Catch the Moment wrote this white paper with Event Marketer Magazine. The feature is a wonderful educational tool for strategic approaches to data collection at events.

1. Designing Effective
Data Capture
Programs
Smart design of data acquisition
programs ensures viral chatter,
more opt-ins, better engagement.
Benefits of a Strategic
Approach to Data Collection
Marketers employing a strategic approach to data collection enjoy
multiple benefits:
Separate the prospects from the existing customers. This enables
Create a Moment
the marketer to customize the next step so it will be relevant to each
recipient. For instance, customers can be sent a small thank you gift, while
of Connection
prospects receive a coupon entitling them to free product trial.
Analyze awareness and comprehension. Prospects’ answers to
The goal of every event marketer
survey questions can verify how much they know about your company
is to engage the audience, to cre-
and whether or not they get your message.
ate a moment where they’ve made
Obtain valuable demographic/psychographic data. Learning about the
a connection and have the audi-
prospect life and lifestyle helps marketers identify new and better ways to
ence’s full attention. That’s when
reach them.
it’s most likely the prospect will
Identify customer and product preferences. Ascertaining what type of
share valuable data, inspire word-
product a contact prefers enables you to customize and target ongoing
of-mouth and give you permission
interactions. For instance, a soft drink company would market to a cola
drinker differently than it would a consumer of energy drinks.
to start a relationship. Integrating
the right technology in the right
Customized next step. You can accelerate the sales process by guiding
the user to more information on your product—or to your product itself. manner with the right personnel
makes all the difference and can
Evaluate the value of the event. Determining what quantity and
actually increase participation
percentage of visitors are qualified prospects enables marketers to
evaluate whether an event is worth returning to in the future.
rates.
Marketers’ survey delivery/data generation options include hand-collected,
electronic onsite collection via hand-held device, onsite via kiosk or other
unmanned options, and online post-event data collection. The following
chart illustrates the pros and cons of each.
Designing eFFecTive DATA cAPTure ProgrAMs | 1

2. Designing Effective Data Capture Programs
Creating the Right Experience for Data Collection
W The right moment
e all know that data collection enhances a marketer’s
2.
power to know the audience and make the right next
create an engaging experience that is designed to connect
move. it’s what the cMo is looking for and what justi-
people, as most travel in groups at events and want to re-
fies participation in the event in the first place. But creating the
member their visit. Make this possible in a way that is valuable
right environment that engages prospects and encourages them
to them as attendees AnD to you as a host.
to offer valuable information requires moving beyond clipboards
Integrate the right technology
and incentives. it requires event designers to consider three criti- 3.
cal components:
and tools
The right people Audiences will frequently respond favorably to the right use
1.
of technology, especially when it is designed to enhance the
start by staffing your event with those who best represent the
user experience with cutting edge devices or by providing
demographics you are reaching out to and making sure they
valuable data, directions or other information that adds to the
are properly trained in your product or service. Then ensure
event.
they are trained in properly engaging AnD disengaging quali-
fied prospects to make the experience an enhancement of the
event, not a distraction.
Alternative Data Collection Methods
Onsite Electronic via
Driver’s License Scan Onsite Electronic Post-Event Online
Hand-Held Device
Less incidence of error— High incidence of error Less incidence of error since Low incidence of error
Incidence of error/
especially incorrect e-mail because the license goes the contacts input their own when inputting e-mail ad-
accuracy of data
addresses—since contact through an ocr scanning data. However many people dress is linked to retrieval
input their own data. process. purposely provide incorrect of a gift.
e-mail addresses.
very short—people at an Driver’s license scan does extremely short. Without opportunity for a longer
Length of survey
event don’t want to step not facilitate an attached a person standing there, form as people will spend
away from the fun to fill out survey, so surveying audience members are more time doing an online
a survey. would have to be done likely to lose patience and survey than they would at
separately. step away after a couple of the event.
questions.
Possibly some word-of- Possibly some word-of- Possibly some word-of- good if survey participa-
Potential of driving
mouth, but with no brand mouth, but with no brand mouth, but with no brand tion is integrated with
viral effort
impression attached. impression attached. impression attached. something the prospect
deems worthy of—and is
capable of—passing on
electronically.
easy to avoid. Many people Many people will not easy to avoid. There is little not everyone will take
Factors affecting
will make a detour if they participate because of incentive to interact with the time to do an online
participation
see a rep approaching. concern over privacy a static kiosk. incentives survey. response will be
incentives can significantly issues. can significantly increase driven by how much the
increase participation. participation. visitor enjoyed the at-event
interaction. incentives
can significantly increase
participation.
can be real-time, but good. The hardware can be real-time, but real-time.
Timeliness of
requires that the system be prints what it has read requires that the system be
results data
set up to upload regularly. immediately. set up to upload regularly.
In most cases, post-event electronic data collection is the best choice. It integrates
a longer survey, a high level of accuracy and an increased likelihood of a greater viral
spread because of the ability to send via phone or post to Facebook or MySpace.
However, for products that require involved face-to-face explanations or sampling,
onsite data collection can be the better solution.
2 | Designing eFFecTive DATA cAPTure ProgrAMs

3. Designing Effective Data Capture Programs
Making the Decision:
Pros and Cons of Onsite Activities
Advantages Disadvantages
Fun, interactive and engaging. viral offshoot is WoM only.
Onsite game
Has a large and very appealing prize. only one person wins. viral offshoot is WoM
Sweepstakes
only. no branded keepsake.
Provides a brand take-away. viral offshoot is WoM only.
Giveaway or onsite prize
Fun, interactive and engaging. Provides a brand take-
Roving photographer The marketer has no control over the back-
away. can be brought to the attendees—such as at
ground seen in the image.
a tailgate event. can be attached to online fulfillment
that extends the brand experience. can be set up to
collect data and opt-ins and drive visitors to website.
Participants launch viral continuance via e-mail, cell
phone, Facebook and Myspace.
Fun, interactive and engaging. Provides a brand Doesn’t look real.
Photos with pre-
take-away. can be attached to online fulfillment that Takes up more space.
printed backdrop
extends the brand experience. can be set up to
collect data and opt-ins and drive visitors to Website.
gives the marketer a branded presence. Participants
launch viral continuance via e-mail, cell phone, Face-
book and Myspace.
Takes up more space.
Fun, interactive and engaging. Provides a brand
Green screen photos
take-away. can be attached to online fulfillment that
extends the brand experience. can be set up to
collect data and opt-ins and drive visitors to website.
implemented correctly, it looks incredibly real.
Leverage high-priced spokespersons by using their
photos for the green screen. Participants launch viral
continuance via e-mail, cell phone, Facebook and
Myspace.
Fun, interactive and engaging. Provides a brand take-
Green screen video
Takes up more space.
away. can be attached to online fulfillment that extends
the brand experience.can be set up to collect data
and opt-ins and drive visitors to website. implemented
correctly it looks incredibly real. gives the marketer a
branded presence. Participants launch viral continuance
via e-mail and YouTube
Overall, the onsite activities that provide the great-
est opportunity for engaging brand interaction, data
collection and viral proliferation are green screen
photos and green screen video. Some situations
lend themselves to a combination of activities, e.g.,
a roving photographer for tailgating and a green
screen for a corridor or hospitality tent.
Designing eFFecTive DATA cAPTure ProgrAMs | 3

4. Designing Effective Data Capture Programs
CASE StuDy: With the deregulation of the energy industry, reliant energy has extended its marketing
efforts to community-based events that increase brand awareness. reliant has its name
Reliant Energy on reliant stadium and is a key sponsor of the Houston Texans nFL team.
Promotion Gathers
Objective
Key Data and reliant wanted to leverage its sponsorship to grab the attention of fans attending Texans
Spreads Virally games, connect with them, drive them to its website, collect key data, thank its current
customers and open up a dialog with those fans who were not current customers.
The Program
reliant employed both roving and green screen photography at every home game. Four
photographers combed all tailgating and fan functions, as well as the game. These pho-
tographers took approximately 100 photographs per hour and literally swept the entire
stadium from every angle photographing fans.
in addition, reliant set up three green screens where fans could choose from several
Texans-relevant settings. For instance, many chose to don a coach’s headset and be
superimposed into a photo that made it appear that they were calling the plays from the
Texans’ sideline. Large monitors enabled the crowd to see what the finished photos would
look like and drew additional spectators.
Fans were given a photo code card that contained a secure photo iD number and
printed instructions on how to retrieve their photos. Typically, the photos were uploaded to
the website during the game using a T1 line provided by the Texans.
After the game, fans went online and inserted their code to access their photos—which
were imprinted with the date, a Texans logo and a reliant logo. in addition to downloading
and printing their photos, many chose to e-mail them to friends—adding a viral element to
the campaign. From there, many of the fans clicked on the link to visit the reliant website
and opted-in to reliant’s e-marketing campaign.
Perhaps the most important element of the program was the data reliant collected.
An impressive percentage of those retrieving their photos participated in a brief online
survey that qualified the audience and determined which contacts were customers vs.
prospects. via e-mail, existing customers were given a discount coupon for admission
to a local museum as a thank-you. Prospects were given a coupon offering a discount
for switching their service to reliant—and were rolled into a client acquisition program to
receive ongoing marketing communications and assignment to an account person for
personal follow-up.
Results
reliant extended its multimillion-dollar sponsorship into an interactive experiential market-
ing program that connected directly with customers and prospects—and continued to
grow virally.
ROO
• Captured thousands of pieces of demographic information from their customers.
• Delivered branded, interactive entertainment and interaction with customers
and prospects.
• Provided a branded event memento.
• Dramatically increased its website traffic.
• Extended the excitement of the game (and Reliant’s marketing program) beyond that
single day—and to friends who didn’t even attend the game.
ROI
• 33,154 photos taken of 104,104 fans.
• 79% of photos retrieved.
• 24,755 people who retrieved photos participated in the survey (88%).
• 12,863 opt-in permissions captured.
• 112,390 estimated viral recipients of photos from email.
• 10,214 sent to cellphones.
• 4,714 sent to Facebook or MySpace.
4 | Designing eFFecTive DATA cAPTure ProgrAMs

5. Designing Effective Data Capture Programs
How Photo and Video Promotion Can
What can photo
Be utilized to Drive Impressions,
promotion do?
Opt-Ins, Data Collection, Viral Marketing
used to its fullest potential, photo/video
and Measurement
production can:
T
• Engage the audience in an immersive he brand experiences most effec- And it works because people love pic-
at-event experience, increasing event tive in forging lasting connections tures of themselves and can’t resist
and brand memorability. leverage multiple touch points retrieving them.
• add contacts to the marketer’s opt-in and embody a means to measure “Photos of friends, family and col-
list and/or sales funnel. the outcome. in fact, the more touch leagues at an event can extend the life
• Drive visitors to the marketer’s website. points, the more valuable an experi- of the experience by enabling partici-
• Launch a viral marketing campaign. ence will be—with success increasing pants to recall the good time they had.
• Collect valuable data. exponentially when one of those touch in fact, when asked what memento of
• Provide the audience with an event points launches a viral marketing pro- an event would have the most value,
keepsake. gram where visitors organically spread photos were one of the top three men-
• Deliver measurable results. the message to new contacts. tioned (along with t-shirts and CDs).”
Photo and video promotions are
engaging and immersive brand experi- source: Event Marketer White Paper:
ences that can be leveraged to create Retail Event Strategies: The Sales Im-
multi-touch marketing experiences. pact of Experiential Events.
new contacts
reached through
Drive customer create Keepsake viral Marketing:
Brand interacton
to website and initiate viral WoM, email, cell
(photo or image)
Marketing phone, Myspace,
Facebook,
You Tube, etc.
generation of
opt-in for Future Data collection Thank-You,
contact (survey) coupon
or offer
Analysis of Data
Measurement of
roi and roo
ongoing contact
and impressions
as contact enters
the sales Funnel
DESigning EFFECtivE Data CaPtuRE PRogRaMS | 5

6. Designing Effective Data Capture Programs
Measuring
Success
The following quantitative metrics can be
applied to photo and video promotions
and assigned dollar values per impression
to calculate roi. Measure the number
Green-Screen ups the Fun
and value of:
F
un is an important factor in video of somewhere that they’ve never
• impressions.
forging any brand connection. really been—or someone they have
• images shot.
The more fun the experience, never met.
• People shot.
the greater the visitors’ opinion of the green screen one-ups traditional
• People watching others’ images
brand will be. And thus, the more likely event photography because custom-
being shot.
the visitor will be to share personal ers have a choice—they can select the
• People walking by.
data, continue their relationship with background of their choosing from op-
• Encounters with brand ambassadors
the brand—and tell friends about their tions pre-selected by the marketer. For
while waiting in line or watching.
experience and the brand. instance, they can choose to stand in
• People retrieving photos.
green screen delivers an interac- front of the u.s capitol or with one of
• People answering survey questions.
tive and immersive experience that their favorite celebrities—participating
• People who opt-in for future contact.
can create a branded event within in the action or holding the product.
• People clicking through to the mar-
the larger event—thus upping the fun This is an excellent opportunity for
keter’s website.
quotient exponentially. Just like movie brands to leverage the draw and ap-
• People clicking through to special offer
actors, event visitors can have their peal of their spokespeople.
or banner ad.
image integrated into a photograph or
• People redeeming coupons or taking
advantage of special offer.
• People sharing images with others
through e-mail, Myspace and
up the Ante
Facebook.
• images shared via mobile phone.
T
• Photo page views. echnology advances have made to watch and cheer him on. Then he
• new customers—both immediate and video green screen more realistic watches a playback of the video with
lifetime value. than ever—creating a viable an inset of himself at the lower right-
• Existing customers enticed to buy choice for event promotion. Plus, video hand corner. The result? He can’t wait
more or additional product. has the benefit of upping the fun factor to get home and download his own
even higher because attendees don’t copy—e-mail it to his friends and post
just stand in front of a background— it to YouTube.
they become part of the action. The reality is that green screen
imagine your target customer going activities are immersive and engaging.
to a nAscAr race and having the Thus the marketers employing them
option to shoot a video of himself com- draw more participants and those
menting during a big on-track crash. participants are far more likely to opt-
He puts on a headset just like an in, answer survey questions and share
announcer and calls the action as he their experiences after the event.
watches the video of the crash on the
monitor. He feels the adrenaline pump-
ing in his veins as a crowd assembles
6 | DESigning EFFECtivE Data CaPtuRE PRogRaMS

7. Designing Effective Data Capture Programs
Selecting the Right Photo/Video Promotion Supplier:
What to Look For
in order to maximize your return on investment, it is important to partner with a supplier who utilizes state-of-the-art technology
for high-quality, user-friendly image capture, posting, image retrieval, and data collection. eighteen questions to ask:
Software. Targeted advertising.
1. Does the supplier have proprietary soft- 11. can the system pro-
ware designed for the mobile/event market? is that software vide different coupons or messaging tailored to the survey
designed for the non-professional making it goof-proof when answers, i.e., can customers receive an offer that is
used by temporary onsite staff? different from that of prospects?
Training. Audience insight.
2. Does the supplier provide training to get the 12. is there some means of iden-
local staff up and running quickly—and to ensure that they tifying the makeup of the visitors who choose not to respond
deliver a high-quality result? Will the supplier stay onsite for to the survey?
the first event to make sure everything goes well?
Data retrieval. Can you view survey results 24/7 in
13.
Equipment. can you lease the equipment from the
3. real time?
supplier?
Image posting.
14. Are the images posted immedi-
Onsite rendering. Does the system render the
4. ately, enabling visitors to retrieve their images while the event
images onsite to facilitate fast—or even real-time—fulfill- is still top-of-mind? (a recent study revealed a 39% increase
ment? in retrieval with same-day uploading.)
Fulfillment and forwarding options.
5. 15. Privacy. Do the people retrieving images see their im-
Does the system enable visitors to share the images via their ages only—or everyone else’s images too? Are they posted
choice of methods, i.e., download, e-mail, mobile phone, individually or in batches?
Myspace, Facebook and YouTube?
formatting.
16. Data can the supplier manipulate
screen quality.
6. Green Does the green screen the data into whatever format your company or fulfillment
system or technique produce high-quality output? The house needs to integrate it into the database or crM sys-
higher the quality of the output, the more likely it is that tem?
people will send the images on.
options.
17. Fulfillment can the supplier provide
of graphic library.
7. Depth if you are working ongoing online fulfillment options that enable you to maintain
with stock images, what size library does the supplier have? contact with the visitors at regular intervals through email or
Does the library contain what you need? direct mail?
capability. visitors.
8. Custom if you are creating a cus- 18. Repeat Does the system distinguish
tom background, does the supplier have an in-house design between first-time and repeat visitors?
department? How good does its previous custom work
look?
Photo gallery.
19. if a single visitor takes multiple
photos, can the system place all of the photos into a single
Data collection capability onsite.
9. gallery?
Does the system enable you to collect data via a kiosk,
handheld device, driver’s license scan or brand ambassador?
Data collection capability online.
10.
Does the system enable you to attach a survey and col-
lect data? is the survey tool sophisticated enough to allow
branching, i.e., the ability to jump to a specific question
based on responses to previous questions?
DESigning EFFECtivE Data CaPtuRE PRogRaMS | 7

8. Designing Effective Data Capture Programs
Q. Is it true that photo promotion is more effective with some audienc-
Q&A es—such as with consumers and young groups— than others, like at
with a formal business event?
Dick Didow A. Photo promotion works well with any group, provided you select the right interaction and
CEO activity for the audience profile and tone of the event. For one science-based organization, we did
a scene where the attendees donned white lab coats and posed as mad scientists. The attendees
Catch the Moment
held up their fingers and we made it look like a bolt of electricity was flowing from one finger to
the other. You would have thought that group would be shy but they all participated—and they
loved it.
Q. I’ve heard that the market has achieved green screen saturation. In
other words, people have seen it and done it already—and therefore it
has lost its effectiveness. Is that true?
A. it is not true at all that green screen has reached a saturation point. recently i attended an
event where four different marketers were using green screen and every one of them was attract-
ing huge crowds. What does matter is how you use green screen. if the experience is unique and
fun, then the audience will want to do it again and again.
Q. Isn’t green screen technology prohibitively expensive?
A. When the onsite engagement value, the data collection value and the viral marketing value are
all taken into consideration, most of our clients find photo options to be very reasonably priced.
And usually photos printed onsite are less expensive than many non-personalized promotional
items that are thrown away after an event, in contrast to photos that are kept as mementos.
Catch the Moment’s creative photo and video promotions connect clients with event
guests and prospects through onsite, online and viral interaction. Since 1998, the company’s
suite of online and onsite fulfillment options, survey/data collection features and electronic
forwarding mechanisms have helped its clients connect directly and virally to hundreds of
thousands of customers. The results are measurable impressions, prospects driven to the
client’s website, actionable data, and measurable roi and roo.
cTM helps you captivate your attendees, connect your brand to your prospect, and cap-
ture important marketing data. To learn how cTM can increase the roi for your next event,
contact the Catch the Moment customer service department at (877) 895-8700 or email us
at info@catchthemoment.com
www.CAtCHtHEMOMEnt.COM