SHELTON, Conn. — When digital events took off during the pandemic, there were few guardrails when it came to reporting metrics. The industry came up with an immediate solution — for virtual events to earn UFI Approved Event status.
A year later, that effort has grown into a larger initiative, Reporting Standards for Digital Events (RSDE), which is being led by BPA Worldwide, the global assurance provider. This standardized set of 17 data tables and glossary terms was created by a working group made up of representatives from 15 organizations across the events industry, representing trade show organizers, exhibitors, data analysts and digital platforms.
With RSDE, digital event providers now have standardized metrics and organizers of virtual events can clearly understand how they performed. All of RSDE components can be downloaded from its website that can be found here.
“With the move over to digital events, people were excited that they were going to have all this data, and have a much better picture of what was happening within their events,” David Richardson, Principal at data analytics company Cogknition, said. “When they received the reports from the event platforms, not only did they lack confidence they understood what was happening at their event, but they weren’t really sure they understood what the report was trying to say. With RSDE, they get a much better understanding of what they are seeing.”
BPA will begin certifying digital event platforms (DEPs) to the RSDE standards immediately. Event data provided by verified DEPs will be “pre-audited” by BPA for inclusion in applications for “UFI Approved Event” status or for inclusion in any organizers’ event marketing materials and BPA Brand Reports. RSDE has collaborated with VSef (Virtual Standard Export Format), a data standard for digital events in Europe developed by Explori in collaboration with event organizers; platforms certified to RSDE will, by default, be certified to be compliant with VSef.
Related. UFI Updates Rules to Include Digital and Hybrid Events
“With RSDE, event organizers, exhibitors, digital event platforms and data analysts now have the tools to bring more trust and transparency into the digital event marketplace,” Glenn Hansen, BPA’s President and CEO, said.
Reach David Richardson at info@cogknition.com and Glenn Hanson at (203) 447-2801 or GHansen@bpaww.com
