Podcast: Measuring the success of your event

In this week’s Event Industry News podcast, host James Dickson welcomes Rob Murdoch to the show.  Rob is the founder of Exposure Analytics, a company that has developed accurate means to measure the interaction and dwell time of attendees at events. In an increasingly digital world where marketing managers can measure likes, clicks, shares, time spent on websites, email open rates, and so much more, the technology offered by the company is now helping to bridge the analytical data gap at physical events.  Using discreet receivers that are able to pick up on the constant ‘pings’ that are sent out by mobile devices when searching for a network, Exposure Analytics is able to identify how many devices are within the range of the receiver unit. Once they have been detected, the system then measures how long that device – and thus the person – remain in that location. The resulting information provides footfall data, movement flows around a stand, event, or festival, as well as dwell time and engagement rates for experiential activity. All the data that is generated is completely anonymous, with no personal information captured. Explaining why he feels the system is so valuable to events, Rob told EIN: “Brands and agencies are looking to get people’s attention and capture their interest. Put simply, we can now tell you how well you did. Having worked on over 1,000 events, we’ve seen the power of experiential activity and the impact it can have.  Marketing is changing rapidly, budgets for experiential activity are increasing, and we love being part of this evolving world.”  Exposure Analytics has undergone big changes since it was first set up four years ago. Then - as Forge SP - the company offered a range of different tech services to events and festivals. Having undergone a rebrand, the company is now concentrating on what is of most value to clients: useful, reliable data that can be used to analyse exhibitions, events, activations, and more. Exposure Analytics has recently introduced new services including 4G sensors and weather data to its platform, enabling clients to evaluate their work wherever it is happening, and allowing them to analyse the impact of the weather on their event outcomes.  Since the start of 2018 the company has been all around Europe, UAE and in North America supporting events and clients that include conferences, exhibitions, motor shows, and shopping centres.