The document outlines ten essential ideas derived from Onyx Beacon's experience at IBM InterConnect 2015, a major technology conference with over 20,000 participants. Key suggestions include creating a detailed event scenario, ensuring full coverage and optimal beacon placement, and engaging attendees with relevant communications throughout the event. The findings emphasize the importance of planning, adaptability, and leveraging data for future event improvements.

1. 10 ideas from
IBM InterConnect 2015
in Las Vegas

2. www.onyxbeacon.com10 ideas from IBM InterConnect 2015 in Las Vegas
Onyx Beacon conducted recently its
first large-scale deployment implemented on a large and
prestigious event of international scope.
We placed a complex infrastructure
of 50 Beacons controlled by the Onyx Beacon CMS
at the largest high technology conference
organized by IBM in America,
InterConnect 2015.

3. www.onyxbeacon.com10 ideas from IBM InterConnect 2015 in Las Vegas
This was a four-day event, which has seen more than
20,000 participants that witnessed the future, reinvention
and innovations of cloud, mobile, DevOps, security and more.
This event included over two thousands technical sessions,
42 tracks, 8 streams, and 3 general sessions
and was hosted by Mandalay Bay and MGM Grand
resorts in Las Vegas at the end of February.

4. www.onyxbeacon.com10 ideas from IBM InterConnect 2015 in Las Vegas
Beacon One, placed on
the official sign of the event,
in the hotel lobby

5. www.onyxbeacon.com10 ideas from IBM InterConnect 2015 in Las Vegas
Here are the 10 key findings we gained
through this experience.
We would like to share these ideas with you,
in order to improve your future projects
in the sector of public events.

6. www.onyxbeacon.com10 ideas from IBM InterConnect 2015 in Las Vegas
1. Create a complete event scenario
Build a complete scenario script before the entire event,
considering its program and agenda.
Anticipate, define clearly the schedule segments,
imagine where the groups of participants will be
hour by hour and minute by minute.
Try to imagine on what will they focus their attention on every
defined interval of time, and what types of interaction
expectations have they regarding the event’s program.

7. www.onyxbeacon.com10 ideas from IBM InterConnect 2015 in Las Vegas
2. Think about full coverage
Try to cover with your scenario all the 24 hours of a day,
the whole period of the event and all the areas where the
attendees will walk during the event.
In addition to the areas where the event takes place, you must
include in the sectors covered by beacons also the
accommodation, entertainment and leisure sectors, the
restaurants, lounges, bars and cafes, and even the vehicles that
provide transportation of participants between locations.

8. www.onyxbeacon.com10 ideas from IBM InterConnect 2015 in Las Vegas
3. Use a detailed map
Get or create a complete map of the entire location hosting the
event and the attendees, study carefully the dimensions of the
rooms, the layout of the furniture, the accessories and event
mobile infrastructure and study walls’ thickness.
This map will help you to intelligently place the entire
communications infrastructure and insure that all your iBeacon
devices are perfectly functioning and fulfill their roles.

9. www.onyxbeacon.com10 ideas from IBM InterConnect 2015 in Las Vegas
Beacons infrastructure,
covering the public spaces
of the event locations

10. www.onyxbeacon.com10 ideas from IBM InterConnect 2015 in Las Vegas
4. A powerful communications plan
Segment the general audience according to the program of the
event and the special sessions included in the program.
Use the aforementioned scenarios and
draw relevant and meaningful sub-programs of
communication for each identified audience segment.
Try to put yourself in the place of guests and imagine what
messages / offers / coupons / incentives would they like to
receive and what might pleasantly surprise them.

11. www.onyxbeacon.com10 ideas from IBM InterConnect 2015 in Las Vegas
5. Smart and effective layout of beacons
Create a beacons’ layout that covers all the areas, all the
scenarios and needs mentioned in your communications plan.
Calculate precisely the range of action for each beacon, ensure
complete coverage of all areas and avoid duplication of
coverage for the beacons belonging to different groups (tags)
and which will have to carry different messages and to reach
different targets.
This layout will also help you, at the end of the event,
to recover all your equipments.

12. www.onyxbeacon.com10 ideas from IBM InterConnect 2015 in Las Vegas
6. Take advantage of “dead times”
You already know that in all “dead” moments,
meaning those segments of time in which nothing important
happens, all eyes are on the screens of phones and tablets.
Take advantage of the breaks between sessions, the periods in
which visitors are transported from one place to another and
the moments spent by them in common areas.
For this purpose, place beacons in buses, lounges, cafes,
restaurants and hotels’ hallways.

13. www.onyxbeacon.com10 ideas from IBM InterConnect 2015 in Las Vegas
Different Onyx Beacon
positionings in the event area

14. www.onyxbeacon.com10 ideas from IBM InterConnect 2015 in Las Vegas
7. Preserve/protect your beacons
When you place the beacons, make sure you place them in
positions in which they can deliver signal without obstruction
or distortion, but at the same time they should be masked by
some elements of decor or be placed at a sufficient height.
Participants in such events are funny guys, very passionate
about technology, extremely curious and creative and they will
definitely want to know what are these tiny-trendy-toys and
especially to discover what lies beneath their nice casing.

15. www.onyxbeacon.com10 ideas from IBM InterConnect 2015 in Las Vegas
8. Be relevant and engaging
Adapt your entire communication plan to the context of the
event and to the participants’ typology. Fully understand and
assume their insight. Forward them valuable information,
entertainment and incentives. Avoid spamming your guests.
Offer a pleasant experience and useful and interesting
information that they will appreciate and voluntarily distribute
to their colleagues, friends and social networks. Live the event
together with them and adapt the content delivered through
iBeacons depending on the quality of moments that take place.

16. www.onyxbeacon.com10 ideas from IBM InterConnect 2015 in Las Vegas
9. Be optimistic when planning
At this edition of IBM InterConnect we discovered that the
public exceeded the most optimistic expectations in terms of
adapting to new technologies, professional quality
and individual attitude.
97% of participants have downloaded the mobile app specially
built for the occasion, and 80% of them actively used this
application, opening their Bluetooth connection and receiving
the content created by the organizers. The rate of engagement
achieved through mobile application was excellent, being
double than the initial expectations of the organizers.

17. www.onyxbeacon.com10 ideas from IBM InterConnect 2015 in Las Vegas
Beacon One discretely inserted
in a directional banner

18. www.onyxbeacon.com10 ideas from IBM InterConnect 2015 in Las Vegas
10. Analyse data and project next steps
The beacons infrastructure administrated by our iBeacon CMS
is offering a rich database of analytics,
regarding the participants’ quality, behaviour and interests.
All this very accurate information could be very valuable for
your future marketing plans and programs.
At the same time, this data could be very useful in order to
improve the layouts, the communications techniques and the
marketing content for your future activities.

19. www.onyxbeacon.com10 ideas from IBM InterConnect 2015 in Las Vegas
Enterprise Beacon placed at the
entrance in The Grand Garden Arena,
before the Aerosmith concert

20. www.onyxbeacon.com10 ideas from IBM InterConnect 2015 in Las Vegas
+++ Bonus idea: Build the future
At the end of the event, when your guests are leaving the Grand
Garden Arena, where the rockers from Aerosmith offered an
extraordinary show, make sure that you extract the well-
deserved benefits of a successful event and you capitalize on
the enthusiasm generated by an energizing concert.
Exactely when they are leaving the concerts hall,
send to the participants an invitation to your next event or
a “take it or leave it” offer with an attractive discount for your
newest or next product.

21. www.onyxbeacon.com10 ideas from IBM InterConnect 2015 in Las Vegas
Our Enterprise Beacon
at the exit of Grand
Garden Arena after the
Aerosmith concert

22. www.onyxbeacon.com10 ideas from IBM InterConnect 2015 in Las Vegas
Onyx Beacon participated in this event through a partnership
with AllianceTech, one of the market leaders in organizing and
monitoring events within United States.
Many Fortune 500 companies usually select Alliance Tech
to meet their attendance tracking needs
in public conferences and fairs.
We are grateful to our partners at AllianceTech
for their confidence, support and excellent collaboration
in this partnership.

23. www.onyxbeacon.com10 ideas from IBM InterConnect 2015 in Las Vegas
Aerosmith concert, an
extraordinary experience.
Our beacons were there, trust us.

24. www.onyxbeacon.com10 ideas from IBM InterConnect 2015 in Las Vegas
Thank You.
www.onyxbeacon.com
sales@onyxbeacon.com