Events and experiential activities offer the perfect opportunity to digitally capture data from those taking part, both during and after the event. However, most companies are failing to take advantage of this, mostly thanks to a fear of data capture and how it will effect the public’s perception of the activity or event. While there can sometimes be a real feeling of data capture as an intrusive activity taking away from the engagement of an audience, it doesn’t have to be this way. If the data capture is integrated into the fabric of the event, and there’s a perception of it being beneficial to those offering their data for capture, it can go almost unnoticed and certainly have not adverse effects.

“Over the years we’ve found that the interactions we create through experiential activities are a fantastic starting block for great relationships,” says Rob Wilson, planning director at experiential marketing agency RPM. “People are much more inclined to share their information and want to stay in touch with the brand after an experience. A lot of experiences aren’t directly reaching a huge number of people, so collecting data on that small number is vital to enable us to monitor the effect the experience has on their relationship to the brand.”

Digital data capture: about more
than just ticking the right boxes

Keep it simple
But the trick is to collect that data without switching the consumer off. There’s no single technique for doing this, but essentially it’s about building the data capture into the fabric of the event. “One way is to simply run an activity alongside the main event that requires data to engage, such as a competition. This way you’re rewarding people for their data,” says Michael Brown, managing director of marketing agency Beatwax. “Alternatively, you ask for email details to send on a photo of the consumer engaging with the experience. On top of this you can use Bluetooth communications during an event as a call to action or to push people to a WAP site, where they are then required to enter their details.”

In essence, Wilson agrees: “The art is to make the data collection feel like part of the experience as opposed to the thing that sticks out. Consumers have got a lot more open to communicating with brands through digital media.” And he believes it’s this change that has made digital data collection through events much more acceptable.

“Traditionally when we created an event, if we were ticketing it then people would phone up to book their tickets and now they do it online,” he says. “So this is an immediate opportunity to build data collection into the campaign rather than sending people along and trying to capture the data at the event. It also means you can do data collection without heavy cost implications.”

An imperative not an after thought
With data capture through events now this easy, it means that where companies used to ask: "This is the event we are doing, how do we gather data?" they can now say: "This is the kind of data we want to collect, so how do we build an event that enables us to do that?" As brands look to build stronger and longer lasting consumer links, data capture has become an imperative as opposed to an after thought.

Of course, there are pitfalls, and the one thing you want to avoid at all costs is switching consumers off and detracting from the events or activity. “You need to keep it simple and always use visual prompts, particularly when engaging with event audiences that might have been ‘on the sauce’,” says Brown. “The more complex the capture mechanic, the more unlikely consumers are to give up data. As marketing types, we can sometimes get caught up in our own cleverness, when all that’s required is the simplest route possible.”

For Wilson it’s about taking a softly softly approach: “Data collection is not about getting their email, getting this, getting that; it’s about starting off with small amounts of information.”

Striking the right balance
Brown agrees, adding: “We always to try to keep the initial engagement as concise as possible. Consumers’ don’t want to give you a huge amount of information right from the start, and your aim is generally to get as much data as possible, so the churn is key. If you can achieve a nice equilibrium between these two factors, everyone walks away happy.”

Once your beyond this stage, it’s then about a long-term dialogue, to continue to keep the consumer engaged with the brand. “Keeping in contact beyond the actual event, through anything from websites to social media, is what allows us to build data profiles of consumers – like a jigsaw puzzle. With one brand we work with, we draw people in through registering and logging onto a website. When they register, we have their postcode and email, so we know where they are and can target them with localised information. We can also track where they visit on the website and thereby build a picture of their interests. It’s important to stress we are not being manipulative here; we’re just trying to understand what consumers are interested in, so we can offer them things that are relevant and will spark their interest – it’s important to maintain a two-way exchange.”

It is obvious that experiential marketers are learning from their direct marketing counterparts. Adding long-term and targeted data capture and data warehousing is a great way to add value to their offering. The experience or event becomes the initial touchpoint in a relationship that can then be strengthened and built upon. By inviting consumers to relevant events and activities in their areas where they will see the brand presence, companies are repeatedly showing them that the brand is highly relevant to their lifestyle. This can be a very powerful tool in converting people into brand advocates and consolidating those already converted. And this is not something to be sniffed at.