How LTE Direct Will Change Your Event Marketing

April 10, 2015

Lisa Apolinski

Lisa Apolinski is a professional speaker, blogger, and digital strategist. With her company, 3DogWrite.com, she works with event managers to get their message to attendees, particularly through digital channels, on and off the show floor.

I attended SXSW in Austin last month, and one of the most interesting sessions was the panel discussion around proximity marketing and the use of LTE Direct.

This is a new mobile technology that will be launched in the next couple of years. It allows ‘passive discovery’ as you can be constantly searching for new interests, information or activities/deals. And there are several unique features that are key to how you market your event.

Mobile phone as the beacon, and WI-FI agnostic: This technology is unique in you do not need Wi-Fi or Bluetooth to connect. This not only allows engagement anywhere you are in proximity with other devices, it also saves on the battery life. And not having to rely on WI-FI is great when you are in a convention center, and service can be dodgy. You will still be able to reach your attendees, and that is impressive.

User controlled engagement: Each mobile user controls what s/he is searching, and the mobile user actually initiates the engagement because of it. As an example, think of someone coming into a trade show who is looking for a certain type of item or product. That individual can send out a communication, and receive information, brochures, or other communication from booths that have that specific product. Appointments could then be made, demonstrations set up in the booth tailored to that person, and customized engagement could be started.

Thousands of devices connected in seconds: One other great feature is that the technology allows thousands of devices to send information in seconds, and the range is about 500 meters. The technology also allows for the information to be always ‘on’ and transmitting, so as your attendee moves around the convention center, s/he can still engage with a variety of companies.

Keep your eye out for this technology being introduced in new devices, and how you can incorporate proximity marketing in an exciting new way.

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