ATLANTA — During the latest event in February in Atlanta, The NAFEM Show (North American Association of Food Equipment Manufacturers) — an event featuring foodservice equipment and supplies used for dining outside of the home — introduced attendee-driven lead retrieval technology to heighten the experience of both exhibitors and attendees.
The M3 App, released by CompuSystems, allows show attendees to scan a unique QR code printed in an exhibitor’s booth or show graphics to receive more information about the company and its products — whether it’s through a PDF, website, or product spec sheet. At the same time, the app sends attendees’ information to the exhibitor so they become a lead.
“It’s another way to implement lead retrieval that puts it in the hands of the attendee but still ensures that the leads go into the exhibitor’s portal,” said Smithbucklin’s Buffy Levy, Show Director for The NAFEM Show. “Even though it’s in my hands, as the attendee, to decide I want to become a lead, or that I want more information, the exhibitor collects that information, so it’s passive lead collection on the exhibitor side.”
The exhibitors were able to take advantage of this passive lead collection system as a complimentary value-add for their participation in The NAFEM Show. However, this added benefit came with some growing pains, as exhibitors and attendees alike had to be educated on how the system worked.
“For the most part, people had not used this type of lead retrieval before, so you’ve got to encourage exhibitors to go in on the backend and assign their content to the QR code, and you’ve got to teach attendees that the option is available as well as the benefit they y get from scanning,” Levy explained. “There’s a lot of education that has to happen, but I feel like as this format for lead retrieval becomes more and more mainstream, it will be much easier to implement in the future.”
Related. 360 Live Media Announces Expansion of Capabilities to be Full-Service Event Agency
Levy says that becoming an early adopter of ADLR technology is typical of the show’s philosophy of wanting to try new things that will boost the event experience.
“We really like to try to always be ahead of the curve. We’re always looking for new things, new technology, new programs. We don’t want to wait until everybody else has done it,” Levy said. “We want to try things and be innovative and progressive, so when our registration company talked about this new product that they had, it just seemed like a no-brainer to give it a try because the concept of it makes great sense.”
Something Old, Something New
What also made sense for Levy was to enhance The NAFEM Show by reintroducing an old attendee favorite, while creating a new experience that everyone on the floor could enjoy.
Back by popular demand was The NAFEM Show’s “WHAT’S HOT! WHAT’S COOL!” product gallery, which features new products that represent the latest advancements in the industry. After being part of the biennial show for several years, it was missing in 2023 — and the audience had something to say about it.
“We heard loud and clear from attendees, and even exhibitors too, that it was a really important part of the show to find what’s new in a dedicated area on the show floor, so we brought it back,” Levy said.
In addition, The NAFEM Show increased its educational content, which was made up of sessions covering the impact of legislation and regulations on the worldwide foodservice industry, facility design, leadership in restaurant chains, and the future of hospitality. The education was featured in a theater, as well as other locations on the show floor.
“We broadcasted to our show floor lounges and also had some locations within aisles where you could watch the education. This created a buzz and an energy and just a sense of education taking an important role at the show,” said Levy. “We took what was already happening, but packaged it better and promoted it in a way so that attendees knew the education was happening everywhere.”
As a result, Levy says the post show survey results reflected that these programs were well received and enhanced the value of the show for attendees. In fact, the attendee net promoter score (NPS), which was already well above the industry benchmark, was at an all-time high and increased by 14 points from the previous show in 2023. And 90% said they were likely to attend the next show in 2027.
To get more events industry news, subscribe to TSE’s free e-newsletter on LinkedIn or through your email.
