Registration Revelation

Off-the-shelf, customized or contracted -- whatever the source,be sure your system captures data for future use

By Barbara Axelson

Ask a dozen people about registration and unleash a veritable flood of opinions, histories, plans, war stories and more. How to run trade show registration effectively is the burning question. Planning is not a seat-of-the-pants strategy -- costs can run astronomically high and the systems available today range from the grossly over-simplified to the mind-boggling complex.

Experts abound, but they sometimes have a vested interest in promoting their wares. Committees are forming to examine standards, or the lack thereof, and goals and objectives are under discussion. Some spokespeople cannot be quoted because they work for large, influential corporations that don't wish to be apportioned a particular viewpoint. Others in the know are soft-spoken independent contractors -- wizards of computer technology and custom design who are not so much exposition folk as they are brilliant minds for hire. Though they can provide solutions to the knotty problems of registration, the people they work with, quite often, don't even know what they need.

Why all the confusion? There is a handful of software packages available off-the-shelf, sometimes as part of an exhibition management module, that provide certain registration solutions. There are database management programs that can be adapted to the registration process. And even some accounting software may be useful, since registration often involves recording money accepted from attendees.

Whichever program hosts the registration database, reports must be generated for accountability and measurement. Written confirmations must be produced and mailed out, and badges must be attractive and functional. The more sophisticated systems tie in lead retrieval functions that enable exhibitors to capture vital information on each attendee who walks into a booth.

Looking toward the future, the Computer Event Marketing Association (CEMA) held a panel discussion last November during COMDEX to address exhibitor issues such as acquiring credible data, forming consistent lead programs and translating attendee profile research from different shows. Show management issues included packaging attendee data to communicate show quality to exhibitors; and registration file formatting, particularly for basic attendee information such as name, company, address, phone and fax.

Registration contractors offer some solutions, often providing software to be customized by show management for each one of its properties. If they host the database, it can be accessible to show management via ASCII disks and remote PC hookup, or on line via passwords and account numbers. They can also provide a full staff of people and equipment on site or, alternatively, provide just key personnel and limited equipment on site. Lead retrieval technology available through these vendors includes "smart cards" with bar codes, magnetic strips and/or imprinting to capture attendee information. Profile reports may also be available, sometimes at an added cost. But as one exhibitor asked the panelists, "Why does my company pay for the space and then, if data is encoded, have to pay for data?"

Looking down a circuitous road to the future of trade show registration, there is the as yet undetermined impact of on-line registration via the ubiquitous Internet, where the siren call of the World Wide Web offers registration at the click of a mouse. How are show managers juggling the diverse requirements of the registration process? Several brief case histories may cast some light on the options.

Customized contractor support
Professional Exposition Management Company (PEMCO), the Carol Stream, IL-based producer of Quality Expo International and ASSEMBLY Technology Expo, among other shows, has brought its registration process in-house with the help of Registration Control Systems (RCS). RCS has customized software to serve the management company's variety of properties, some wholly owned and others contracted by associations. The vendor also provides computers on site at PEMCO shows.

Researched last year, the in-house program launched in January. Bill Pattison, Director of Registration, Travel and Housing, says it is a more cost-effective system and provides much needed flexibility. "It's very flexible; a report generated in-house now reaches appropriate personnel immediately," he says.

Pattison's department includes three registration managers who look at and coordinate the data, as well as five full-time staffers to perform registration/travel/housing services. As peaks occur in processing, supplemental help is brought in. For each event, all preregistration data is transferred to the RCS computers via phone wires, and badges are produced on site. Some PEMCO staffers work registration at the events, along with convention center service workers.

In-house computing power
"Do it yourself" is the motto at SOFTBANK COMDEX, where fall attendance numbered about 210,000 last year. With preregistration at 60 percent, there is a hefty number of attendees to register on site. Grant Fletcher, Director of Information Technology, says in-house control is desirable. Fletcher describes the operation: "Now we're client server, local area network, customized from scratch." The all-inclusive program COMDEX has developed is independent of registration contractors.

The show owns 120 dedicated computer terminals for on-site registration; these are stored away between shows, rather than being used in offices as some other companies prefer to do. A regular registration staff of 12 is supplemented by more than 30 temporaries about 90 days out from the larger fall show and about 60 days out from the spring event. The temps return again and again and become a familiar component of the process.

Fletcher says his registration methods can work with in-house systems at small companies, too, but mid-size shows may need to contract with registration vendors, such as a Galaxy or CompuSystems, to take advantage of a long list of complex services. Some big event producers, like COMDEX, look hard at the registration investment and decide to come back in-house to (1) keep control and (2) enhance customer service by being able to provide immediate answers to all registration-related queries.

High-speed hardware
Chicago-based Helen Brett Enterprises Inc. (HBE) produces trade shows for the gift and jewelry industries, where President Robert Kolinek, CEM, CMP, says up to 80 percent of the attendees converge at one time on the registration area. His 20-terminal registration system processes up to 20,000 people in about two hours. HBE's registration division, which also provides contract services to other show producers, uses a UNIX-based system, providing time savings on site. Says Kolinek, "We can beat our competition, hitting the enter key and getting a badge in seconds."

HBE customizes software for show management companies so that data can be sent on an ASCII disk and downloaded to the HBE system. The UNIX decision was made 13 years ago when Kolinek's company talked with AT&T, whose UNIX server was the most economical and highest-speed technology available. A possible caveat regarding UNIX is that it's somewhat less user friendly than other systems.

Art Moore, HBE's Chicago-based independent programmer, says that an important reminder to anyone about to embark on a restructuring of the registration process is to be aware of hardware needs. He explains, "The software runs the equipment. The greatest software in the world won't run on the wrong hardware. Once you buy software, you don't want to have to dump equipment six months later because it's too slow." With technology evolving so rapidly, it's crucial to understand the real possibility that the total investment in in-house registration will include new computers.

Manual registration
At the opposite end of the spectrum, some smaller shows opt for manual registration if attendance is limited, preregistration is the norm and sophisticated demographics are unnecessary. According to Art Weldy, President of Exposition Planning & Products Inc. in Pittsburgh, PA, the small show, without access to a computer department, can use personal computers to produce badges and maintain a database. Weldy cites an example of home-based data entry, where one person has customized an off-the-shelf program to produce badges for a small show. While not the simplest or the fastest method available, the arrangement works for the needs of that company.

No single solution
What's the message heard from the many voices talking about registration software? Buyer beware: understand your needs; interview your own people; talk to an expert, either internal or outside your company; talk with other management companies; converse with registration vendors; listen to your exhibitors (particularly about lead retrieval); and keep in close touch with your budget director.

Software, hardware, registration staff -- all add up to a significant investment. It should be a smart investment, considered carefully and executed properly.

Off-the-shelf software*Those entwined in the registration process say off-the-shelf software dedicated to registration is scarce. That doesn't mean there are not some packages which can be adapted, but the overall market is for packages directed at show management, some of which include registration "modules." Many of these programs are not designed for full trade show registration but rather for conference management. Here is a sampling of what's available:

• Aztech Corporation, Bethesda, MD, (301) 907-7770 -- Among 40+ integrated modules, the company offers CONFERENCE'Ware, which includes meeting registration capabilities.
• Computer Solutions & Development, Bethesda, MD, (301) 951-5505 -- ConEx is a conference package targeted to associations.
• Hemko Systems Corporation, Golden, CO, (303) 642-0424 -- This company's system, ARS, used for preregistration and on-site registration with badges, costs $5,000 for 50 user licenses.
• International Conference Management, Chevy Chase, MD, (301) 913-9338 -- Another conference registration package, ICM offers state-of-the-art bar-coding for lead retrieval.
• Meetingpro, Bellevue, WA, (205) 454-6444 -- Peopleware is primarily a conference registration management program, featuring an optional continuing education credit module.
• Morant Data Company, Alexandria, VA, (703) 548-3904 -- AMPAC 5 is an integrated software package with an application module for registration.
• Phoenix Solutions Inc., Fremont, CA, (510) 713-2685 -- ExhibiTrak is a management package with registration functions included. A MeetingTrak package for conferences is also available.
• Systems & Services Inc., Fairfax, VA, (703) 280-0400 -- STARSystem Exposition, Registration and Meeting Resume Management modules are available with customizations.

Planning your registration systemIf you're in the process of defining your registration needs, or selecting a registration contractor, customize and complete this sample planner to be sure you've considered the key factors in this important decision.

Current system and resources

• Hardware on hand:___________________________________________________
• Software installed:___________________________________________________
• Maintenance arrangements:____________________________________________
• Consulting sources (include emergency phone numbers for technical support)
  • Internal:_____________________________________________________
  • External:____________________________________________________
• Contract arrangements (registration vendors):______________________________

Show data (use a separate form for each show)

• Name of show:______________________________________________________
• Number of exhibiting companies:__________ Number of booth staff:___________
• Number of attendees:_________________________________________________
• Preregistered (verified):_______________________________________________
• On site:____________________________________________________________
• Venue (schedule of rotation):___________________________________________

Last show registration history (list registration-related line items)

• Typical time to register a new attendee on site:_______________________________
• When were peak registration times, and how were they managed?_______________
• How could the registration configuration be improved?________________________
• Was all data captured? If not, what was missing?_____________________________
• If a vendor was used, were personnel efficient/reliable?________________________
• Did computers crash? If so, how often and at what times?______________________
• Were there complaints from either exhibitors or attendees?_____________________
• Evaluations from:
  • Exhibitors:____________________________________________________
  • Attendees:____________________________________________________
  • Staff:________________________________________________________
  • Registration vendor:____________________________________________
• Final Analysis:
  • Strengths:____________________________________________________
  • Weaknesses:__________________________________________________

Planning for future shows

• Preregistration (in-house or off-site):_______________________________________
  • Data elements and structure
    (field names, relational links, etc.):__________________________________
  • Staffed by:____________________________________________________
• On-site registration
  • Staffed by:____________________________________________________
  • Lead retrieval system/fees:________________________________________
  • Budget allocation:_______________________________________________