Trade shows, conferences and other events have a prime piece of marketing real estate that often goes overlooked – the ticket itself.
The average attendee at a concert or other event might keep their ticket and the lanyard it’s on for sentimental value in the case of something super special, but the bulk majority of passes, tickets, wrist bands and other means of access are generally tossed in the trash within hours of the end of the event.
This creates a couple of problems in the form of lost revenue and monetization over the ‘long tail’ marketing lifespan, causes the LTV (life time value) of the customer to be lower than necessary, and it makes for an awful lot of trash in the landfill and rubbish bins.
The advent of mobile wallets that are capable of doing vastly more than managing payments offers a new opportunity for event hosts, show promoters, exhibitors and sponsors – it’s now possible to combine the ticket delivery with on-going and flexible marketing efforts while retaining interest over the long run.
Yes, you read that correctly – it’s now possible, using standard Apple technology (and a third party for wallet distribution on Android) to issue mobile wallet tickets to events and leverage them for messaging and marketing purposes. Mobile wallet marketing is a perfect fit for anyone hosting an event, especially those that want to manage traffic flow (geofencing and iBeacons on site), offer sponsors and exhibitors additional value adds, and engage in long term marketing with attendees on future promotions and events.