tradeshow innovation through artificial ......tradeshow innovation through artificial intelligence...
TRANSCRIPT
TRADESHOW INNOVATION
THROUGH ARTIFICIAL
INTELLIGENCE
Innovative ideas born from the use of
machine intelligence are seeping into
the exhibition world where they are
inspiring the evolution and
transformation of exhibitions and how
traditional business is conducted.
Artificial intelligence seems to have
rekindled our creative thinking towards
customer centricity and how we can
further influence the customer journey
and overall experience.
December 2018
Report compiled by:
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
TRADESHOW INNOVATION THROUGH ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ............................................ 2
INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................... 2
EXTRACTING IDEAS FROM ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TO ENHANCE EXHIBITIONS ....................... 3
INTERACTIVE ELECTRONIC ART .................................................................................... 3
CRYSTAL ......................................................................................................................... 5
PREDICTIVE SHOPPING ................................................................................................. 5
FACEBOOK DEEP TEXT .................................................................................................. 6
GOOGLE DUPLEX ............................................................................................................ 6
DEEPFACE ...................................................................................................................... 7
FB LEARNER FLOW........................................................................................................ 7
WORLD-OF-WATSON ..................................................................................................... 8
A FINAL WORD .............................................................................................................................. 11
About MBB-Consulting Group ....................................................................................................... 12
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TRADESHOW INNOVATION THROUGH
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
USING AI TO ENHANCE THE CUSTOMER JOURNEY
Exhibitions and tradeshows remain one of the most effective ways to source products and
services, meet potential buyers, benchmark competitors and network with peers, all in one
location. However, for a new buyer in the industry, the trade floor can be confusing and
somewhat daunting when attempting to locate an exhibitor, specific product or service. The
traditional layout of the grid-like format also risks becoming mundane, repressing the
customer-experience.
When considering current trends and proposed future inventions, specifically within the digital
realm, a good majority are focused on customer service, customer experience, participant
interaction and on how to maintain the competitive edge, so it is not difficult to imagine that
digital innovation and artificial intelligence can indeed complement the industry in which we
work, providing a more welcoming, accessible and manageable platform for the visitor to
integrate entirely into the exhibition experience.
INTRODUCTION
Innovative ideas born from the use of machine intelligence are seeping into the exhibition
world where they are inspiring the evolution and transformation of exhibitions and how
traditional business is conducted. Artificial intelligence seems to have rekindled our creative
thinking towards customer centricity and how we can further influence the customer journey
and overall experience.
Through the manipulation and implementation of digital tools, the appeal, effectiveness,
productivity, interaction and return for participants, as well as organiser, has the potential to
exceed current expectations. The incorporation and use of digital tools to enhance the
customer experience of tradeshows is not only elevating the quality of events but it is also
fostering the competitive edge of the consumer-supplier relationship, extending smarter,
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more creative ways for exhibitors to compete against a floor suffused with competitors often
rallying for the same potential clients.
However we also need to keep in mind that as fascinating as AI is, with its potential to benefit
our industry, it can also be used unethically, in ways that are not conducive. The scandal
around the political consulting company; Cambridge Analytica is a prime example, a cold
reminder that we have a responsibility to ensure that we retain a moral approach when
implementing and using AI, to safeguard our industry by adhering with regulations such as
GDPR which is in place to prevent any misappropriation and exploitation.
EXTRACTING IDEAS FROM ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TO ENHANCE EXHIBITIONS
Of the many artificial intelligence originations that are impressing the business world, there
are a number from which we can extract ideas and adapt into the exhibition design. Focusing
on both the exhibitors and visitors, digital innovation may enrich the customer journey from
pre-event preparations such as interactive online services and personalised marketing
campaigns, post-event service such as individualised surveys and inventive pointed
suggestions for lead follow-up, as well as during the live event, where the exhibition domain
heightens all five senses through the use of interactive marketing and/or informative services
the moment the participant enters the venue.
INTERACTIVE ELECTRONIC ART
One of the most eye-catching, emotive, engaging digital originations is interactive electronic
art. Electronic art is where those viewing the art become part of the product through
interacting with the images. Moving beyond appreciating art from a distance, interactive
electronic art becomes more personal as the observer can integrate themselves with the art
by walking in and around or sitting and laying amongst the art.
The art also has no barriers when it comes to age, language preferences, race nor gender, it
is all inclusive, united in their shared engrossment of the surrealistic experience.
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Applying this to the exhibition floor, interaction is key to effective selling where much like
digital art, exhibitors need to capture the attention of the visitor and entice them through their
involvement within the floor, to have them interacting to a far greater extent with not only
sellers, but with the products and services themselves. The greater the interaction the more
enhanced the visitor experience where they can envisage themselves buying or using the
service and the emotive reward they feel from experiencing this propositioned ownership.
By integrating themselves, visitors start to form a more personal connection, which, when
considering that most people are emotional-buyers, may convince the buyer to purchase the
product or service in a shorter time-frame.
Apart from the individual products and services, using the concept of digital art we can also
start to influence the structured formats of the grid-like floor plan, inspiring a more organic
more participatory format that encourages greater involvement and a higher level of
connection thereby enhancing the customer journey.
Image from the Digital Art Museum EPSON
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CRYSTAL
Another ingenious digital invention is Crystal; a personality detection technology that helps
users improve their communication skills and how they interact with other individuals. Crystal
analyses publicly available data to create a personality profile that predicts behaviour,
motivation and communication style. Over 75 percent of the Fortune 500 companies have used
Crystal, which can help sales reps tailor communication to the personality of leads they do
now know very well and build relationships based on insight into the lead’s personality.
Used on visitors approaching your stand, or even in event marketing campaigns, software like
this can have a huge impact on first impressions and holding the buyers attention through a
more targeted sales pitch where, through effective verbal and non-verbal communication that
is appealing to the buyer, they can be convinced that the exhibitor understands their mindset,
personality and their unique needs, giving the exhibitor greater selling power and firmer
influence over the buyer, liking this to the exhibitor tapping into the buyers subconscious wants
and needs.
PREDICTIVE SHOPPING
Predictive Shopping is also one innovation that may be adapted into our industry, in the not-to-
distant future. Using AI and algorithms from big data, companies such as Amazon and Facebook
have developed a service that dispatches a variety of consumables to the user before the
recipient has even ordered them. From cleaning products to groceries, by determining the
user’s online behaviour, AI predicts the anticipated needs and delivers what is believed to be
required by the user with the intention (and optimism) that the recipient will accept the delivery,
thereby increasing sales before the consumers have visited the store and placed their order.
If we consider how this can be adapted for exhibitions, through the evaluation of buyer
behaviour, exhibiting companies as well as show organisers can pin-point to a larger degree,
what the buyer’s intentions are before they visit the show, allowing organisers and stand
holders the advantage of preparing, at a far greater extent, their selling tools specific to the
buyers they wish to target. Show apps can also be tailor-made and made more personal using
this analysis, not to mention match-making sessions, where a more precise pairing can result
in greater selling potential and a more effectual use of limited show time.
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FACEBOOK DEEP TEXT
DeepText analyses vast quantities of information, much of it from commercial data brokers.
DeepText can analyse and decipher your own words to direct you toward products you most
likely want to purchase. Similar to predictive shopping, by analysing your online behaviour and
isolating your preferences, it guides your future behaviour through suggestive content, leading
your attention to topics, products and services that are likely to peek your interest by matching
these suggestions to your personal interests and needs.
GOOGLE DUPLEX
A new development by Google, steering away from the cold, impersonal robotic voices usually
heard on pre-recorded sales calls, Duplex it is a automated system that uses a natural-
sounding human voice, so realistic in fact that most receivers of these calls are unaware that
they are speaking to a non-human.
During the 2018 “Google IO” it was explained that Google Duplex moves beyond a simply pre-
recorded message but is able to have an impromptu conversation. Google Duplex uses a
recurrent neural network (RNN) which is built using TensorFlow Extended (TFX). RNN
processing units are able to maintain information about previous input, much like looping
information, which allows the network to build a deeper understanding of the conversation by
putting things in context. It is capable of doing this through accurately identifying patterns and
applying them to new information, modelled on how neurons work using electrical circuits in
the brain. RNN has a complex understanding with different neural networks.
However the intention is not to replace humans altogether, but rather designed to assist with
specific tasks. This artificial intelligence innovation can make phone calls on your behalf for, as
an example, placing or taking orders from clients or reconfirming delivery details and so on.
This can be specifically useful when your client-base is situated within different regions and
across different time zones, making it difficult to schedule calls during your own working hours.
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DEEPFACE
DeepFace tool works on face verification algorithm, structured by Artificial Intelligence (AI)
techniques using neural network models. As with Google Duplex, Neural Network is a
collection of trained neurons which imitate the human brain. Neural techniques try to achieve
the abilities of human nerve cells, by making the machines intelligent.
DeepFace is used to identify people in photos and suggest that users tag people they know. In
reality, DeepFace can recognise any face in any photograph on its own. The accuracy of the
Deepface facial recognition algorithm is an impressive 97,5% when compared against the
human eye of 97,7% and FBI systems of 86%.
Imagine exhibitors having the capability to identify new buyers as they approach the stand, flag
them on a tablet/phone device and pull up their personal details as the buyer approaches. The
exhibitor can have instant access to the buyers likes, dislikes, preferences, rationale and
motivation for attending the event etc. this invaluable insight will help the exhibitor understand
the buyers needs at a far greater capacity being more effective in their selling pitch and
meeting the buyer’s requirements.
FB LEARNER FLOW
Targets on the basis of decisions that are yet to be made. It can accurately implement
predictive analytics, knowing which advertisements to show, to which users, for maximum
sales uplift. FBLearner knows what you want before you do. Through analysing adverts you
Facial feature recognition Profile details
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have clicked on, topics you have searched and even your Facebook newsfeed, it builds up a
personal profile on you and your preferences.
By using the intelligence applied to learning about individuals, this will highlight and flag the
state and appetite of visitors to…make a connection, engage and interact, at the level they are
ready for - flagging people most likely to be in a buying or discovery mindset.
WORLD-OF-WATSON
Until this point in the document you might doubt that digital can provide results, so as a final
example of effective AI, this report would not be complete without mentioning the World-of-
Watson, which offers proof that it is possible!
For those not yet familiar with Watson; named after IBM’s first CEO, Watson started life as a
question-answer computer system, initially developed by IBM’s DeepQA team to answer
questions on the TV quiz show Jeopardy. In 2011, Watson competed in Jeopardy, against
legendary champions Brad Rutter and Ken Jennings winning the first-place prize of $1 million.
In 2014 IBM created IBM Watson Group, a business unit focused on deploying Watson across
three divisions, Watson Discovery Advisor, Watson Engagement Advisor, and Watson Explorer.
The intention to allow enterprises to integrate and use Watson’s capabilities to develop
business and commercial products.
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The objective of WOW was to attract a projected 50% of conference attendees to a private
tradeshow, to generate sales leads and increase sponsorship revenue. Their strategy involved
creating a private tradeshow as part of a conference that illustrated the wide-range of data-
mining applications the Watson artificial intelligence is capable of.
The tactics they used was to divide the tradeshow into individual zones focusing on different
examples of how Watson has been used by genuine companies to cut costs, increase sales
and/or improve products. They employed augmented reality and multiple live examples in the
zones to convey the overwhelming range of industries, from airlines to chocolatiers, that
Watson has successfully helped.
To give you an example of what was on offer at the tradeshow, the Watson Welcome Immersion
area teased visitors with the sheer da Vinci-like scope of Watson's Renaissance-man talents,
the visitors flowed from that section onto a 400-square-foot responsive-tile walkway. When
they stepped on the flooring, weight-triggered sensors beneath the 24-by-24-inch tiles
activated a media server, which then triggered a projector to flash marketing messages onto
the fabric structures such as "You Envision/Watson Discovers“.
Another show service and product display rolled into one was the shuttle service – branded
“Olli”. Designed as an on-demand transportation device that passengers can hail with a mobile
app just as they would an Uber, the electric-powered Olli gave up to eight attendees at a time
a brief ride around the show floor.
Attendees could take a spin around the concourse in Olli, an autonomous, 3-D- printed minibus
partly designed by Watson. Once they boarded, they could chat with Olli about anything from
its technical specs to its tourist recommendations. Once guests boarded Olli, the minibus
acted like a souped-up Johnny Cab from the movie "Total Recall," using 30 sensors and a
natural-language interface to chattily field questions on the fly, including, "How does this bus
work?" and "Which restaurants nearby would you recommend?“
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After a short five-minute jaunt, passengers disembarked the driverless shuttle and then
extended the experience at an interactive digital kiosk upon which rested a scale model of Olli.
Here, guests learned how Olli can be printed and put together in about 10 hours and will first
be used on campuses and at airports before, perhaps, being rolled out for city-wide
transportation.
In a separate area, on display was the Cognitive Dress that Watson helped create for the Met
Gala, New York's extravagant annual fashion event. Collaborating with fashion designers from
Marchesa Holdings LLC and software developers from Inno360 Inc., Watson assisted in
designing a white tulle gown embellished with 150 LED-connected fabric flowers.
During the event Watson monitored tweets using the #MetGala and #CognitiveDress
hashtags, then painted the dress in kaleidoscopic hues via the LEDs, which glowed rose when
Watson detected joy and aqua when it sensed excitement.
A final example is the chat room area, where resting on acrylic bubble chairs, attendees tried
out the Virtual Immersive Data Analytics (ViDA) project, where they could converse with
Watson in natural language on various topics. Watson uncovered unorthodox information and
LED Cognitive Dress
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insights for the participants, then
graphically depicted them with both
3-D and 2-D objects in the virtual
world.
The success of this tradeshow
supported by artificial intelligence
features are in the results where of
the 20,000 visitors invited to attend the annual conference, 85% i.e. 17,000 converted into
attendees of which 90% visited the tradeshow (40% above target). The show generated 15,000
leads and contributed to 37% increase in sponsorship!
This is a solid case-study of where digital innovation can not only enhance the customer
experience but increase the revenue potential for both exhibitors and organisers.
A FINAL WORD
Considering how fast the world is moving, adapting and innovating and how the competitive
gaps are becoming smaller and smaller due to this digital evolution, as members of the
exhibition industry, we need to make proactive effort to ensure that we keep abreast of all the
new ways the digital world is and will influence the way we conduct business. It is
understandable however, that although a good majority are fascinated by the prospect of
fusing digital with the exhibition world, it is understandable that there may be some
apprehension by many colleagues, who are not convinced that the door of artificial intelligence
should be opened into an industry so invested in human interaction. However it is up to us, as
professionals in the exhibition industry, to decide which digital services will enhance and
promote the purpose of exhibitions and to ensue that there are guidelines on how we can
remain customer focused and at the same time respecting the boundaries of ethical behaviour
to ensure the credibility of the industry remains in tact.
Face-to-face business can and will remain a necessary and effective tool so far as we prepare
for, embrace and influence what the future holds for the benefit, evolution and sustainability
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of our industry. Personally, I am looking forward to a future of an integrated digital and
exhibition world, with endless possibilities of creative formats and customer centricity.
Should you be interested in discussing the contents of this report or talking more about this
subject inn general, please contact Matthias (Tesi) Baur on [email protected] /
+44 (0) 7375 063 919
About MBB-Consulting Group
With over 18 years’ experience working for the world’s largest show organisers such as Reed Exhibitions, Messe Frankfurt, UBM and many more, the team of MBB-Media is well equipped to support clients of the trade show industry in a wide range of consulting topics, including:
We are happy to provide testimonials and reference projects for each consulting topic we offer. Kind Regards Matthias Tesi Baur
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