Using QR Codes to Green Up Your Tradeshow or Event | Guest Post

The following is a guest post by Heidi Thorne, a promotional products marketing expert and social media cheerleader.

I always look forward to attending the summer Advertising Specialty Institute (ASI) promotional products trade show in Chicago. What struck me at this year’s show was how much paper is still used for brochures, directories, catalogs, etc. Significantly less than in years past, but yet a standard operating procedure for most.

About the same time, Lara McCulloch-Carter and I had started talking on Facebook about QR codes – you know, the barcodes that look like checkerboards—and asked: How can we use QR codes to help green up tradeshows and events?

For those unfamiliar with the technology, a QR code is similar to a standard UPC barcode that you see on products in stores. What’s different about them is that they contain much richer information and capabilities for use beyond retail. By scanning these codes with your smartphone (or other scanning device), you can be redirected to sites on the web or even launch delivery of information to your phone, device, or email.

So let’s look at a couple of ways you can use them to green up your trade show or event:

REDUCE PAPER CONSUMPTION

The first and most obvious use would be to help eliminate the need for printed materials such as brochures, catalogs, flyers, and trade show directories. Attendees simply scan a QR code and the desired content is delivered to them immediately on their smartphones or to their email addresses for when they return home. No stress on shoulders from carrying heavy bags of literature around the show floor either!

There are companies that can assist you in setting up your codes and tracking use. For an example of how this can work, visit Eric Lukazewski’s Tradeshow Insight blog post “Actually, It’s Easy Being Green”.

EXPEDITE REGISTRATION & EXHIBITOR DATA COLLECTION

Luckily, almost all exhibitors at the ASI Show were using badge barcode scanners to gather attendee information, as opposed to collecting business cards. I gave out maybe two business cards total. That’s a step forward compared to previous years. But I thought, “Could we make this even better, and greener, with QR codes?”

Welcome to the badge-less future!  Here’s how it might look…

An attendee registers online for your trade show or event. A QR code containing his registration information is electronically delivered to his email or smartphone. Using a QR code scanning device or app, the QR code on his smartphone is read by the event staff (or security) to verify his registration. No stopping to pick up a badge or badge holder and, more importantly, no paper or plastics needed for this show paraphernalia. Plus, this strategy could also be used on the show floor by exhibitors in lieu of the barcode scanners used to collect visitor data. That might seem a bit far off, especially when you consider that I didn’t see even one QR code on the ASI Chicago Show floor. But all the technology is here now. The biggest challenge will be in breaking the habitual ways of doing things and reorienting staff, exhibitors, and attendees for a greener future with this technology.

About Heidi Thorne

Heidi Thorne is a promotional products marketing expert and social media advisor who helps her clients “Keep Your Brand in the Hand of Your Customers.” With over 23 combined years in the hospitality, convention, advertising, and public relations fields, she can advise and guide on marketing for events and trade shows. Visit her PromoWithPurposeToday blog or just scan the QR code below with your smartphone.