A different way to connect festival sponsors with attendees

During a festival, sponsors contribute to the attendee experience and entertainment. It’s very unlikely to attend a large festival without noticing heavy signs of branding across the grounds. Ranging from exclusive vendor booths to branded stage names and traditional banners, sponsors have become an integral part of a festival’s success.

Sponsors aim to build genuine connections with participants through innovation. According to a recent study, millennial attendees perceive brands that sponsor festivals as more authentic and trustworthy. As we live in a world where data is the new gold, being able to follow up and form a lasting relationship with your prospective clients is essential. As expected, festival-goers don’t like to lose their precious time with providing personal details, especially in this environment.

What if sponsors could collect valuable data from attendees with a simple tap of the hand?

Great news! Oveit Interact is the game changer in this case.

Sponsors using Oveit Interact

To collect data as a festival sponsor with our solution, the process is straight forward and user friendly. There is no need to ask individual attendees for personal information and manually input it. Instead, the NFC chip placed inside the branded wristband does the magic. Sponsors can create unique accounts and personalize the interaction screen as they wish. After each interaction, participants give their consent and agree to share their information with sponsors (GDPR compliant).

At the end of the festival, you can simply export the collected information from your account by pressing a button. If there are no add-ons attached to a particular ticket category, the interaction can only take place once. In other words, if someone tries to connect with a sponsor for the second time, the App will notify that an interaction has already occurred.

Austrian Airlines using Oveit Interact to connect with participants

Attendees using Oveit Interact

Recently, I attended a festival with a variety of brand activations (sponsors) on site. All of those activations were completely unique and truly inspiring. I found it annoying to participate in their campaigns, because I had to repeat myself every time to provide relevant details, such as my e-mail address or phone number . But guess what … I still did it because their freebies were quite amazing and worth claiming.

With Oveit Interact, providing those details in an environment where music is banging in your ears is not necessary. You can simply enjoy those cool freebies with a tap of your wrist.

Oveit Interact interface (it can be fully customized to represent your brand)

Main takeaways

As previously mentioned, data is the new gold. Oveit Interact enables festival sponsors to step up their game and collect valuable information in a matter of seconds. As for keeping in touch with the ones who passed by your booth, you can customize the follow-up email and the App takes care of sending it out after each interaction.

As for the attendees, it is important to mention that sponsors don’t have access to sensitive information. The information collected comes strictly from the registration form, included in the ticket purchase process. With that being said, don’t hesitate to contact us for additional information!

March 11, 2020 Event professionals, Festivals, Oveit Features, Technology, Uncategorized No comments yet

Closed-loop vs Open-loop payments for festivals

There is no doubt that implementing a fast and secure payment solution is essential for the success of your festival. The existing payment alternatives in today’s world can create long-standing debates among event professionals. To avoid contradictions, the available resources enable festival organizers to identify the solution that most suits their needs.

Adopting a closed-loop payment system for you festival gives you access to live reports, after-event data, faster transaction processing, pre-event revenue, offline transactions, lower payments processing fees and tailored experiences (rewarding your loyal customers).

Let’s understand the big picture and identify general characteristics of closed-loop and open-loop payments for now.

General characteristics of closed-loop and open-loop models

Closed-loop payments – think of closed-loop payments as a solution that works in a defined economy. Gift cards provided by companies have a payment mechanism that allows clients to use them solely at participating locations. That’s an example of a closed-loop economy. As the administrator of such economy, you can establish to a certain extent who is using it and where it is used. It allows users to pre-load funds into a digital wallet, linked to a payment device such as a card or wristband. Although, remaining funds can’t be spent outside the defined economy, consumers can withdraw the remaining balance. In a closed-loop environment, banks or other institutions are not part of the transaction process. As an administrator, you have access to customer information and purchase behavior.

Open-loop payments – the open-loop system is connected to banks or other similar institutions that act as intermediaries. It can’t be controlled by a single entity and it allows consumers to pay at different locations approved by the card issuer. This payment model allows clients to withdraw funds from an ATM (extra fee involved) and to make purchases at stores or online. Businesses that use the open-loop model don’t have access to customer information, because intermediaries (banks or other institutions) own it.

Now that you better understand how these models work, the focus will shift towards the closed-loop model and its applicability for a festival or event.

Pre-event revenue

To maximize the efficiency of a closed-loop system and increase your festival revenue, choose a solution that allows participants to add funds in advance. This way, attendees can buy their favorite beverage and food from the moment of entry, eliminating the need of visiting a top-up station on site. As an organizer, this enables you to cover your festival costs by using the pre-top-up funds strategically. Participants that choose to top-up their virtual accounts online won’t have to worry if their balance has fallen under a certain amount. The ‘Auto top-up’ feature takes care of that. The end user App developed by Oveit can easily achieve that.

Reward your loyal attendees

In the open-loop environment, rewarding your loyal customers based on purchase behavior is very unlikely. As previously mentioned, banks or other institutions are the absolute owners of transaction history and customer information.

On the contrary, a closed-loop model doesn’t involve any intermediaries in the payment process. As a festival organizer, you can be the administrator of a closed-loop economy and create multiple sub-economies with Oveit. On top of that, you can collect information from your attendees and use it to offer better experiences. For a festival, attendees can redeem rewards using an NFC wristband or card. By doing that, you can identify individual preferences and surprise your clients with personalized rewards and experiences.

Transaction speed

For a large festival, the transaction speed is vital. The open-loop system requires the bank to approve every transaction and it can take about 7-8 seconds to process. Imagine how would that work for a festival with 100,000 attendees.

On the other side, transactions take 1-2 seconds to complete in a closed loop environment. Without any intermediaries involved in the payment process, waiting time is reduced, resulting in more sales and satisfied customers.

Offline transactions

Processing offline transactions in the open-loop environment is risky and often not possible. Festivals usually take place in fields or other remote locations. Setting up a stable internet connection is definitely not an easy task to accomplish.

The closed-loop payment alternative enables organizers to process sales on-site without an internet connection. Participants can top-up their digital wallets and vendors can charge for food, drinks and merchandise. The only downside of operating offline is that reports won’t update in real time. Oveit is a hybrid solution and if internet goes down, the party goes on!

Insights into vendor sales

The closed-loop payment solution available on Oveit is much appreciated by festival vendors. Each vendor has a dedicated account with access to detailed reports. Applying different filters enables them to see all products sold within a date and time range.

Running out of the most requested products is a thing of the past with Oveit!

OveitPay product report
March 4, 2020 Event management, Event professionals, Event tech, Festivals, Uncategorized No comments yet

5 Tips to reduce and recycle waste at your event

Events tend to have a positive impact on the local economy and community. Smaller businesses might generate large proportions of their annual income during an event. However, besides the positive impact on the overall economy, events can also generate large amounts of waste. Therefore, organizers should start the planning process by creating a recycling and waste prevention plan to protect the local environment.

Here are 5 tips that can help event organizers recycle and reduce the amount of waste that is generated during an event:

1. Understand your waste

Identify the most common waste streams and prepare accordingly. A food carnival will certainly have different waste compared to a special event featuring livestock. Therefore, as an organizer, you should inform competent authorities and provide them with details about your upcoming event. They are the ones making sure that recyclables end up in the right place after the event. Examples of common types of waste are: plastic bottles; paper; cardboard; glass; food waste and general waste.

2. Educate your team and attendees

You should inform your participants on the where, what and whys of recycling. Train your volunteer staff and give them insights into effective recycling practices. Create a fun and challenging competition and reward your volunteers accordingly.

Inform your attendees about designated recycling areas in advance. You can send out newsletters and give brief instructions. Besides that, you can assign volunteers to offer assistance and assure that waste is sorted properly.

3. Vendors should use recyclable or compostable materials

It is important to assure that vendors use recyclable materials. They will be responsible for a large amount of the venue’s waste. Make it mandatory and include in the contract that adequate packaging and materials must be used by event vendors.

  • Recyclable materials – these materials are reused and some examples include: aluminium and steel cans, cardboard, glass, newspapers and plastic bottles.
  • Composting materials – it is a process that involves organic waste which can be used for different purposes. It gives back to the earth the materials that initially came from it. Examples of compostable materials include: fruits, vegetables, leaves, old wine and any biodegradable waste.

4. Print only necessary materials

Instead of printing out promotional materials and tickets, try to do that electronically. There are many platforms that provide solutions for that, Oveit being among them. For promotional materials, you can send out newsletters instead of brochures and flyers. However, in some situations, brochures and flyers prove to be more effective. If you decide to print, do that strategically. Do it on both sides and avoid blank spaces.

5. Clearly mark all containers for recyclables

Clear signage is essential to differentiate which materials can be recycled and where to put them. It would be a good idea to place signs high, so that your attendees can see them from distance. Use self-explanatory photos with universal symbols to assure that foreigners will have no trouble understanding the message. Besides that, provide written instructions in English and other relevant languages.

Communicate in advance with the local recycling service provider and request color-coded bins. Avoid placing recycling bins in separate areas, because it’s not convenient for your participants. Instead, place a recycle bin next to every trash can and use clear signage to differentiate them.

February 27, 2020 Concerts, Event management, Event professionals, Events, Festivals, Uncategorized No comments yet

How to efficiently secure your festival line-up

A good line-up is a key element that can establish the success of a music festival. Its release date is when attendees become interested, especially if their favorite artist is performing. For older festivals that have a good reputation, it is important to be creative when booking performers. Therefore, try to secure new artists for every edition to avoid monotony and complaints. However, for festivals celebrating the first edition, organizers must be extremely careful in this process. This article will go over some tips & tricks that contribute to securing the perfect line-up.

Allocate a budget for your line-up

Clearly define the budget intended for the line-up of your festival. Do your homework and find relevant data coming from previous editions of similar festivals. This area requires a high willingness to spend because it is the main way to attract and convince people to attend your festival. Don’t forget to include accommodation expenses and transport costs for the artists. It is important to make them feel good and pay attention to small details, especially if you want to bring them back for future editions.

Communicate with your prospective audience

With the help of social media, you can find out which artists are most expected by your prospective audience. Most likely, they will ask for big names. Although their expectations will exceed the allocated budget, it is important to allow them to express their preferences. To satisfy their requests, you can focus on booking in the top two mentioned artists. It is a good way to assure that your festival-goers will be satisfied with the festival line-up.

DJ’s between acts

Artists love to be waited on before performing on stage. To keep the vibe lively between bands, you can hire a local DJ to take care of that. Unexpected delays, technical difficulties or even cancellations must be foreseen. As for the local DJ, this can be a unique experience. Keeping the audience entertained before a famous artist is about to perform can be a great opportunity for a local DJ that needs more exposure.

Book your line-up well in advance

Usually, larger acts (especially international ones) need to be booked at least one year in advance. Those will be your headliners, the ones most expected by your participants. Once you manage to secure them in, the rest should be relatively easy. However, make sure that you are covered by a strict agreement with your artists in case something goes wrong.

All in all, booking your festival line-up can be challenging at times. As previously mentioned, festivals with first editions can take advantage and avoid common mistakes by doing some research and finding out the best way to tackle this key element. With a well-established plan and a dedicated team in place, you won’t have to deal with major obstacles.

February 19, 2020 Event management, Event professionals, Festivals, Uncategorized No comments yet

Confex 2020. Introducing our Economy as a Service Software

For the last 37 years, event professionals from all over the world meet up in London for International Confex, Each February brands, agencies, event planners, and suppliers share their ideas on how to transform events into unforgettable experiences, making it UK’s leading attraction for event profs. In 2020 we will be back at Confex to discuss with event planners and entertainment venues managers how to kickstart their local economy. Yes, the event or venue can (and should) be seen as a local economy…inside a local community. Better said…the Economy as a Service software.

The economic impact festival and events have over small communities is critical – but so it’s the way event professionals manage payments inside (and outside!) of the site of the event. Because it’s time to push the event economy outside it’s geographical “borders”.

We’ll be over at L24C stand. We have some great gifts but also some new ideas on how to:

  • Increase your revenue.
  • Speed-up transactions.
  • Onboard new vendors.
  • Have detailed live reports. Data is the new oil and we believe that event industry professionals are not using this to its full potential.
  • Decrease fraud. And losses. And bad experiences.
  • Better use your staff. Team members should concentrate on what really matters, technology can take care of the repetitive tasks.

But most of all we want to talk about how the event’s economy can exceed the event’s area. How can the community benefit from it more, all while the event itself benefits from the community’s involvement? All using a mobile-first app that allows you to set up your own local economy.

February 18, 2020 Festivals, Uncategorized No comments yet