Musical festivals are big business: In 2017 alone, Coachella made $114 million. Of course, Coachella isn’t the only festival held every year, there are tons of annual multi-day events across the country. If you’re an event organizer looking to turn a profit with your own festival and enhance your guests’ experience, one technology you should keep in mind is RFID. This tech is revolutionizing how festivals are run. One convenient RFID wristband can be used to admit festival-goers, post on social media, and replace cash payments.
What’s RFID?
RFID is short for Radio Frequency Identification, a wireless event technology that transfers information between two or more devices. It allows organizers to streamline processes like ticketing, social media engagement, and cashless transactions. And for guests, it creates an easy way to share memories and make them.
How is RFID being used?
In terms of music festivals and other big events, RFID-enabled wristbands can improve the entire event experience and make the logistics much more manageable for organizers. Keep reading for how this unique technology is changing the festival landscape.
How is RFID improving the festival scene?
RFID-enabled wristbands aren’t just changing the game – they’re revolutionizing it. Here are four ways RFID tech is making events better for everyone.
1. Say goodbye to traditional tickets and ticketing systems
- Helps fight fraud: It’s considerably harder to copy an RFID-enabled band compared to a traditional paper ticket because each RFID chip has a unique identifier. In addition, if an attendee loses his or her wristband, you can simply deactivate the old RFID and issue a brand new one. This eliminates the problem of someone finding a barcoded ticket and fraudulently using it to enter the event.
- Reduces ticket-sharing: This technology mitigates the issues of attendees sharing tickets because RFID bands feature a sliding bead locker that tightens on the wearer’s wrist. They’re significantly harder to slide off than other kinds of event wristbands.
- More durable: Because RFID bracelets are comprised of cloth and are not paper-based, they’re more durable and less likely to be damaged than regular tickets. A barcoded ticket can easily become smudged and unreadable.
- User-friendly: Wearers can simply tap their wristband on the RFID reader in any direction, even at night! You don’t need to worry about any barcodes that have to be scanned at a particular angle.
- Less waiting: Instead of waiting around to get into a busy venue, attendees are quickly processed for entry.
- Less training for employees: With RFID bands, you don’t need to train employees on scanning equipment. The RFID equipment simply lights up green for go or red for stop. This helps to minimize human-caused errors and means less manpower is necessary at the entry gates.
- Event hype: Instead of issuing tickets the day of, you can send out your event’s RFID bracelets ahead of time. This helps build anticipation and excitement around your event – plus, it gives attendees the chance to post about their upcoming experience on social media, giving you tons of exposure for free.
- Quick and convenient: The average cashless payment transaction using RFID technology takes just 0.5 seconds. And because it’s so easy to use, guests are more likely to spend money. Per head, attendees spend 16%-35% more with this type of wristband tech.
- Memento: If you make an awesome design, guests will hold onto the bracelet as a memento from the event.
2. Decrease the risk of petty crime with cashless payments and increase per-head spend
Long lines at the event ATMs? Not anymore. Guests can leave their wallets at home with RFID technology. With a tap of their wrist, festivalgoers can buy merchandise, drinks, and food with total convenience. How? RFID tags can hold payment information, so revelers don’t need to worry about carrying cash or cards.
In addition, it may help reduce issues of guests losing items, stolen wallets, and deter pick-pocketers.
3. Audience engagement and easy upgrades for guests
You can encourage festival participants to share on social media channels by linking social media accounts into the wristbands.
With RFID wristlets, you can have onsite engagement opportunities like photo booths and location check-ins. Photos can be emailed directly from the booth to the address stored in the wristband or exported to the social accounts linked to it.
This creates an opportunity for instant engagement while simultaneously giving sponsors relevant contact information that can be used for lead generation.
Are you adding a VIP section with special perks? RFID can help you with that. For example, you can allow General Admission holders to upgrade and enter the VIP areas with a tap of their wristband. Not only does this increase revenue on the event organizer side, but it also creates a seamless, convenient experience for guests to easily upgrade to VIP.
4. Get real-time analytics
With RFID bracelets, you can get immediate information about the foot traffic patterns and your audience engagement in real-time. And for multiple-day festivals, this is a great way to gather day-to-day data rather than waiting until the event is actually over.
You can use the data you receive from those RFID bracelets to change the gate layout, add more lanes, and determine the best place to put concession stands and bathrooms. You can also use it to evaluate the most popular attractions, artists, and speakers at the event.
This real-time information can help adapt to the festival so you can give your guests the best possible experience and avoid frustration-causing bottlenecks.
Conclusion: RFID is the answer to making your event better
Events are hard work – organizing your vendors, concessions, security, artists, and everything else is a full-time job that takes an army of staff. However, if you take advantage of the unique benefits of RFID bracelets, you can easily make your event more successful and streamlined. Not only do RFID chips help with logistics, but they can also elevate your guests’ experience and give them a hassle-free way to fully enjoy their festival experience without worrying about carrying around cash or endless lines.
