Unlocking the power of facial recognition for better events

Facial recognition is set to revolutionize the events industry as we know it. And it’s more than a novelty; it can add clear value for users. It’s been used plenty in other industries, so it’s time to look at how it can be used to improve your event.

Session Tracking

Tracking the participation of different sessions is effective market research, since you’ll learn which are successful and which aren’t. This information can help you decide what to include at your next event and what should be removed based on low attendance. In addition, the average participation rate can help you book a venue of the right size, while discovering what types of events appeal to specific users. This data-informed approach can increase ticket sales.

Facial recognition is a fantastic method for obtaining this data. You won’t be asking guests to go out of their way, and the session tracking process can be as easy as putting a phone on a stand near the entrance. Information can then be sent to the cloud for processing and analysis.

Hangzhou Marriott Hotel Qianjiang

Check-In

A smooth and effortless check-in process will help your event run smoothly. The thought of queuing is often enough to put attendees off, and facial recognition addresses this problem at the root cause. Using either a self-service or hosted check-in mode is effortless, allowing attendees to be instantly identified without further action. Because any device that has a camera will work, you won’t need to purchase expensive equipment. This is an efficient, cost-effective method of checking in, which will undoubtedly increase attendee satisfaction and user engagement. It’s also a cool feature for attracting guests—Marriott is already experimenting with facial recognition room check-ins.

Heat Maps

If you can identify event problems before they occur, you can implement safeguards to reduce their negative impact. If you can respond to issues in real time, you’re at an even greater advantage. Heat mapping is a great way to get a bird’s-eye view of an event, indicating lengths of queues, places where staff need to be allocated, and current crowd flow. It can even help you evaluate the pricing structure at your next event, allowing you to charge more for sections of your event that are in high demand. And with data on the popularity of specific exhibits, you can attract future exhibitors with statistics about the number of people expected to visit. This becomes a factual pitch where you can appeal to new contributors.

Facial recognition is a great way to compute and draw heat maps, allowing you to track the number of faces across various locations, track the number of people who have passed a certain point, and gain advanced insight on group types.

Personalization

Attendee satisfaction is a common measuring stick of a successful event. To improve user experience, why not incorporate screens equipped with cameras? By doing so, you can use facial recognition to offer personalized information, such as indicating the next session guests should attend.

Additionally, your information desk can be similarly equipped—imagine leveraging facial recognition to personally greet an attendee and anticipate their needs. A personal, interactive experience will form a lasting impression with guests, who will marvel at your unique efforts.