GHD develops new digital tool in collaboration with NEC to optimise event insights
London, UK – Show Insights, a new digital tool developed by GHD, a leading global professional services firm, and NEC Birmingham is set to transform the digital experience for physical events, giving organisers unrivalled insights to help them better understand visitor behaviours and experience.
Combining Wi-Fi data with capacity counting technology, Show Insights provides event organisers with GDPR compliant, anonymised, and aggregated insights not previously available. The information is presented in an online dashboard that helps the organiser to better understand both the visitor behaviour and the performance of their event.
The dashboard integrates multiple technologies delivering a simple and clear user interface for organisers and their teams. Using the data generated by Cisco’s hardware and WaitTime’s AI software introduced by NEC Birmingham in 2022 as part of a £7 million technology infrastructure investment, the solution delivers insights relating to venue utilisation, dwell time, itineraries and crowd densities.
It is fantastic to see our solution being rolled out at the NEC. It is designed to extract meaningful insights from data generated by both the wireless network and smart cameras installed at the venue, helping to deliver real value to show organisers.
“Piloted at recent test events, feedback from show organisers has not only validated the data-driven insights provided, but it has also confirmed its broader value as a solution to help create safe, digitally-enabled places for communities to enjoy events now and in the future.
“We look forward to building on our excellent relationship with the NEC as they continue to enhance the experience of their visitors and show organisers.”
Show Insights is the latest in a series of digitally-enabled tools created by GHD to provide clients with high-value data-driven solutions to help them drive business growth. This is strongly aligned to our Future Communities strategy which integrates everything we do, so that together, with our clients, we can provide thriving places and spaces that put people first.
Kelly Haslehurst, Marketing Director for Conventions and Exhibitions at NEC Birmingham, said: “At our venue we pride ourselves on building connections between audiences and events, between physical and digital worlds.
“NEC Show Insights reaffirms our commitment to being the best-connected venue in the UK, both digitally and physically, investing in our technology infrastructure to help provide more information for event organisers. We see this new offering as a crucial part of our post-event reporting for them.
“This new technology will provide so many benefits. From hard data to evidence of hall floor movement, to discovering the popularity and dwell time of each area, this will help inform event growth strategies and identify upselling opportunities.”
The project has seen 12 months of extensive building and testing behind the scenes, working with both GHD and event organisers to refine the offering, being trialled at events including UK Metals Expo and Autumn Fair.
Ian Solomon, Operations Director at Hyve Group, organiser of Spring Fair, said: “It’s important for us to spend time understanding the behaviour of our visitors and it’s for this reason we’re delighted the NEC is launching Venue Insights.
“The data provided will further enhance our knowledge, while giving us another source of insight to both validate and challenge our thinking when it comes to creating first-class events for our visitors.”
Chris Asselin, Co-Founder and CMO at the UK Metals Expo, said: “We try to accumulate as much data as possible to support our decisions as organisers. This data comes from our registration systems, visitor, speaker and exhibitor research surveys, social media trends analysis, catering sales and now wi-fi mapping at the venue. Wi-Fi mapping gives a useful insight into where our attendees spend most of their time.
“Interpreting this information enables us to both improve our shows for attendees and develop them in a way that is beneficial and profitable for all of our stakeholders, partners and customers.”
About the NEC
As one of Europe’s leading event destinations, the NEC offers flexible space for organisers to host any type of event – from ready-made layouts to blank canvases that spark innovation and creativity.
The NEC is the UK’s largest exhibition venue with 18 interconnecting halls comprising 182,000sqm of flexible exhibition space, in addition to over 387 acres of hard-standing ground and 59 acres of woodland. The venue welcomes around 2.3 million visitors and over 45,000 exhibiting companies to more than 500 events every year, including flagship shows BBC Good Food Show, Spring Fair International, Motorhome & Caravan and Crufts.
Situated at the heart of the national motorway network and physically linked to both Birmingham Airport and Birmingham International Railway Station, 75% of the UK’s population are based within a three-hour drive time of the NEC.
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GHD es una empresa líder en servicios profesionales que opera en los mercados mundiales de agua, energía y recursos, medio ambiente, infraestructura y edificaciones, y transporte. Comprometidos con la visión de garantizar que el agua, la energía y las comunidades sean sostenibles para las futuras generaciones, GHD ofrece soluciones en consultoría, servicios digitales, ingeniería, arquitectura, medio ambiente y construcción a clientes del sector público y privado. Fundada en 1928 y propiedad de sus trabajadores, GHD cuenta con una red de más de 12.000 profesionales en más de 160 oficinas en cinco continentes.