QR Codes is the Future for Events Industry, Moving Food Says

Events industry must embrace QR code technology. That’s what foodservice brand Moving Food told event organizers who participated at a One Wimpole Street conference.

The Numbers

Venue One Wimpole Street recently organized a masterclass among event professionals and found that 99% of the delegates are eager for practical insights into mobile technologies.

The event featured an interactive poll of 100 event organizers to look into their uptake of social media tools like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and even location-based sites like Foursquare. A majority of the delegates (80%) have Linked In accounts, but only 25% are active. Most also admitted that they have no idea what Foursquare and other location-based tools are.

The conference discussed how QR codes, smartphone ticketing and mobile Epos influence consumer behavior, how they redefine the expectations of event goers, and how they transform the way brands and venues communicate. The topic of Google+ was also tackled, as well as the benefits and detriments of social media advertising.

Mobile Technology and QR Codes

First speaker Ioannis Pantelidis, who is a technology evangelist and published author, said that people are into mobile technology and consumers are using mobile devices for a lot of things – from taking, sending and receiving videos and photos, to paying bills, browsing the web, listening to music, monitoring health.

Second speaker Stephen Minall, who is the owner and director of Moving Food, stated that smartphone technology is not just the future of business but the “here-and-now.” He said that QR codes, video communication, and mobile data capture are changing how the world works, and that this is filtering into the events industry.

Minall encouraged event professionals to utilize QR codes and get familiar with QR code scanning apps like Core on iPhone and Android, as these will form the basis of mobile ticketing. Paper ticketing, he explained, will soon be obsolete and that we can expect that by 2014s, iPhone will have distributed via iPhone by 2014. QR codes will be embedded with video content, CRM programs, loyalty programs, and interactive venue information.