That Was Easy
Are you looking for a simple way to build your virtual event attendance, magazine subscriptions, memberships, company store or any program that requires sign-up—with or without payments? Show Pro® is rolling out a one-click interface that is simple for registrants and administrators but delivers a full spectrum of management, communication, and analytics tools.
Roll with the Changes
The COVID-19 pandemic has made event managers scramble for creative solutions for face-to-face events that are getting canceled or postponed. Virtual events are once again becoming a hot topic of conversation to allow the show to go on.
A Message from John Kimball
In these extremely difficult and unprecedented times, our number one concern is for our people, our customers and our communities. The impact of Coronavirus on our industry has been devastating and we are all trying to navigate these times in the very best way that we can.
Coronavirus Event Impact Analysis
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is affecting businesses worldwide and is having a particularly profound impact on the events industry. Travel, mingling in crowds, and time in public places are all fundamentals of the event experience, and are the activities the virus is causing people to avoid.
Glad You’re Back
People who start the registration process but don’t complete it do so for a variety of reasons. They may want to attend but got distracted or side-tracked while registering for the event. It can be a simple—and automated—process to get these highly qualified prospects to return and finish registering for your event.
Take the Show on the Road
Show Pro® truly is a complete event solution for your specialty events. Not only does it cover registration, attendee management, and reporting, but it also delivers an easy onsite experience for you, your staff, and your attendees. Onsite check-in, registration, and badging are all integrated into Show Pro.
Personalized Events
Show Pro® not only allows you to setup dynamic registration for your event, it also auto generates a personalized website for each of your attendees that enables them to manage their registration record and prepare for a smooth onsite experience. Registrants receive the necessary information to log in to the site in their confirmation email.
It’s a Privacy Issue
In the December CDS Register newsletter, we announced our adoption of a Universal Privacy Policy that would satisfy existing data privacy laws and be flexible enough to include new laws and regulations as they are enacted.
Stay on Track
One of the best exposure opportunities for sponsors and exhibitors is the CDS Exhibit Tracker program. Exhibit Tracker is an email that is sent to every attendee who had their badge scanned in the exhibit hall with links to information on each exhibitor they visited.
Social Status
Ever since we pioneered social media integration into events using our exclusive development partnership with LinkedIn, we’ve encouraged our clients to leverage these channels to increase attendance, awareness, and communication. The power and reach of social media continue to grow in ways that are increasingly relevant to events.
Get Verified
Getting people to register for an event is an important and sometimes difficult step towards building attendance. But what about making sure those people actually show up onsite? CDS refers to these attendees that were confirmed to be onsite as “verified” attendees.
Looking Back and Looking Forward
2019 saw the rollout of many new tools that help advance our most important initiatives including maximizing understanding your data, shrinking the onsite registration footprint, and providing powerful user-driven programs.
Any Event, Any Size, Now Anywhere
For more than 30 years, Convention Data Services has combined technology and employee talent to provide clients with world-class event solutions and service. We’re incredibly proud of how far we’ve come as an organization and excited to see where we can go next—specifically now as part of the Freeman family.
Security Blanket
The era of consumer privacy is upon us. Lawmakers are beginning to understand and grapple with the implications of a highly connected mobile world that loves to share personal information. Varying regulations have been passed into law due to the absence of an overall federal regulation similar to GDPR adopted by the European Union. CDS has decided to address this disparity by implementing a blanket policy that encompasses all known laws and achieves the underlying objective of respecting and protecting the privacy of consumers.
Show Like a Pro
While your big annual event reaches a crescendo of effort, your multiple smaller and specialty events have a regularity that is always on your mind. There are a number of do-it-yourself registration builders available, but wouldn’t it be nice to get the most powerful tool from your current big event vendor that knows event audiences—specifically yours!
Speedy Delivery
Do your exhibitors want to develop relationships quickly with prospects? CDS can help with Literature Fulfillment built right into our lead retrieval solutions. Added to the follow-up emails that can be sent directly from XPress Connect lead retrieval, exhibitors can now add links to brochures, manuals, videos, and other content requested by booth visitors.
Face Bookings
You’ve got social media working to bring attention to your event by sending updates, posting new happenings, and encouraging your followers to invite their friends. But are you leveraging all of the functionality that these programs have built in to help drive your attendance? Facebook has a great option that you can start using today to increase your registration numbers.
Intelligent FAQ
CDS has rolled out intelligent FAQ management that prioritizes attendees’ top needs and questions. The FAQ Builder library of questions and responses are common to all events as well as specific to your individual event and always present the most popular inquiries first.
At the Speed of Mobile
As part of CDS’ never ending quest to speed attendees into your event, we have rolled out our Mobile Badge Print capability. Instead of carrying a printed email and waiting in line to access a check-in station, attendees can enter a short code matched to a printer and instantly print their own badge.
Get the Message
Although exhibitors have different goals for collecting leads onsite, the foremost objective is to generate sales. CDS has taken a major step toward this effort. The XPress Connect family of lead retrieval has an optional feature that sends text alerts to a selected sales representative when a prospect from their territory is scanned in the booth.
One Website to Control Them All
We’ve brought it all together with the CDS Hub—a centralized launch pad for all our client-facing tools. Log in once and seamlessly move between managing attendee records, to real-time registration updates, to in depth business intelligence analytics.
Right on Target
Segmented marketing has become a mainstay of most events’ promotional strategy. Sending just the right message to each targeted group increases response and registration rates. Segmented marketing has never been easier with CDS’ Data Sense® BI tool and our Attendance Builder program.
Back to School
Event education is an important and often required aspect of professional development for attendees. You can make earning and verifying credits easy for event attendees with tracking and certification of CEU/CME.
Inquiring Minds Want to Know
You can never start building attendance too soon. Capitalize on this year’s excitement to build next year’s attendance! Give your attendees an easy and quick way to sign up for next year’s event with the CDS Inquiry Page.
By the Book
Every event offers a unique opportunity for exhibitors, chapters, groups, and other affiliates to gain valuable insight from attendees. Your affiliates can leverage these connections by facilitating function space reservations with CDS Book-It.
Get Smart
A well-informed exhibitor is a successful exhibitor onsite. Last year, CDS launched its comprehensive Exhibitor Portal allowing exhibitors to manage all their interactions with XPress Leads® through a single online hub. This summer we have expanded the portal to include an extensive knowledge base.
Why This Ad?
Events rely heavily on social media for spreading the word and building attendance. Did you ever wonder what specifically is saved in your online profiles that is used to select what ads you see? We have all heard of the social and search algorithms, as well as your online history that drives which ads appear, but did you know that you can look at the specifics of your Facebook ad preferences?
It Is Easy Being Green
Have you reviewed your green policies lately? Technological advances have made going green with your badges, lanyards, and holders upgrades to consider. Badge holders in particular are a good candidate for waste reduction with the adoption of eco-friendly, biodegradable alternatives.
Face the Facts
CDS rolled out its facial recognition software in 2019 with several test events to gauge the smoothness of our software as well as attendee’s acceptance of the technology. The technology worked great, almost all users enjoyed the process, but others voiced concern about privacy.
Why Are You Leaving?
CDS will never abandon you—all your events have the abandonment email included as part of the registration pages. The email can now include a single question survey to help understand why some registrations are not completed.
High Performance Data
Would you like to know at a glance how this year’s event is performing compared to previous years? You can easily do this now by viewing your key performance indicators. The new KPI Dashboard in Data Sense®, which is available this summer, allows show managers to assess how an event is trending over a variety of metrics.
GDPR – California Style
No one is surprised that consumer privacy laws similar to those enacted in the EU would come into law in the United States. While many states have articles on the books dealing with data privacy and all have laws on breach notifications, the California law, which takes effect on January 1, 2020, is the most comprehensive to date. Known as the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), this law aims to ensure California’s citizens personal data privacy.
Bookin’ It Back
In Data Sense®, you can create many different custom views using specific filter criteria that you may want to save for future or repeated use. Data Sense has a built-in bookmarking ability that allows you to easily save and retrieve your custom data sets.
Digging Even Deeper
CDS has added several new enhancements to Data Sense® that allow you to dig even deeper into your event data. We have exposed more fields and added more filters to provide better insight and drive more powerful promotions while keeping the whole experience simple and intuitive.
Case Study – Centralized Data
See how Access Intelligence increased attendee revenue by 11% in one year for their Satellite event with a business intelligence tool that centralized multiple event data and allowed them to visualize, analyze and understand their event.
Keep ‘Em Coming Back
Attendee retention is part of any solid event foundation. Alumni are the proverbial low hanging fruit. But what makes alumni skip events or stop attending? How can you make alumni permanent fixtures at your events? Our Data Sense® business intelligence tool now has an Alumni Dashboard that gives you the actionable analytics to understand and grow your returning audience.
Alerting All Sales Reps
Although exhibitors have different goals for collecting leads onsite, the foremost objective is to generate sales. CDS has taken a major step toward this effort. The XPress Connect family of lead retrieval has an optional feature that sends a text alert to a selected sales representative when a prospect from their territory is scanned in the booth.
Las Vegas Market Seeks Alert Feature for Exhibitors
LVM’s goal was to offer lead management services that provided exhibitors with a constant stream of marketing and sales opportunities. Lead retrieval was critical because this show is a buyer’s event. Connecting attendees to product representatives allowed exhibitors to take orders during the show and maximize ROI. Convention Data Services (CDS) was challenged to provide lead retrieval technology that did more than just scan badges. Exhibitors wanted the capability of triggering an alert when a badge was scanned to notify sales representatives when an attendee from their territory was in the showroom.
Event Poaching with Google AdWords
In a previous issue of The Register, we discussed how poachers are setting up fake websites to mimic your event, registration, and housing sites. There are many techniques used for attracting victims onto these sites, including appearing at the top of Google Search results using your event name and top search terms.
President’s Message
Connecting People Is Out Top Priority
At the most basic level, the events industry is about connecting people. Our tagline is connecting people, driving events—and we strive to do this every day. For the past decade, CDS has experienced strong yet sustainable growth. As we head into 2019 and beyond, our challenge is to manage the unpredictability of the economy and be prepared for the unexpected.
The Gift That Keeps On Giving
Understanding your event keeps getting easier with Data Sense®, our business intelligence tool. The latest Data Sense for Lead Retrieval feature broadens your ability to gain insights into your exhibit hall floor. Our lead retrieval scans are integrated with data from your service providers, including a2z and Map Your Show, to provide a greater level of detail than any single source of exhibit hall analysis.
Keep Your Booth Buzzing
Written by Craig Drushella, Onsite Operations and Logistics Manager at CDS. In the past eight years, Craig has traveled to more than 180 events across numerous industries.
Attendees want a memorable onsite experience, and show managers cannot deliver this alone. With so much happening at every show, exhibitors need to find creative ways to not only draw attendees into their booth but also encourage them to stay. CDS staff is onsite at hundreds of events each year and has seen it all. Based on their observations, here are four of their favorite techniques to keep your booth buzzing.
In Case You Missed It
Throughout 2018, CDS launched new products and made enhancements to many of our existing products. More new and exciting products are launching in 2019. Read on for a reminder of this year’s biggest advances.
Hold On Tight
Attendee retention is part of a solid event foundation. Alumni are the proverbial low hanging fruit. But what makes them skip events or stop attending and how can you make them permanent fixtures at your events? Our Data Sense business intelligence tool now has an Repeat Attendance Dashboard that gives you the actionable analytics to understand and grow your returning alumni audience.
CDS Delivers a Major Upgrade at Expo! Expo!
Visit Booth #709 to find out how CDS can help upgrade any event, any size. You can meet our staff, demo our products, enter contests to win a Cape Cod Getaway or Apple AirPods, and enjoy a unique photo experience!
Talk Data to Me
A vital component of many of your events is the CDS Contact Center. Representatives provide live phone, email, and chat support. Traditionally, a reporting spreadsheet was sent out weekly with statistics on interactions. These reports are now being generated through Data Sense, our business intelligence tool, with expanded analytics capabilities and 24/7 access.
Can You Hear Me Now?
Customer service is the cornerstone of every successful event, and no one delivers a higher level of personalized service than our Customer Contact Center. More than just a call center, we provide a professional and personal face for your event with live phone, chat, and email support.
Go Green or Go Home
Does your event adhere to environmentally responsible standards? Convention Data Services is committed to fostering a positive environmental impact for our clients by providing a choice of products manufactured to state-of-the-art green standards. Our vendors and suppliers are required to include the latest environmentally friendly alternatives as part of the procurement process.
Bust a Move
Would you like to offer your preregistered attendees and exhibitors a way to avoid registration lines and enter the show faster? CDS offers Line Busters as a quick, flexible, and efficient addition to your registration process. The Line Buster app is designed to expedite the check-in process for any attendee and exhibitor who registered for the show in advance.
Poaching Won’t Go Over Easy
The risk of poaching is not a new issue with events—and not an easy task to prevent from happening. Poachers, or unauthorized entities that pose as show-approved vendors, sell fake hotel reservations, registrations, and other services to your unsuspecting attendees and exhibitors. Technologies, such as mobile devices and social media, have increased the channels through which poachers target your audience.
Take a Stand Making Your First Impression
Make a great first impression with our new Reg Stands! Reg Stands combine all onsite registration, check-in, and lookup functionality into a single, elegant station. The modern-looking stand houses a touch screen tablet, scanner, and card swipe—replacing the laptop, mouse, scanner, and card swipe on counter tops.
Choices, Choices…
All show managers know that the most tangible part of registration is the badge. Configurations, styles, and possibilities with CDS badges are nearly unlimited. Your options include a vast assortment of stock, styles, and designs. Our data driven, proprietary program to print and manage your customized badges generates the one item common to all show attendees.
Come Together
Successful exhibiting has come a long way from the days of showing up and collecting some business cards. Exhibitors use social media, invitations, sponsorships, networking, and matchmaking initiatives to drive success in their booth. Onsite beacons, socialization, and contests also help drive booth traffic. These opportunities all require additional upfront and onsite preparation by exhibiting companies.
CDS Interns Experience the Events Industry
Cape Cod Today, a daily e-newsletter servicing Cape Cod and the islands, published a series of intern chronicles this summer which featured Cape Cod residents interning at local companies. Three CDS interns were included in the series, one of which became a full-time employee after graduating this summer.
Tell Me a Data Story
Everywhere you turn people are extolling the virtues of data. Analyzing your data allows for a deeper understanding and the creation of targeted experiences. Getting your hands on the right information, however, can be daunting even with access to powerful analytics tools and reporting sites. Data stories can help you quickly identify the information you need, as well as act as instructions for accessing that data.
Bridging the Gap
As a show manager, new opportunities to engage your audience are appearing constantly. Many of the opportunities rely on coordinating unrelated data sources to give the user the optimum experience. CDS has an API Bridge that allows your organization, software, and vendors to easily, quickly and harmoniously work with your registration data.
Convention Data Services Announces Strategic Changes to Sales Organization
CDS is excited to announce strategic changes to our national sales organization effective immediately. We are increasing our sales presence in two of the major tradeshow association markets: Chicago, IL and Washington, D.C. These changes are designed to capitalize on the company’s strong sales momentum and grow the organization in key markets.
CDS Promotes Dave Wuethrich to Chief Operating Officer
CDS has created a chief operating officer position, and Dave Wuethrich has been promoted to this new role. Dave has been with CDS for 18 years and will now oversee product and service delivery of events.
Recruit Me
This is a summary of an article that was written by Kelsey Lawrence, Marketing Coordinator at Convention Data Services, and recently published by MeetingsNet. Kelsey Lawrence, who recently joined CDS as a full-time employee after interning for three years during college and graduate school, shares perspectives on recruiting young people into the events industry.
As a meeting organizer or show manager, you want to attract young professionals to the events industry. Millennials love travel, flexible schedules, and maintaining their work-life balance. This makes the meeting and events industry very attractive to millennials, but they need to know what opportunities are out there.
Taking Credit
Event education is an important and often required aspect of professional development for attendees. You can make earning and verifying credits easy for event attendees with tracking and certification of CEU/CME.
A Match Made in Heaven
More and more frequently, beacons and lead retrieval are being mentioned together. The combination of beacon’s passive data collection coupled with lead retrieval’s detailed lead capture is the ideal union for exhibitors and show managers. CDS XPress Connect lead retrieval now integrates beacon data right into the app, opening up a host of new opportunities.
Make Yourself at Home
Each event offers a unique opportunity for exhibitors, chapters, groups, and other affiliates to gain valuable insight from attendees. Your affiliates can leverage these connections by facilitating function space reservations with CDS Book-It.
Four Ways to Keep Remote Employees Connected
This is a summary of an article that was written by Dave Wuethrich, Director of Event Services at Convention Data Services, and recently published by MeetingsNet.
In the tradeshow industry, extensive travel is very common, resulting in more remote employees. In my department at CDS, 50 percent of employees hired in the past year work remotely in a variety of positions.
Don’t Worry, Be Prepared: Five Emergency Planning Tips
This is a summary of an article, written by Dave Wuethrich, Director of Event Services at Convention Data Services, that appeared recently in Successful Meetings.
Emergencies obviously happen without warning. Being proactive and having a plan in place ahead of time can reduce stress and allow you to be prepared for unexpected circumstances and possible cancellations or rescheduling of shows.
People Who Bought This…
Amazon receives 35 percent of revenue from upsells. Using Amazon’s data to create a profile of what each shopper is most likely to buy and presenting the information at the right time translates into billions of dollars in sales for the retail giant. Using your existing and real-time event information, CDS can incorporate recommendations right into the registration process as your attendees are selecting items and making their participation plans.
Where in the World Are Your Attendees?
Experiential marketing is a great way to immerse attendees in your event and to build an audience of engaged prospects. CDS Geo Attendance Map displays a world-wide view of participants, showing your event’s broad appeal. The product displays maps of the world, the United States, and individual countries with highlighted regions indicating the volume of participants from different locations.
CDS and FABTECH Partner to Reduce Registration Lines
This case study was featured in a recent Convene Magazine article.
FABTECH is North America’s largest metal forming, fabricating, welding, and finishing event. In 2016, there were more than 31,000 attendees and 1,400 exhibitors. Managing registration with so many attendees was a major challenge. With so many people needing their badges at the same time, strategies were needed to set up alternative check-in and registration areas.
CDS Opens New Corporate Headquarters
Convention Data Services (CDS) has invested in our infrastructure and constructed a new corporate headquarters to support the company’s strategic growth, which includes expanding our workforce by 25 percent over three years.
GDPR Strategy
It is imperative that you seek legal guidance to bring your organization into compliance with the GDPR regulations. It's also important to have a rough idea of how the regulations will affect your organization to help provide a framework for your legal conversations. CDS has compiled a list of useful resource links to get you started on working through GDPR compliance.
Data Sense On Location
Data Sense business analytics is the perfect tool for uncovering trends and opportunities in your event data. Comparing similar aspects of your event using the year-over-year options in Data Sense can result in clear, actionable initiatives. One insight that show managers have begun pulling from Data Sense is which venues result in the highest registration and attendance numbers.
GDPR Update
What is GDPR?
The EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is the European Union’s broad legislation designed to ensure EU citizens’ privacy and protect them from data breaches. This legislation affects the use and storage of attendee, exhibitor, and event audience data for participants who are EU citizens. GDPR is designed to empower EU individuals to have more control over the use of their personal information.
Specialty Event Tracking
Now available at CDS is the ability to add third-party tracking codes to eReg websites. Tracking programs currently supported include Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, Facebook Pixel, Adobe Analytics, and Feathr Super Pixel. If you currently use one of these tracking methods, you will be able to enter your script and add eReg to your marketing tracking initiatives.
The One That Didn’t Get Away
People do not complete their registrations for a variety of reasons even during a simple process. They may step away from their computer, take a call, or become distracted for a multitude of reasons. These prospective attendees who started registration and then abandoned their record are prime subjects for remarketing campaigns.
That Makes Sense
In 2017, CDS rolled out our advanced business intelligence tool Data Sense. The ability to integrate data from across events through a centralized framework has given our clients the in-depth analysis to implement effective marketing campaigns, understand trends, and map a path to success.
We’re Moving!
CONVENTION DATA SERVICES BREAKS GROUND ON NEW CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS
Groundbreaking — March 2017
Estimated Completion — Spring 2018
President’s Message: 2018 Promises to Be a Strong Year for CDS
As CEO—and a long-term CDS employee—I could not be any more excited for the prospect of 2018. During the past year, we have been creating and implementing strategic initiatives to set us up for the opportunities and challenges anticipated in 2018 and beyond.
Reports on the Run
XPress eReports gives you mobile access to the CDS industry leading event reporting system—XPress Reports. Retrieving your event’s vital statistics on the go is the ideal use of eReports. You can receive quick updates when on the show floor, in a meeting, or while traveling.
Memorable Corporate Events
This article is a summary of a tip sheet written by Christine Cullity, CDS Director of Marketing and Public Relations, that was recently published by Corporate Event News.
Five Tips for Creating a Memorable Corporate Event
Every summer on beautiful Cape Cod, Convention Data Services organizes a client advisory group event. Here are some tips for creating a memorable event based on our experiences.
I Want You for Next Year’s Show
Start building your attendance for next year during the excitement of this year’s event. The Mobile Inquiry gives your attendees an easy and quick way to sign up for next year’s event.
Build Future Attendance Today
You can never start too soon building event awareness. Capitalize on this year’s excitement to build next year’s attendance! Give your attendees an easy and quick way to sign up for next year’s event with the CDS Inquiry Page.
Winning Strategies for Exhibitors
This article is a summary of a tip sheet by Sharon Keane, CDS Sales and Exhibitor Services Manager, that was recently published by Trade Show News Network and featured in the IAEE OnPoint Newsletter.
How Exhibitors Can Create a Winning Strategy to Maximize ROI
As an exhibitor, you carefully select which shows to attend, invest time and money in these events, and create the ideal booth.
Raising the Bar
XPress Connect lead retrieval just keeps getting better! Already the most powerful lead retrieval products available in the events industry, CDS has added new features to enhance usability and incorporate proactive notifications that turn leads into interactions.
Keeping on the Right Track
What if you could connect your attendees with just the right vendors and suppliers, enable qualified prospects to proactively contact your exhibitors, and extend the life of your event well beyond the onsite experience? The CDS Exhibit Tracker makes this not only possible but effortless for you and your exhibitors.
Get More From Your Show Guide
Excerpt of article by Becky Hansen published in Successful Meetings
Mobile event guide apps are a vital resource for attendees to connect with everything at the event. Show managers can make the most of their event guide app and encourage more attendees to download and rely on the guide by following five easy steps.
Get the Show on the Road
Maximize the impact of your smaller specialty events. Now CDS gives you an affordable way to bring the convenience of full-sized events to the ones you manage internally. Say goodbye to spreadsheets and hello to Showcase.
Expo! Expo! 2017: CDS Solutions for Any Event, Any Size
Visit booth #1211 at IAEE Expo! Expo! to find out how CDS can help you with any event, any size. Meet our staff, demo our products, enter contests to win a Cape Cod vacation escape or a pair of cool Ray Bans, and enjoy a fun interactive experience!
Polls You Can Trust
SCOUT Event Guide continues to grow with polling capabilities for individual sessions as well as for the overall event. Asking attendees to complete a survey is an excellent way to find out what they are thinking. There is no more convenient or timely way to survey your attendees then in the show guide app.
Congratulations Gold 100 Winners
Congratulations Trade Show Executive Gold 100 Winners!
CDS is thrilled to congratulate six of our clients for winning Gold 100 Awards:
- Best Program to Help Exhibitors Maximize their ROI: AAOS Annual Meeting
- Best Use of Technology: Solar Power International
- Largest Biennial Trade Show of 2016: International Manufacturing Technology Show
- Marketing Genius Award: Jenn Heinold, Senior Vice President, Events, Access Intelligence
- Super Sticky Show Floor: National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show
See You at Expo! Expo!
Don’t miss Ken Ferreira, CDS National Sales Application Manager, present with client, Iain Mackenzie, VP of Meetings & Events from International Sign Association, at IAEE Expo! Expo! 2017. The session, Got Growth? How Two Companies are Leveraging Data to Enhance Attendee Acquisition, is on Thursday, November 30, 2017 from 10:15-11:15 am. In the session, you’ll learn how data driven insights have been used to enhance decision making effectiveness and grow marketing strategies.
Get Out of Line
Shortening lines and speeding up onsite registration are always goals of CDS and our clients as well. Get Out of Line is a best practice used by several of our clients to register attendees onsite and quickly move them into your event.
You Know the Drill
Becoming an analytics pro can be as easy as a few mouse clicks when you’re using the right tools. Data Sense, the CDS business intelligence platform, has a drill down capability that allows you to explore the details behind any statistic and discover the forces driving the results.
Giving Is Better Than Receiving
Having a corporate giving initiative is part of the culture at Convention Data Services. Our program includes making monetary donations to worthy causes and offering employees the opportunity to spend workdays volunteering. Recently we donated to the American Red Cross supporting families affected by Hurricane Harvey.
TMI! You Need a Filter!
Last month we talked about how Data Sense® brings actionable analytics to your event’s big data. But how do you translate this abundance of information into the insights that lead to good decisions? The answer, of course, is by using filters.
Guide the Way
New SCOUT® Event Guide Marketing Kit
Many shows now offer an event guide app to attendees and exhibitors. But just offering an app is not enough—you need to market and promote the app as a valuable tool for your event.
On a Laptop Near You
CDS August Product Webinar
The next CDS Product Webinar is on August 15, 2017 at 2:00 p.m. and features Attendee Lists and Exhibitor Emails. Our 30-minute product webinars offer valuable insights and best practices on CDS products and services. Join Nicole Hutchison and Julie Nelson and learn how to maximize your return on these two popular products.
One Thing Leads to Another
Not long ago, having the ability to manipulate your data was a major challenge for businesses. It was inevitable that the quick advance of technology would make Big Data accessible to every business in an affordable, versatile, and useful format. In seconds, any level user can answer questions that not long ago would have taken hours or days of manipulating data to answer.
Make Your Data Work for You
Recently, an article written by JD Hawley was published on Trade Show News Network website. Here is a summary of the article.
Throughout the registration process of an event, show management has the opportunity to collect an incredible amount of data about the show’s attendees. Taking data and making it work for you is about more than just capturing information. Data needs to be analyzed and acted upon to produce a successful event.
Come on Down!
Leverage the customer connections of your exhibitors to fill your hall with qualified buyers. Both the CDS Invite-a-Customer and VIP Invitations increase your exposure to qualified attendees and are proven acquisition tools. Exhibitors can be your best source for attracting new and highly engaged attendees.
Can I Help You?
Centralize and streamline your staff’s onsite support using the CDS Show Management Staff App. Using the app lets you scan a badge and click a topic to create a comprehensive—and eye opening—record of your onsite support and staff interactions with attendees.
SCOUT Event Guide June Webinar
Don’t Miss June’s Product Webinar!
The next CDS Product Webinar is on June 29, 2017 at 2:00 p.m. Our product webinars, which were created based on your requests for more in-depth product information, have been very popular. Each webinar lasts for 30 minutes and offers valuable insights and best practices on CDS products and services. In June, the topic is SCOUT.
Your Place or Mine?
Each event offers a unique opportunity for exhibitors, chapters, groups, and other affiliates to gain valuable insight from attendees. CDS can help your affiliates leverage these connections by facilitating function space reservations with Book-It.
All About Beacons
June Product Webinar
Don’t miss the next CDS product webinar on June 6, 2017 at 2:00 ET! Our series of monthly webinars is based on your overwhelming requests for more information on our products. Each webinar lasts 30 minutes and offers valuable insights and best practices on CDS products and services. This month, the topic will be beacon technology.
6 Ways to Boost ROI
Ken Ferreira, National Sales Application Manager for CDS, recently wrote an article that appeared in Meetings & Conventions on this topic. In the article, Ken addressed how event managers are always looking for ways to drive more value from demographic event data. Knowing how to analyze and understand the data is the key to your success.
Get Connected
The newest version of the SCOUT Event Guide has hit the stores and is ready for your 2017 events! With version 2.0, the full-featured SCOUT grows your event beyond the onsite experience and mobile devices to deliver a fully connected experience for attendees and event managers.
If They’re Happy, Everyone Is Happy
CDS’ Exhibitor Services products and services are much more than just lead retrieval. The entire program is designed to help exhibitors realize onsite success as well as help show managers build booth sales, increase qualified prospects and enable them to easily and convincingly show the real value of exhibiting.
Coming to a Laptop Near You
Product Webinar Debut
On April 25, 2017, CDS is excited to hold the first in a series of product webinars. We have created these webinars based on your overwhelming requests for more information on our products. Each webinar will last 30 minutes and offer valuable insights on getting the most out of the CDS products and services used at your events.
Closing the Loop
Help your exhibitors build booth traffic and increase your attendee list sales at the same time! CDS has integrated our Attendee Lists with X•Press Exhibitor Emails—the free program that allows exhibitors to send multiple promotional email blasts.
Did We Miss Anyone?
Do you want to help your exhibitors have the best prospecting experience at your event? Then you should offer Attendee Lists. CDS Attendee Lists contain all of the information necessary for exhibitors to fill their booths with qualified prospects and effectively follow up post-event with the right audience.
Modern Marketing Simplified
Current data channels and analytical insights allow you to reach truly qualified attendees with an individual message that makes them become loyal fans of your event. In the competitive event market, CDS is your partner for proactive attendee acquisition and retention. We can show you how to use your registration data to create marketing initiatives that increase attendance.
No Lines… No Waiting… No Kidding!
Would you like to offer your preregistered attendees and exhibitors a way to avoid registration lines and enter the show faster? CDS offers Onsite Wireless Will Call as a quick, flexible, and efficient addition to your registration process. The app is designed to expedite the check-in process for any attendee and exhibitor who registered for the show in advance.
Save the Date
Don’t Miss the Debut of Product Webinars on April 25, 2017
CDS is excited to announce a series of monthly product webinars beginning on April 25, 2017. These webinars have been created based on overwhelming requests from you, our clients, to learn more about our products and services. Our goal is to help you drive attendees to your event and improve your exhibitors’ return on investment.
Open for Business
Do you have logo clothing such as shirts and hats, or tchotchkes such as mugs or chargers that your attendees can purchase to brag about going to your event? Using CDS’ Buy It store brings a special retail aspect to your event. The Buy It website can leverage your existing funds processing integration to launch your retail business!
More Schooling
Education plays an important part in your event, and the CDS SCOUT Event Guide delivers advanced support for your sessions. We have expanded the sessions to include filtering, materials, feedback and other features to engage your attendees.
Make It Easy For Me
As your event grows and the venue expands beyond the conference center, the first destination for attendees’ may not be the main registration area in the center. CDS Satellite Check-In goes where your attendees go—hotels, transportation hubs, outdoor events or even the remote corners of the conference center.
Worldwide Exposure
The Geo Attendance Map shows attendee numbers by state, province and country on a full-screen, graphical map. Clicking on a location brings up a list of attendees from that area. Sponsorship capabilities have been added to Geo Map to give a select sponsor great exposure in a well-traveled and engaging program.
Globalization Lives On
Engage your attendees and show them the broad appeal of your show with Geo Attendance Map, the program which graphically displays a world-wide view of your event audience. The interactive tool displays maps of the world, United States or other individual countries, with regions (states, countries, etc.) highlighted to indicate the volume of participants from every location.
President’s Message
First, let me give a heartfelt thanks to all our clients and industry partners for making 2016 a milestone year for CDS while we celebrated our 30th anniversary!
The Best of Both Worlds
Isn’t it great when the alternative you really want actually ends up saving you time and money! For all of our do-it-yourselfer clients, we’ve added a content manager to the latest version of our SCOUT Event Guide. Now you can make real-time updates to your show guide and we’ll compensate you for your editorial prowess with a discount on the price!
Bringing Home the Beacon
Find out where attendees spend their time, their journey line through your event and what really interests them. Tracking movements and participation onsite gives you the most accurate possible picture of how people interact with your event, what is working onsite, and what areas hold untapped potential.
Got Data Sense?
CDS Data Sense is an advanced business intelligence tool that integrates data from across your events into a centralized framework for real-time reporting and in-depth analysis. Data Sense brings your event data under control and harnesses its power to help you intuitively map a direct path to success.
The Leader of the Pack
SCOUT Event Guide, which immediately set the standard for show apps, has raised the bar even farther with a new release for the Fall of 2016. New features for attendees and show managers bring everyone deeper into your event with greater interactivity and seamless integration with our other popular products.
I’d Like to Buy a Vowel, Please
CDS has developed a new way of looking at your events by focusing on the core goals common to every show. We refer to the concept as the Event Profile Index which is composed of five primary objectives that together make each event a unique experience. The five actionable objectives are: Attract, Engage, Interact, Organize and Understand.
Is It December Already?
CDS has been an IAEE Expo Expo exhibitor for 21 consecutive years and our staff is always looking forward to visiting old friends and meeting new ones onsite. This year’s event is being held in Anaheim on December 6th through 8th. Stop by booth #1071 and enter to win one of several prizes we are giving away. We’ll also be unveiling one of our most significant product additions yet.
Better Service
Centralize and streamline your staff’s onsite support. The Show Management Staff App lets you scan a badge and click a topic to create a comprehensive—and eye opening—record of your onsite support and staff interactions with attendees.
Being There
CDS’ founder, Doug Fletcher used to refer to the onsite event experience as the mission critical aspect of registration. Once onsite, all the preparation needs to come together flawlessly to give your attendees and exhibitors a memorable and fulfilling experience. There is no substitute for having a fully vested partner supporting you to ensure onsite success.
What Are You Thinking?
Do you want to know what your attendees, exhibitors, and event community are thinking? Ask them in a survey. Convention Data Service’s Surveys will help you gain real insight into the wants and needs of your event audience. Before, during and after the event, surveys provide real-time access to critical information.
Keep On Track
Get the complete picture of your attendee participation and engagement. The Tracker smartphone app provides session tracking, access control, and validation all in one integrated package. Online or offline, Tracker keeps your event moving smoothly.
A Year to Remember
CDS has introduced so many new products and enhancements in the last year that it can be hard to remember them all. Let’s recap! As always, if you hear about something you like, contact your Account Executive for more information or a demo. Here we go…
One Prospect at a Time
Segmented marketing has become a mainstay of most events’ promotional strategy. Sending just the right message to each targeted group increases response and registration rates. Segmented marketing has never been easier with CDS’ reporting portal and new Attendance Builder program.
Something for Everybody
Lead retrieval is a cornerstone of our business and we are constantly updating our programs to keep pace with technology and to be the first to roll out new features for exhibitors. The technology helps exhibitors qualify and understand their customers at a time when prospects expect a more personalized level of service.
Real-time Hindsight
Year-over-year (YOY) reporting has come to X•Press Reports in the form of a reporting module and graphical dashboard! Yearly comparisons let you quantify the growth of your event, understand shifts in attendee behavior, and compare key performance metrics.
We’ve Got Good News
There is a great new source for event insight and information—the recently launched CDS blog! Our company is filled with some of the best and brightest talent in the industry who are anxious to share their knowledge and ideas.
Can You Picture That?
A picture is truly worth 1000 words with the Year-Over-Year (YOY) registration dashboard that has been added to X•Press Reports. The dashboard brings an analytical perspective to the new YOY Reports with side-by-side graphic comparisons of any two events.
Event Building Blocks
CDS has a mission to be your one-stop event source—more specifically, your one-stop registration and lead management source. Our registration services are comprehensive, but there are many fantastic software products made for our industry and at the periphery that can also be a homerun for your event. We have implemented thousands of integrations to make these products available to your attendees and exhibitors as a seamless part of their experience.
Smooth Landing
CDS is all about streamlining the registration process. Landing pages, originally designed to smooth registration, have evolved from a courtesy to a versatile engagement opportunity. This subject may not have you sitting on the edge of your seat, but this humble page can build NEXT year’s attendance, decrease support costs, increase attendance and memberships, drive event site traffic and create year round interactions.
3… 2… 1… Blast Off!
We are very excited that our new website has launched! As the trusted registration and lead capture partner for businesses and associations worldwide, it is important to us to have information regarding our company, products/services, and industry readily available. Designed with you in mind, it’s never been easier to learn about CDS and our modern event solutions.
Spread the Word
X•Press Invite-a-Colleague is a powerful, viral marketing tool that helps increase registrations and build your event audience. Invite-a-Colleague allows registrants and others in the event community to send a personalized email to friends and associates inviting them to your event.