badge ribbons with a purpose

On the plane ride from Montreal to Toronto, I finished reading the latest issue of Corporate Event Magazine. There’s a fantastic article in it called: Customer Anthropology, which shares many great ideas from RSA Security Inc.’s annual information-security conference. I wanted to share one of them with you.

Everyone has seen and/or experienced the standard badge ribbons you pick up at the registration desk. They stick on to your conference nametag and usually tell people your position, your role at the conference, etc. RSA took a pretty tactical product and turned it into a tool that got people talking (literally). With tongue-in-cheek ribbons like:
“I read your e-mail”
“I’m the man in the middle”
and, “Brainy: The New Black”,
they “helped RSA develop a sense of community among attendees, and helped them feel connected to the larger industry.”

All too often conferences, trade shows, exhibitions, etc feel impersonal. But it’s simple and easy, yet big impact ideas like this one that make the experience a lot more interactive and enjoyable.