Current state
How innovative technologies are currently deployed in the organization
As an experience marketing company, we try to provide brand marketing service combining online and offline PR activities using trade show, convention and SNS channels. Actually our industry is slow to accept innovative technologies compared to other service industry. As experience marketing is based on meeting between people onsite, so technologies are not main player but a supporter for a better meeting experience. I can say that venues like convention centers are leading in terms of using innovative technologies rather than private MICE events organizers. So venues could be an example for deploying technologies. Convention centers usually install visitor information system including hardware and software. It has features like gathering visitor information including personal information and reason for visiting. So trade show and convention organizers can use the system and get big data about visitors. However, private show organizers are reluctant to use venue’s technologies because they think venues might steal and use visitor’s information, which could not open to anybody besides its show organizers.
The competitive strategy of the organization : Differentiation strategy by providing big data and personalized information
As I mentioned about venue’s technologies above, there is an issue for not sharing data between venue and show organizers. But there might be a way to share and make values for enhancing show experience. There are some events which are organized by venue and show organizer together. This co-organizing model is preferred to both because it gives an opportunity to expand marketing chance to show organizer, and to expand business model easily for venues. So if venue shares visitor information firstly of co-organizing events, then the data would be used for machine learning and give personalized information for their visitors.
I think this would create differentiation strategy for venue and show organizer, and also it would create values which are curated personally using AI technologies. As events are getting bigger, visitors naturally do not want to wander exhibition hall all day. They always hope to meet appropriate companies and people so that they can save time and cost for visiting events. AI can make unique value for contributing this kind of visitor satisfaction, and it would create competitive advantage for making differentiation.