WO2012032506A1

WO2012032506A1 - Method and system for trade show information management

Info

Publication number: WO2012032506A1
Application number: PCT/IL2011/000703
Authority: WO
Inventors: Nufar Sapir
Original assignee: Bluestone Business Development Ltd.
Priority date: 2010-09-06
Filing date: 2011-09-05
Publication date: 2012-03-15
Also published as: WO2012032506A8

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for managing trade show information and for providing comprehensive solution for all known aspects of information handling in Trade Show, which comprises: a) Providing a TSIM server for allowing registered exhibitors to provide information regarding their media items (e.g., brochures, data sheets, videos and all other marketing materials) and for allowing registered and non-registered visitors to obtain information regarding said exhibitors; b) Providing a registration website for allowing said exhibitors and said visitors to interact with said TSIM server, wherein the interacting includes: i) providing data capturing means for capturing one or more media items during said trade show, wherein said capturing is done either by said visitors or by said exhibitors; ii) loading all media item captured on a personal designated site for the visitor; and iii) evaluating and marking information regarding said captured media items.

Description

METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR TRADE SHOW INFORMATION

MANAGEMENT

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to the field of trade shows. More particularly, the invention relates to a method and a system for enabling all users involved in a trade show, such as visitors, participants, exhibitors, etc., to centralize information management for trade show, and utilize it efficiently.

Background of the invention

Trade Shows (TS) are a major Business to Business (B2B) marketing channel in the Business world, where exhibitors meet visitors (also called delegates, attendees). Generally, the products of trade shows are personal networking and information transfer. However, this process has not been changed fundamentally in the last decades. Furthermore, the trade show industry suffers from complicated and inefficient information management.

Trade show information is currently managed by "chance". The average visitor collects a large amount of brochures, catalogues and CDs, physically or electronically during the Trade Show, in order to try and find useful information in them after the Trade Show. There is an alternative to those, which is - sending all the information by mail to the visitor, or giving him CD or other means where all the information is condensed. It also has to be noted that the visitor comes as representative of an organization and has to disseminate the collected information in his organization. This is nowadays a complicated task. On the other hand, the exhibitors also do not know what happens to the marketing materials they give. Therefore, there is a clear need to move this industry a step forward, and to address these problems with a comprehensive solution that includes all process, before, during and after the trade show.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a system which is capable of improving the way trade show business is being handled. For this purpose the Trade Show Information Management (TSIM — or commercially called - BlueStone Nexus) system of this invention, offers a comprehensive solution for information handling for all Trade Show steps, before, during and after Trade Show. It has to be noted that Trade Shows are a private case of general marketing activities, and the solution offered herby can be used for day to day marketing activities.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a more "green" and environmental friendly event by reducing the consumption of printed material by visitors of the trade show.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the description proceeds.

Summary of the Invention

The present invention offers a unique solution (technology, process & methodology) for managing information in the trade show market. This solution will be implemented by all the players in the trade show market, namely Visitors, Exhibitors, Trade Show organizers and their organizations before, during and after the Trade Show.

The present invention relates to a method for managing trade show information and for providing comprehensive solution for all known aspects of information handling in Trade Show, which comprises: a) Providing a TSIM server for allowing registered exhibitors to provide information regarding their media items (e.g., brochures, data sheets, videos and all other marketing materials) and for allowing registered and non-registered visitors to obtain information regarding said exhibitors; b) Providing a registration website for allowing said exhibitors and said visitors to interact with said TSIM server, wherein the interacting includes:

I. Providing data capturing means for capturing one or more media items during said trade show, wherein said capturing is done either by said visitors or by said exhibitors;

II. Loading all media item captured on a personal designated site for the visitor; and

III. Evaluating and marking information regarding said captured media items.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the method further comprises forwarding or sharing the evaluated and marked information with other sources. Additionally, the method further comprises providing the exhibitor with accurate statistical information about the usage of his media items (like which media items opened, how many times, how much time, by which industry/country/type of company, which parts of the data items were more interesting than others, etc.), as well as list of visitors.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the method may further comprise providing the exhibitor with accurate information about the performance of his sales people / representative.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the registration website further will optionally comprise software means or interface for allowing planning information regarding the visit in the trade show. Additionally, the planned information can be downloaded to a portable device (e.g., netbook, smartphone, etc). According to an embodiment of the present invention, the software will enable the user, either visitor or exhibitor to download a detailed report of activities.

In another aspect the invention relates to a system for managing trade show information and for providing comprehensive solution for all known aspects of information handling in Trade Show, comprising:

a) A TSIM server for allowing registered exhibitors to provide information regarding their media items and for allowing registered visitors to obtain information regarding said exhibitors;

b) A registration website for allowing said exhibitors and said visitors to interact with said TSIM server, wherein the interacting includes interacting with:

i. data capturing means for capturing one or more media items during said trade show, wherein said capturing is done either by said visitors or by said exhibitors;

ii. Loading means for loading all media item captured on a personal designated site for the visitor; and

iii. Evaluating and marking information regarding said captured media items.

Brief Description of the Drawings

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a flow chart generally illustrating the visitor's activity using a Trade Show Information Management system before, during and after the trade show, according to an embodiment of the invention; and

Fig. 2 is a flow chart generally illustrating the exhibitor's activity using the Trade Show Information Management system before, during and after the trade show, according to an embodiment of the invention. Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiments

The Figures and the following description relate to preferred embodiments of the present invention by way of illustration only. It should be noted that from the following discussion, alternative embodiments of the structures and methods disclosed herein will be readily recognized as viable alternatives that may be employed without departing from the principles of the claimed invention.

Unless otherwise indicated, the functions described herein may be performed by executable code and instructions stored in computer readable medium and running on one or more processor-based systems. However, state machines, and/or hardwired electronic circuits can also be utilized. Further, with respect to the example processes described herein, not all the process states need to be reached, nor do the states have to be performed in the illustrated order. Further, certain process states that are illustrated as being serially performed can be performed in parallel.

Similarly, while certain examples may refer to a Personal Computer (PC) system or data device, other computer or electronic systems can be used as well, such as, without limitation, a network-enabled personal digital assistant (PDA), a smart phone (e.g., with an operating system and on which a user can install applications), a mobile phone and so on.

The term "trade show" refers herein to a trade show, conference, exposition, webinar, road show or other event at which goods and/or services in an industry or of a company or group of companies are exhibited and/or demonstrated or used for general sales.

The term "media item" refers herein to a brochure, data sheet, product, service, advertisement, white paper, presentation, leaflets, or any other way of written/printed material, but it can also be CD ROM's, Panels, Video's, equipment on stand, business cards (e.g., of all sales people manning a booth in the trade show) or other discrete item presented at a trade show.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the method may consist the following phases:

1. Pre-Trade Show (this is an optional phase) - The visitor will use a designated web site where by using keywords of his choice he will get a list of relevant exhibitors with the possibility to draw a visit program including set up of meetings. The advantage to the exhibitor will be to attract all the relevant visitors, with the possibility to set up meetings with them, thereby optionally bringing much relevant visitors.

2. During the Trade Show - A cell phone or any other communication devices, netbooks or PC can be used to capture media items the visitor wants to review (e.g., Brochures, Data Sheets, etc.), without the need to physically take such media items with him. For example, the capturing can be done either by the visitor or by the exhibitor / sales persons in the exhibitor's booth. Those captured media items will be loaded automatically by the TSIM (BlueStone Nexus) system of the present invention to a personal website that will be built for the visitor. Using the TSIM system of the present invention, exhibitors can reduce their expenses on production and transportation of media items or other printed material. This act is also a great benefit to the environment, as less printed martial need to be used. Optionally, when entering a booth the visitor will have to key into his handheld device the booth number, than icons of all data items in this booth will appear on his handheld device, and he can select which data item he wants. Alternatively, this process will be done by the sales person in the booth. 3. Post Trade Show - the generated personal web site can be used by the visitor as an in-organization platform to handle the data collected during the Trade Show. In this personal website, the visitor is able to review information regarding each captured media item (or other media items related to the trade show either directly or indirectly), annotate and/or write remarks or add comments to each specific media item or part of it, and to share the information with other persons in his organization (e.g. collegues, or other interested parties) or other organizations. The exhibitor can get clear statistics on how many visitors interested in his media items, and more particularly, even which media item and which part in that media item the visitors were interested in. This data can be used for determining the level of interest in specific products, or even specific functions of specific product, while maintaining a high level of privacy for the visitors if requested. It has to be noted that also advertisements can be sent to the visitor's communication device, or to his PC based on information collected by the system during the trade show.

The post trade show is one of the important functions of the present invention, as the information collected by the visitor during the trade show is now provided to the visitor or other viewers in methodical and an organized manner.

Referring now to Fig. 1, a flow chart is shown which represents the visitor's activity using Trade Show Information Management (TSIM) system, according to an embodiment of the invention. As aforementioned hereinabove the TSIM system is divided into three phases: Pre TS, During TS and Post TS.

The optional Pre-Trade Show phase comprises the following steps (as indicated by blocks 1-11 in Fig. 1): - Registration (block 1) (Optional)- a person who intends to visit a specific TS (i.e., a visitor) may register to the TSIM system via an associated website, before the Trade Show begins or sometimes even during the trade show period (depends on each trade show policy). At this stage, the system generates to the registered visitor a personal website;

- Visit Planning (optional) - after the registration the visitor can download (to any suitable data device or computer, such as a cellular phone), from this website, a client application (i.e., a software code) for helping him in planning the visit in the TS (as described hereinafter with respect to blocks 7-9). Optionally, it also possible to plan the visit directly from the website (block 2), thus no software download is required, only providing the visitor with the final plan;

- The visitor can perform a search using key words on all exhibitors (block 3) - optional;

- Based on the search results, the visitor may select which exhibitors he wishes to visit (block 4) - optional;

- The visitor may select meeting criteria (block 5) like-first day 12:00- 15:00, second day 9:00-12:00, or by other criteria (optional);

- The visitor may select if to set up meetings (block 6) (optional). If yes - the system will contact the exhibitors and set up meetings taking into account the geography of the TS and limitations imposed by visitor/exhibitor;

- At block 10, (optional) the visitor can download the meetings schedule to his phone, which may include map of exhibitors' locations and/or other information relevant to the Trade Show;

- At this stage the visitor is ready and equipped with required information to enter the Trade Show (block 11);

- After the registration, the visitor can get a link (block 7), to his cell phone or other mobile device, to download and install a Capturing application for allowing capturing the desired media items (block 8). Of course, the capturing application can be the part of the aforementioned client application or can be provided as a separate software application; and

- In some cases, in order to start using the capturing application or to link the captured media items to the personal website of the visitor, it is required to identify the registered visitor with system (block 9). This can be done by any common login methods, such as by providing a user name and password or other unique ID code into a login section in the capturing application, or by his E-mail address, etc.

The During Trade Show phase comprises at least one or more of the following steps (as indicated by blocks 12-16):

- Optionally, the visitor can follow the map on his data device (e.g., a cell phone);

- Optionally, the visitor can receive reminders via his cell phone regarding scheduled meetings with exhibitors as planned (block 12);

- In the exhibitor's booth (blocks 13-15), the visitor may capture the desired media items, or the exhibitor can do it for him (e.g., by uploading the desired media item to a personal website generated for him). The personal website can be generated during the registration stage (as described hereinabove with respect to block 1), or it can done locally in the exhibitor's booth. In Both cases it is automatically generated. The captured data is than sent to the TSIM system, and all the captured media items are automatically loaded to the visitor's personal website. In return, the visitor receives a link to the personal website generated for him; and

- The visitors may view or receives information regarding other interesting events in his vicinity (block 16), via the capturing application (if the application is installed on his cell phone).

After Trade Show, may comprise the following steps: - Optionally, in his free time, (even during the Trade Show) the visitor can view his personal website (block 17), browse the information captured, evaluate and mark the captured media items (block 18), in different colors or fonts or frames and add notes to each one, for different uses;

- The TSIM forwards marked media items to visitor's organization (block 19), or to other people/organizations he may choose. Optionally, if required the visitor's organization is provided with an access (or personal website) to the TSIM system; and

- Organization may plan action items accordingly. This can be the end of the entire trade Show process (block 20).

Referring now to Fig. 2, a flow chart is shown which represents the exhibitor's activity using Trade Show Information Management (TSIM) system, according to an embodiment of the invention.

Pre - Trade Show comprise the steps of:

- Registration (block 21) - an exhibitor who intends to participate in specific TS needs to register to the TSIM system via an associated website (block 22), preferably, at a sufficient time before the Trade Show begins;

- The Exhibitor enters the sales people data (block 23) and may define the keywords (i.e., the search terms, block 24) by which the visitor can identify him or related data items;

- Optional - Based on the visitors using keywords selected by the Exhibitor, the exhibitor can receive information regarding the level of interest, and a list of potential visitors to his booth (block 25);

- Optional - The exhibitor may propose schedule of meetings based on different parameters (block 26), and add information if needed (when the right people are available, in case of special requests). Accordingly, the TSIM system can set up the meetings, based on the information given by visitors and exhibitors, or the booth manager may assign tasks to his sales force (i.e., sales people); - By registration, the Exhibitor enters the company data and sales people data (block 23). Each sales person will get a link (e.g., to the sales person's email) to register to the TSIM system (block 27), and the sales person can download an Exhibitors client application from the TSIM system's server (block 28). Of course, the Exhibitors client application can be a part of the aforementioned client application (or capturing application) or can be provided as a separate software application. After registration, the sales person (e.g., using his mail and password) can download to his smartphone, PC, or any other computer, the data for his designated Trade Show. For example, the sales people application is can be a special version of the capturing software (e.g., in case the visitor did not install the capturing software on his cellular phone), than the sales person will be able to acquire the visitor's ID and capture the data items for him;

- Optionally, each participating sales persons of the Exhibitor can get his meeting schedule accordingly;

- The Exhibitor needs to prepare a list of Media Items that he wishes to show the visitors during the trade show (blocks 29);

- The Exhibitor should prepare all information necessary about the media items that will be used in the Trade Show, according to guidelines, instruction or other limitations of the TSIM system (block 30);

- Media items are uploaded to the TSIM server (block 31);

- Exhibitor informs relevant people in his organization about requests from them;

- Optionally, the exhibitor can download meetings schedule; and

- Exhibitor and staff travelling to Trade Show (block 32).

During Trade Show tasks:

- Exhibitor and his team meet visitors (block 33); and

- Whenever needed Exhibitor assists visitors to capture the media items or does it through his hand held device or his PC. The captured media items are transferred to the TSIM server (block 34). After Trade Show tasks:

- The Exhibitor receives statistical data analysis about usage of his data items from TSIM server (block 35), such as a list of his visitors, how may data items were collected, how many were opened, which area of data items were of the most interest, what kind of visitors are interested in what, level of interest in data items or part of them vs. visitor information (country, company size, company type and others), etc.;

- If required, the system allows the exhibitor to add any relevant data and information to the statistical analysis (block 36); and

- Exhibitors team draw conclusions from the data collected (block 37). The process ends at block 38.

As described hereinabove, the TSIM system and method of the present invention can be implemented by all the players in the trade show market, namely visitors, exhibitors, trade show organizers and their organizations before, during and after the Trade Show. Furthermore, TSIM system can do for TS business what the ERP did for enterprise organizations in previous decades.

It is apparent that the invention can be carried into practice with many modifications, variations and adaptations, and with the use of numerous equivalents or alternative solutions that are within the scope of persons skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit of the invention or exceeding the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A method for managing trade show information and for providing comprehensive solution for all known aspects of information handling in Trade Show, comprising the steps of:

a. Providing a TSIM server for allowing registered exhibitors to provide information regarding their media items and for allowing registered visitors to obtain information regarding said exhibitors;

b. Providing a registration website for allowing said exhibitors and said visitors to interact with said TSIM server, wherein the interacting includes:

iii. Evaluating and marking information regarding said captured media items.

2. A method according to claim 1, further comprising forwarding or sharing the evaluated and marked information with other sources.

3. A method according to claim 1, further comprising providing the exhibitor with accurate statistical information about the usage of his media items.

4. A method according to claim 1, further comprising providing the exhibitor with accurate information about the performance of his sales people / representative.

5. A method according to claim 1, wherein the registration website further comprises software means for allowing planning information regarding the visit in the trade show.

6. A method according to claim 5, further comprising downloading the planned information to a portable device.

7. A system for managing trade show information and for providing comprehensive solution for all known aspects of information handling in Trade Show, comprising:

ii. Loading means for loading all media item captured on a personal designated site for the visitor; and iii. Evaluating and marking information regarding said captured media items.