The Conference and Hospitality Show 2012 on Thursday 26th April

12 April, 2012

On Thursday 26th April I’m attending (as a panelist) the Conference and Hospitality Show 2012 at Leeds United Football Club, Elland Road.

It’s the only show of its kind outside of London, bringing together people who work at all levels within the conference, events and hospitality industry.  The one-day event showcases venues, event suppliers, activities and speakers, and allows visitors the opportunity to network, meet new potential suppliers and increase their industry knowledge.

The day’s seminars include:

• The business value of meetings – How measuring the added value of your events can improve ROI and raise your personal profile.
• Please turn ON your mobile phone – How mobile apps can liberate events and technology can be used to engage further with delegates. (I will be on the panel of this one)
• Perfect awareness for PAs – The questions to ask to ensure your event is a great success.
• Future perfect – For anyone who wants to remain positive and have the right tools to face industry challenges head on.

Celebrity Chef James Martin, who came home to his roots earlier this year when he opened his new restaurant ‘The Leeds Kitchen’ inside the prestigious Alea Casino at Clarence Dock in Leeds, will also be appearing as a special guest, leading a cookery seminar in the demo zone at the event.

Conference & Hospitality Show 2012 Panel Discussion: QR Codes

As part of the conference, I was delighted to be asked to take part in a panel discussion about the value of QR codes in event management and promotion. Regular blog readers will recall I examined the value of QR codes for businesses last year in QR Codes: Is Your Business Missing Out?

Quick Response Codes (QR codes) are appearing everywhere on posters, publicity flyers, and even TV advertisements. People are becoming much more receptive to the idea of using them to access additional information about an event, brand or product. They offer great benefits to businesses and events organisers in terms of visitor or customer engagement and behaviour tracking. However, it is important to carefully consider their use and function in order to achieve these benefits, as not doing so can be detrimental to your brand. Their overuse or inappropriate use has been widely ridiculed, as this humourous blog shows.

How not to use a QR code!

Have you used QR codes in your publicity? How have you used them? Have you found them beneficial or not?  I’d be very interested in people’s comments here.  If you post a comment to this blog, I will be happy to take this forward as an example to the panel discussion at the event (with your permission).

I’m particularly interested in the Conference and Hospitality Show’s use of social media to promote the event this year, and to connect with people and gather valuable data and feedback leading up to, and throughout, the event itself.

One of the ways in which the event organisers are doing this is through a Twitter competition.

Conference & Hospitality Show 2012 Twitter Competition

To encourage visitors to tweet about the event, the organisers have set up a Twitter competition that encourages multiple tweets with the hashtag #CHS12. As people tweet about different elements of the event with the #CHS12 hashtag, they begin to unlock ‘badges’ (of which there are 40). The person who collects the most badges by 12noon on 26th April will win a two night stay in Milan, courtesy of Leeds Bradford International Airport, Ryanair and Radisson BLU Leeds.

Incentivising people to tweet about an event is a great way to generate a large amount of online traffic. Not only will this help boost the profile of your event online and quickly build awareness among many people who might not otherwise have heard about the event, it is certain to spark a number of conversations and debates, both at the event and online, that could lead to new business partnerships and new events. Some more social media tips and ideas here.

For those who want to take part and be in with a chance of winning the trip to Milan, organisers advise visiting the Conference and Hospitality Show website and checking out the news section for regular news updates with information that can unlock some badges.

Anyone that wants to follow discussions and updates about the Conference and Hospitality Show 2012 can keep up to date on Twitter using the #CHS12 hashtag and connect with other visitors and exhibitors.
I would also advise that you follow @chsplay (the name of the game) so you can see who is tweeting about you – you can always then re-tweet their comments and/or send replies thanking them for mentioning you.  This won’t collect badges but is great for managing your online presence. Click here to see the leader board.

The competition is under way and closes at 12noon on 26th April, so get tweeting!

I hope some of you can make it to the show and look forward to seeing some of you there – do come and say hello.

Also, don’t forget to post your questions, comments and ideas about QR codes in the comments box below to receive a mention for your business at the show during the panel discussions.