How to use QR codes to personalize trade show content and reduce waste

QR codes provide the perfect solution for trade show personalization and waste reduction. 

Ten years ago a study was conducted to quantify waste produced annually by the conference industry. It concluded that trade shows produce roughly 600,000 tons of waste each year (and that was 10 years ago). More recent studies have shown that the average conference produces 4.17 lbs of waste per attendee. 

Of course, is anyone surprised? Think of all the pamphlets, thumb drives, and swag items that marketers produce to spread brand awareness. Then add in the carbon output caused by airline travel, shipping, etc, and you’ve got a substantial environmental footprint. 

Now, think about current marketing trends. For starters, we know that consumers are using their mobile devices more and more. Consumers are leaving their homes, and they expect to have seamless and sustainable experiences, like replacing a menu with a QR code. In addition, consumers are not only willing but hoping that brands continue using QR codes to replace other forms of media. You can learn more about these trends in our latest white paper → 

Consider the following use case

Easy Book is a SaaS company that makes booking meetings easy for various working professions. They attend nearly 40 trade shows per year across a variety of industries. Easy Book’s trade show budget is a whopping 30% of their entire marketing budget, and about half of that cost comes from building and maintaining trade show displays. 

Easy Book knows that personalization is essential to their customers, so they try to provide content at each trade show specific to that trade show’s location. They would like to use a QR code on their trade show banners that give users product information relevant to their industry, as well as the itinerary for post-show meet-and-greets, but personalizing banners for various trade shows is too costly and hard to manage. 

Easy Book’s Problem: 

• Easy Book needs to lower its marketing costs and make trade shows easier to manage.
• Printing a trade show display with a unique QR code for each show is not manageable.
• A static QR code is also not viable since trade show schedules can change at a moment’s notice.
• Easy Book is finding it hard to personalize trade shows without printing unique brochures and flyers for each show.

Easy Book completes the following steps to implement Stagger’s location-based content to give trade show attendees a unique and personalized experience. 

Step 1: Create location-specific content

Easy Book uses Stagger to make digital flyers unique to each trade show. They use Staggger’s linking capabilities to send users to a landing page to collect leads and book meetings. Since each flyer is digital, they can make edits in case of trade show scheduling changes. Easy Book then maps each flyer to the trade shows’ locations. 

‍Step 2: Apply the Stagger QR code to Trade Show Displays

Easy Book exports their Stagger QR code as a high-resolution tiff file, and the production artist applies the code to the trade show displays with an appropriate call-to-action. Since Stagger QR codes are location sensitive, Easy Book only needs a single version of the QR code. So when trade show attendees scan the code, they only see content mapped to that show’s location. 

Step 3: Plant your signs

Sales reps can now direct prospects to their trade show display to download product information, book meetings, and obtain a schedule of afterparty events. 

Results

With Stagger’s location-based QR codes, Easy Book can save money on trade show costs, by consolidating their trade show designs and reducing printed materials. In addition, since Stagger can track analytics on digital assets, Easy Book can see what content is most popular with prospects, allowing them to optimize their marketing efforts. 

Interested in learning more about using QR codes to personalize your customer experience?  Read our latest white paper → 

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