Designing Effective Data Capture Programs

Designing Effective Data Capture Programs

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SIMPLE MOMENTS It’s easy. Choose from over 3,000 unique themed backgrounds. Then your guest will pose in front of a green screen for a photo that puts them right in the action. 5 x 7 photos are delivered on the spot in a (customizable) folder.

GREEN MOMENTS Eco-friendly guests can retrieve their photos via the web, with free downloads and options to send to cell phones, MySpace, facebook, etc.

AFFORDABLE MOMENTSOur full-service packages start as low as $1670, all inclusive, for up to six hours. 13 locations nation-wide. For a list of locations visit our Web site www.catchthemoment.com

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Smart design of data acquisition programs ensures viral chatter, more opt-ins, better engagement.

The goal of every event marketer is to engage the audience, to cre-ate a moment where they’ve made a connection and have the audi-ence’s full attention. That’s when it’s most likely the prospect will share valuable data, inspire word-of-mouth and give you permission to start a relationship. Integrating the right technology in the right manner with the right personnel makes all the difference and can actually increase participation rates.

Create a Moment of Connection

Marketers employing a strategic approach to data collection enjoy multiple benefits:

Separate the prospects from the existing customers. This enables the marketer to customize the next step so it will be relevant to each recipient. For instance, customers can be sent a small thank you gift, while prospects receive a coupon entitling them to free product trial.

Analyze awareness and comprehension. Prospects’ answers to survey questions can verify how much they know about your company and whether or not they get your message. Obtain valuable demographic/psychographic data. Learning about the prospect life and lifestyle helps marketers identify new and better ways to reach them.

Identify customer and product preferences. Ascertaining what type of product a contact prefers enables you to customize and target ongoing interactions. For instance, a soft drink company would market to a cola drinker differently than it would a consumer of energy drinks.

Customized next step. You can accelerate the sales process by guiding the user to more information on your product—or to your product itself.

Evaluate the value of the event. Determining what quantity and percentage of visitors are qualified prospects enables marketers to evaluate whether an event is worth returning to in the future.

Marketers’ survey delivery/data generation options include hand-collected, electronic onsite collection via hand-held device, onsite via kiosk or other unmanned options, and online post-event data collection. The following chart illustrates the pros and cons of each.

Benefits of a Strategic Approach to Data Collection

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Designing Effective Data Capture Programs Designing Effective Data Capture Programs

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Creating the Right Experience for Data Collection

We all know that data collection enhances a marketer’s power to know the audience and make the right next move. it’s what the cMo is looking for and what justi-

fies participation in the event in the first place. But creating the right environment that engages prospects and encourages them to offer valuable information requires moving beyond clipboards and incentives. it requires event designers to consider three criti-cal components:

1. The right peoplestart by staffing your event with those who best represent the demographics you are reaching out to and making sure they are properly trained in your product or service. Then ensure they are trained in properly engaging AnD disengaging quali-fied prospects to make the experience an enhancement of the event, not a distraction.

2. The right momentcreate an engaging experience that is designed to connect people, as most travel in groups at events and want to re-member their visit. Make this possible in a way that is valuable to them as attendees AnD to you as a host.

3. Integrate the right technology and toolsAudiences will frequently respond favorably to the right use of technology, especially when it is designed to enhance the user experience with cutting edge devices or by providing valuable data, directions or other information that adds to the event.

Alternative Data Collection Methods

In most cases, post-event electronic data collection is the best choice. It integrates a longer survey, a high level of accuracy and an increased likelihood of a greater viral spread because of the ability to send via phone or post to Facebook or MySpace. However, for products that require involved face-to-face explanations or sampling, onsite data collection can be the better solution.

Incidence of error/ accuracy of data

Length of survey

Potential of driving viral effort

Factors affecting participation

Timeliness of results data

Driver’s License Scan

High incidence of error because the license goes through an ocr scanning process.

Driver’s license scan does not facilitate an attached survey, so surveying would have to be done separately.

Possibly some word-of- mouth, but with no brand impression attached.

Many people will not participate because of concern over privacy issues.

good. The hardware prints what it has read immediately.

Less incidence of error since the contacts input their own data. However many people purposely provide incorrect e-mail addresses.

extremely short. Without a person standing there, audience members are likely to lose patience and step away after a couple of questions.


easy to avoid. There is little incentive to interact with a static kiosk. incentives can significantly increase participation.

can be real-time, but requires that the system be set up to upload regularly.

Low incidence of error when inputting e-mail ad-dress is linked to retrieval of a gift.

opportunity for a longer form as people will spend more time doing an online survey than they would at the event.

good if survey participa-tion is integrated with something the prospect deems worthy of—and is capable of—passing on electronically.

not everyone will take the time to do an online survey. response will be driven by how much the visitor enjoyed the at-event interaction. incentives can significantly increase participation.

real-time.

Less incidence of error— especially incorrect e-mail addresses—since contact input their own data.

very short—people at an event don’t want to step away from the fun to fill out a survey.


easy to avoid. Many people will make a detour if they see a rep approaching. incentives can significantly increase participation.

can be real-time, but requires that the system be set up to upload regularly.

Onsite Electronic via Hand-Held Device

Onsite Electronic Post-Event Online

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Making the Decision: Pros and Cons of Onsite Activities

Advantages

Onsite game

Sweepstakes

Giveaway or onsite prize

Roving photographer

Photos with pre-printed backdrop

Green screen photos

Green screen video

Fun, interactive and engaging.

Has a large and very appealing prize.

Provides a brand take-away.

Fun, interactive and engaging. Provides a brand take-away. can be brought to the attendees—such as at a tailgate event. can be attached to online fulfillment that extends the brand experience. can be set up to collect data and opt-ins and drive visitors to website. Participants launch viral continuance via e-mail, cell phone, Facebook and Myspace.

Fun, interactive and engaging. Provides a brand take-away. can be attached to online fulfillment that extends the brand experience. can be set up to collect data and opt-ins and drive visitors to Website. gives the marketer a branded presence. Participants launch viral continuance via e-mail, cell phone, Face-book and Myspace.

Fun, interactive and engaging. Provides a brand take-away. can be attached to online fulfillment that extends the brand experience. can be set up to collect data and opt-ins and drive visitors to website. implemented correctly, it looks incredibly real.Leverage high-priced spokespersons by using their photos for the green screen. Participants launch viral continuance via e-mail, cell phone, Facebook and Myspace.

Fun, interactive and engaging. Provides a brand take-away. can be attached to online fulfillment that extends the brand experience.can be set up to collect data and opt-ins and drive visitors to website. implemented correctly it looks incredibly real. gives the marketer a branded presence. Participants launch viral continuance via e-mail and YouTube

viral offshoot is WoM only.

only one person wins. viral offshoot is WoM only. no branded keepsake.

viral offshoot is WoM only.

The marketer has no control over the back-ground seen in the image.

Doesn’t look real.Takes up more space.

Takes up more space.

Takes up more space.

Disadvantages

Overall, the onsite activities that provide the great-est opportunity for engaging brand interaction, data collection and viral proliferation are green screen photos and green screen video. Some situations lend themselves to a combination of activities, e.g., a roving photographer for tailgating and a green screen for a corridor or hospitality tent.


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CASE StuDy: Reliant Energy Promotion Gathers Key Data and Spreads Virally

With the deregulation of the energy industry, reliant energy has extended its marketing efforts to community-based events that increase brand awareness. reliant has its name on reliant stadium and is a key sponsor of the Houston Texans nFL team.

Objectivereliant wanted to leverage its sponsorship to grab the attention of fans attending Texans games, connect with them, drive them to its website, collect key data, thank its current customers and open up a dialog with those fans who were not current customers.

The Programreliant employed both roving and green screen photography at every home game. Four photographers combed all tailgating and fan functions, as well as the game. These pho-tographers took approximately 100 photographs per hour and literally swept the entire stadium from every angle photographing fans.

in addition, reliant set up three green screens where fans could choose from several Texans-relevant settings. For instance, many chose to don a coach’s headset and be superimposed into a photo that made it appear that they were calling the plays from the Texans’ sideline. Large monitors enabled the crowd to see what the finished photos would look like and drew additional spectators.

Fans were given a photo code card that contained a secure photo iD number and printed instructions on how to retrieve their photos. Typically, the photos were uploaded to the website during the game using a T1 line provided by the Texans.

After the game, fans went online and inserted their code to access their photos—which were imprinted with the date, a Texans logo and a reliant logo. in addition to downloading and printing their photos, many chose to e-mail them to friends—adding a viral element to the campaign. From there, many of the fans clicked on the link to visit the reliant website and opted-in to reliant’s e-marketing campaign.

Perhaps the most important element of the program was the data reliant collected. An impressive percentage of those retrieving their photos participated in a brief online survey that qualified the audience and determined which contacts were customers vs. prospects. via e-mail, existing customers were given a discount coupon for admission to a local museum as a thank-you. Prospects were given a coupon offering a discount for switching their service to reliant—and were rolled into a client acquisition program to receive ongoing marketing communications and assignment to an account person for personal follow-up.

Resultsreliant extended its multimillion-dollar sponsorship into an interactive experiential market-ing program that connected directly with customers and prospects—and continued to grow virally.

ROO• Capturedthousandsofpiecesofdemographicinformationfromtheircustomers.• Deliveredbranded,interactiveentertainmentandinteractionwithcustomers and prospects.• Providedabrandedeventmemento.• Dramaticallyincreaseditswebsitetraffic.• Extendedtheexcitementofthegame(andReliant’smarketingprogram)beyondthat single day—and to friends who didn’t even attend the game.

ROI• 33,154photostakenof104,104fans.• 79%ofphotosretrieved.• 24,755peoplewhoretrievedphotosparticipatedinthesurvey(88%).• 12,863opt-inpermissionscaptured.• 112,390estimatedviralrecipientsofphotosfromemail.• 10,214senttocellphones.• 4,714senttoFacebookorMySpace.


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How Photo and Video Promotion Can Be utilized to Drive Impressions, Opt-Ins, Data Collection, Viral Marketing and Measurement

The brand experiences most effec-tive in forging lasting connections leverage multiple touch points

and embody a means to measure the outcome. in fact, the more touch points, the more valuable an experi-ence will be—with success increasing exponentially when one of those touch points launches a viral marketing pro-gram where visitors organically spread the message to new contacts.

Photo and video promotions are engaging and immersive brand experi-ences that can be leveraged to create multi-touch marketing experiences.

And it works because people love pic-tures of themselves and can’t resist retrieving them.

“Photos of friends, family and col-leagues at an event can extend the life of the experience by enabling partici-pants to recall the good time they had. in fact, when asked what memento of an event would have the most value, photos were one of the top three men-tioned(alongwitht-shirtsandCDs).”

source: Event Marketer White Paper: Retail Event Strategies: The Sales Im-pact of Experiential Events.

What can photo promotion do?

used to its fullest potential, photo/video production can:

• Engagetheaudienceinanimmersiveat-event experience, increasing event and brand memorability.

• addcontactstothemarketer’sopt-inlist and/or sales funnel.

• Drivevisitorstothemarketer’swebsite.• Launchaviralmarketingcampaign.• Collectvaluabledata.• Providetheaudiencewithanevent

keepsake.• Delivermeasurableresults.

Data collection (survey)

Analysis of Data

generation of Thank-You, coupon or offer

opt-in for Future contact

Drive customer to website

create Keepsake and initiate viral Marketing

Measurement of roi and roo

new contacts reached through viral Marketing:WoM, email, cell phone, Myspace, Facebook, You Tube, etc.

Brand interacton (photoorimage)

ongoing contact and impressions as contact enters the sales Funnel


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Green-Screen ups the Fun

up the Ante

Fun is an important factor in forging any brand connection. The more fun the experience,

the greater the visitors’ opinion of the brand will be. And thus, the more likely the visitor will be to share personal data, continue their relationship with the brand—and tell friends about their experience and the brand.

green screen delivers an interac-tive and immersive experience that can create a branded event within the larger event—thus upping the fun quotient exponentially. Just like movie actors, event visitors can have their image integrated into a photograph or

video of somewhere that they’ve never really been—or someone they have never met.

green screen one-ups traditional event photography because custom-ers have a choice—they can select the background of their choosing from op-tions pre-selected by the marketer. For instance, they can choose to stand in front of the u.s capitol or with one of their favorite celebrities—participating in the action or holding the product. This is an excellent opportunity for brands to leverage the draw and ap-peal of their spokespeople.

Technology advances have made video green screen more realistic than ever—creating a viable

choice for event promotion. Plus, video has the benefit of upping the fun factor even higher because attendees don’t just stand in front of a background—they become part of the action.

imagine your target customer going to a nAscAr race and having the option to shoot a video of himself com-menting during a big on-track crash. He puts on a headset just like an announcer and calls the action as he watches the video of the crash on the monitor. He feels the adrenaline pump-ing in his veins as a crowd assembles

to watch and cheer him on. Then he watches a playback of the video with an inset of himself at the lower right-hand corner. The result? He can’t wait to get home and download his own copy—e-mail it to his friends and post it to YouTube.

The reality is that green screen activities are immersive and engaging. Thus the marketers employing them draw more participants and those participants are far more likely to opt-in, answer survey questions and share their experiences after the event.

Measuring SuccessThe following quantitative metrics can be applied to photo and video promotions and assigned dollar values per impression to calculate roi. Measure the number and value of:

• impressions.• imagesshot.• Peopleshot.• Peoplewatchingothers’images

being shot.• Peoplewalkingby.• Encounterswithbrandambassadors

while waiting in line or watching.• Peopleretrievingphotos.• Peopleansweringsurveyquestions.• Peoplewhoopt-inforfuturecontact.• Peopleclickingthroughtothemar-

keter’s website.• Peopleclickingthroughtospecialoffer

or banner ad.• Peopleredeemingcouponsortaking

advantage of special offer.• Peoplesharingimageswithothers

through e-mail, Myspace and Facebook.

• imagessharedviamobilephone.• Photopageviews.• newcustomers—bothimmediateand

lifetime value.• Existingcustomersenticedtobuy

more or additional product.


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Selecting the Right Photo/Video Promotion Supplier: What to Look For

1. Software. Does the supplier have proprietary soft-ware designed for the mobile/event market? is that software designed for the non-professional making it goof-proof when used by temporary onsite staff?

2. Training. Does the supplier provide training to get the local staff up and running quickly—and to ensure that they deliver a high-quality result? Will the supplier stay onsite for the first event to make sure everything goes well?

3. Equipment. can you lease the equipment from the supplier?

4. Onsite rendering. Does the system render the images onsite to facilitate fast—or even real-time—fulfill-ment?

5. Fulfillment and forwarding options. Does the system enable visitors to share the images via their choice of methods, i.e., download, e-mail, mobile phone, Myspace, Facebook and YouTube?

6. Green screen quality. Does the green screen system or technique produce high-quality output? The higher the quality of the output, the more likely it is that people will send the images on.

7. Depth of graphic library. if you are working with stock images, what size library does the supplier have? Does the library contain what you need?

8. Custom capability. if you are creating a cus-tom background, does the supplier have an in-house design department? How good does its previous custom work look?

9. Data collection capability onsite. Does the system enable you to collect data via a kiosk, handheld device, driver’s license scan or brand ambassador?

10. Data collection capability online. Does the system enable you to attach a survey and col-lect data? is the survey tool sophisticated enough to allow branching, i.e., the ability to jump to a specific question based on responses to previous questions?

11. Targeted advertising. can the system pro-vide different coupons or messaging tailored to the survey answers, i.e., can customers receive an offer that is different from that of prospects?

12. Audience insight. is there some means of iden-tifying the makeup of the visitors who choose not to respond to the survey?

13. Data retrieval.Canyouviewsurveyresults24/7inreal time?

14. Image posting. Are the images posted immedi-ately, enabling visitors to retrieve their images while the event isstilltop-of-mind?(arecentstudyrevealeda39%increaseinretrievalwithsame-dayuploading.)

15. Privacy. Do the people retrieving images see their im-ages only—or everyone else’s images too? Are they posted individually or in batches?

16. Data formatting. can the supplier manipulate the data into whatever format your company or fulfillment house needs to integrate it into the database or crM sys-tem?

17. Fulfillment options. can the supplier provide ongoing online fulfillment options that enable you to maintain contact with the visitors at regular intervals through email or direct mail?

18. Repeat visitors. Does the system distinguish between first-time and repeat visitors?

19. Photo gallery. if a single visitor takes multiple photos, can the system place all of the photos into a single gallery?

in order to maximize your return on investment, it is important to partner with a supplier who utilizes state-of-the-art technology for high-quality, user-friendly image capture, posting, image retrieval, and data collection. eighteen questions to ask:

Designing Effective Data Capture Programs Catch Them While You Can

Q&A with Dick Didow CEOCatch the Moment

Q. Is it true that photo promotion is more effective with some audienc-es—such as with consumers and young groups— than others, like at a formal business event?

A. Photo promotion works well with any group, provided you select the right interaction and activity for the audience profile and tone of the event. For one science-based organization, we did a scene where the attendees donned white lab coats and posed as mad scientists. The attendees held up their fingers and we made it look like a bolt of electricity was flowing from one finger to the other. You would have thought that group would be shy but they all participated—and they loved it.

Q. I’ve heard that the market has achieved green screen saturation. In other words, people have seen it and done it already—and therefore it has lost its effectiveness. Is that true?

A. it is not true at all that green screen has reached a saturation point. recently i attended an event where four different marketers were using green screen and every one of them was attract-ing huge crowds. What does matter is how you use green screen. if the experience is unique and fun, then the audience will want to do it again and again.

Q. Isn’t green screen technology prohibitively expensive?

A. When the onsite engagement value, the data collection value and the viral marketing value are all taken into consideration, most of our clients find photo options to be very reasonably priced. And usually photos printed onsite are less expensive than many non-personalized promotional items that are thrown away after an event, in contrast to photos that are kept as mementos.

Catch the Moment’s creative photo and video promotions connect clients with event guestsandprospectsthroughonsite,onlineandviralinteraction.Since1998,thecompany’ssuite of online and onsite fulfillment options, survey/data collection features and electronic forwarding mechanisms have helped its clients connect directly and virally to hundreds of thousands of customers. The results are measurable impressions, prospects driven to the client’s website, actionable data, and measurable roi and roo.

cTM helps you captivate your attendees, connect your brand to your prospect, and cap-ture important marketing data. To learn how cTM can increase the roi for your next event, contacttheCatchtheMomentcustomerservicedepartmentat(877)895-8700oremailusat [email protected]

www.CAtCHtHEMOMEnt.COM

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Designing Effective Data Capture Programs