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New York Times Travel Show taps mobile to engage attendees

The New York Times Travel Show is launching a mobile expo guide and messaging program for the eighth-annual event Feb. 25-27 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York.

The Times contracted mobile media and technology firm interactive Mobile @dvertising Inc. to develop the mobile features. With 24,000-plus attendees and nearly 500 exhibitors expected, the New York Times Travel Show mobile guide will provide access to important and relevant information about the show through any smartphone or PDA device. 

?The New York Times goal was to provide a convenient, immediate source of event info for their attendees, including schedules, sponsors, exhibitor directory, special events, floor plan maps and local NYC info,? said Kerry J. Cannon Jr., CEO of iM@, Westport, CT.

?It also wanted to provide exhibitors and sponsors with a mechanism through which to communicate their value proposition and to encourage attendees to visit their booths, to generate significant incremental ancillary revenue from exhibitors and sponsors, and to offer a greener alternative to printed event booklets,? he said.

Mobile expo guide
The mobile guide features one-touch navigation, general event information, an exhibitor directory, seminar schedules, show specials such as coupons and interactive floor-plan maps with which to navigate the expo floor, locate and engage with exhibitors.

In cooperation with The New York Times and MSE Management Inc., iM@ (pronounced ?I?m at?) has developed a slate of mobile advertising and sponsorship opportunities to let exhibitors highlight their offerings, while connecting with attendees on the show floor.

All exhibitors will be included with their name and booth number, and exhibitors can upgrade to a ?Premium Mobile Ad Listing? that includes logos, banners, descriptions, a photo and video gallery, special offer coupons, as well as one-click access to call, email, request info, Twitter and Facebook.

Exhibitors can also sponsor entire sections such as Cruise, Caribbean, Europe, Vacation Rentals and other specific sections.

Additionally, show attendees can opt-in to receive special announcements, deals and incentives from exhibitors via SMS while at the show.

During the online registration process and on-site at the show, attendees will be able to opt-in by texting the keyword NYTIMES to the short code 30241. 

Attendees who text in will get access to the New York Times Travel Show mobile guide and receive targeted messages and offers during the show. 

Anyone registering to receive messages will be entered to win an Apple iPad.

Busch Gardens Williamsburg, VA, and South Africa Tourism are offering incentives via the mobile application.

The first 50 people at the show each day who show their phone coupon at the Busch Gardens booth receive a free park admission pass.

Anyone who ?friends? South Africa Tourism on their mobile device during the show is entered to win an iPad each day.

In other convention cities such as Orlando and Las Vegas, local suppliers distribute various offers and deals via mobile, including ?Free glass of wine with dinner at Capital Grille or The Palm,? ?Free cocktail at Vines Grille & Winebar? and ?Free upgrade when you purchase tickets to Blue Man Group.?

Spreading the word
There are quite a few consumer touch points where attendees of the New York Times Travel Show can learn about and access the app.

First, there are banners and links on the show Web site at http://nyttravelshow.com that promote the mobile guide, and offer Web and text-message opt-in channels.

Second, the Times is doing email blasts to attendees and past attendees. These also have calls-to-action with links to opt-in landing pages that iM@ administers.

Third, the mobile guide is integrated right into the online attendee booking process. It is integrated with all expo registration company platforms, and iM@ captures attendees mobile numbers and opt-ins during this process.

Fourth, there will be significant on-site promotion: signs and banners all over the halls and registration areas, postcards and flyers being handed out and announcements during the stage presentations.

In all cases, the attendees is encouraged to text NYTIMES to the short code 30241.

Finally, the iM@ platform was built with a peer-to-peer share feature so that anyone can forward the app to a friend, or forward a specific page of content such as an offer or an exhibitor profile to a friend.

At past conferences and expositions, iM@ claims to have seen usage and opt-in rates as high as 75 percent.

?The fact that we offer such a variety of access points, and the fact that ours is a Web application that will run on any smartphone, has allowed us to engage with a large percentage of event attendees,? Mr. Cannon said.

?The Times Travel Show needed a company that could provide the technology, content management and origination, the marketing support and sponsorship sales on a turnkey basis," he said.

The Times will use the mobile database for remarketing during and post-show, all in keeping with strict adherence to Mobile Marketing Association rules regarding text messaging, per iM@.

?Attendees can opt-in to receive up to 6 messages per day during the show, and we have sold out all of the available time slots to exhibitors and sponsors at almost $2,000 per message slot,? Mr. Cannon said. ?Trafalgar Tours is taking five message slots during the three-day event.

?However, we will retain a few slots to reach out to all attendees after the show to invite an ongoing dialogue between these qualified attendees and the travel suppliers who would like to do business with them,? he said.