendor and their product and service offering
5. For attendees that don’t have NFC-enabled phones, event planners can create NFC bracelets. At the Manhattan Cocktail Classic, attendees tapped their NFC bracelets (that were linked to their email address) to NFC readers to have recipes sent to them
6. Load NFC bracelets with credits that can be used at concession stands at the event. The North American Veterinary Conference was able to reduce 20% of their costs, as they tended to overestimate the amount of food they would need and would have to pay for it upfront. By issuing these bracelets, the event organizer was able to pay on a transactional basis.
7. Event planners can make it easier to interact with attendees via social networks by simply having them tap their device to an NFC tag to “Like” the event and enter themselves into a competition.
These are just a few creative ways to integrate NFC into your events, what other ways can you think of?