Trade show apps
Give your team the easiest tools for managing a changing show programme, whilst helping visitors find exhibitors, presentations, and talks that give them real value & encourage them to return next year.
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Why VIKIN makes sense for trade shows
When attendees arrive at a trade show, they can end up overwhelmed with the amount of exhibitors, information, and activations around them. Walking into an exhibitor hall or out into a large showground, they need to discover the exhibitors that are relevant to them, see if any talks or demonstrations are on that they should be attending, and plan their day so they get the most out of their time at the show.
Attendees will often have a clear idea in advance of the show about what they’re looking for. They might be looking for new management software, options for larger stages, security teams - or they could be having a walk around and seeing what inspires them. For those with set priorities, they’ll need a way to plan what they want to see, and then they’ll need a way to find their way around.
Organisers will have a lot on their plate - managing exhibitor details, changing floor plans, balancing schedules across days, updating their websites and running marketing to encourage more visitors to attend. Last minute changes can create mismatched information across multiple locations, and only using a website can cause frustration when it won’t load due to poor signal or broken event Wi-Fi.
Using VIKIN, all of your exhibitors, talks, demonstrations, maps and practical information are in a single, easy-to-use branded app. Attendees can plan their day and get the most from the show, while organisers have the tools they need to keep information current and accurate.
Why VIKIN is great for organisers
VIKIN makes it simple for your to manage your event: keep information up-to-date, work efficiently, and communicate directly with your attendees.
Effortless Content Management
Manage schedules, locations, artists, vendors, sponsors and practical information in a single place.
- Organiser web portalCreate, update, manage, review and publish attendee-facing content with just a few clicks.
- Permissions, roles, and delegationGive your team access to make changes, while protecting sensitive actions and reserving the ability to review and make changes to content before publishing.
- Production map previewBring your to-scale production map into VIKIN, and make it easy to position stages and facilities when planning your event. Your production map stays private, it is never shown to attendees.
Keep your systems connected
With VIKIN, you don't need to duplicate your data. Use the existing tools your team already relies on to keep your app in sync.
- Event-platform integrationsSynchronise your existing content from event-management platforms such as Crescat, and maintain your single source of truth.
- Content exportYou can host your data in VIKIN, and use our built-in export features to sync content from VIKIN to your website, accessibility tooling and more.
- Tailored connectionsIf an integration doesn't already exist between VIKIN and other tools in your event ecosystem, our in-house tech team can work with you to get one built.
Create commercial value
Give sponsors, partners and vendors useful visibility within the attendee experience; in ways that are helpful and relevant for attendees, and deliver real value for you and your partners.
- Proper partner profilesShow detailed descriptions, high-quality imagery, links, menus and offers.
- Visibility, in the right momentSurface content alongside relevant searches, locations and app content, so it relates more to attendees and delivers a higher value to you.
- All-year engagementYour app isn't just for your event days. Continue promoting tickets, partners, sponsors, and event news throughout the whole year.
Learn and improve
Understand what attendees use and value so you can react before, during, and after your event; without tracking attendees personal information.
- Aggregated usage statsLearn what attendees are interested in, across schedules, artists, searches, vendors, sponsors and other app content.
- Event-day insightsEasily see what attendees are up to during the event, so you can react in real-time and apply lessons for future events.
- Privacy-conscious designThere's no need to track personal or identifying attendee data; with VIKIN all attendees are anonymous.
Why attendees love apps from VIKIN
Help your attendees discover, plan, and find their way around your event; with a helpful experience that is personalised for each attendee.
Plan a personal event
Let attendees plan beforehand, and turn a busy programme into a schedule that reflects their personalities.
- Personal schedulesAttendees can add artists and activities to their favourites, and bring sessions into their individual plan.
- Timelines and clash-findingAn intuitive timeline view makes it easy to see everything happening, and to resolve the inevitable clashes when multiple sessions are too good to miss.
- Notes and custom sessionsAttendees like keeping their plans in one place. Meetups, volunteering shifts and personal notes can all be added in-app, alongside official content. Personal content stays on-device.
Find your way around
Combine interactive maps and offline way-finding to make an unfamiliar site easier to explore.
- Interactive location detailsDiscover stages, vendors, facilities and other useful places with detailed supporting information.
- Offline way-findingSometimes an event site can be daunting. In-app way-finding makes it easy to navigate to a location, even if it's all the way across the site.
- Find MySave a tent, vehicle, meeting point, your friend's tent, or anything else, and find the way back later. Find My surfaces naturally in the app when it's most relevant.
Discover what matters
Help attendees find relevant artists, activities, locations, and vendors at the right moment.
- Intelligent searchFind artists, vendors, locations, FAQs and other in-app content from one search, without needing an internet connection.
- Contextual discoverySurface content that attendees will find useful, according to where there are and when they are looking.
- Detailed profilesGive artists, workshops, vendors and partners enough detail to encourage attendees to discover and learn more about what's on at your event.
Stay informed in one place
Bring current schedules, announcements, practical guidance and event content into one branded experience.
- Fully branded appYour event is a carefully curated experience. Your app will match your branding and vibes, and feel distinctly yours.
- Dynamic dashboardThe VIKIN home tab highlights timely and relevant content, depending on where the attendee is and when they look.
- Everything: in one place.Bring schedules, FAQs, directions, profiles, locations and announcements together in a single location, so attendees don't need to go elsewhere to see what's on.
Integrations and event data
Import exhibitors, talks, demonstrations, and other programme data from spreadsheets, synchronise with Crescat, or scope a custom integration with the internal system your show already uses. For The Showman's Show, we built an integration against the FFAIR platform, and we can build an integration for other platforms too.
- Crescat synchronisation for teams already managing event information in Crescat. Manage your data in one place, and effortlessly sync it into your VIKIN app with our official integration.
- Spreadsheet imports for structured schedules, people, places and other event data that you currently manage in spreadsheets.
- Custom integrations are also possible, if you're using another content management platform or if you're using custom tools internally.
Ticketing, payment, and other event ecosystem integrations are on our roadmap. Need one? Let us know when you speak with us and we can plan it in.
Reliable access to content, even in busy halls
Many things at a trade show can affect phone reception - large crowds, temporary venues, and large metal structures to name a few. When using a VIKIN app, attendees have all of the exhibitors, schedules, maps and other show info already available on their phone, regardless of the phone signal.
Practical support at your trade show
We can show you how best to bring in your exhibitor and programme data, prepare imports or integrations, test the visitor journey and provide marketing material to support your app launch. We're happy to provide on-site support if you need direct help during the show.
Frequently Asked Questions
A few of our most frequent queries from organisers like you. Got a question not answered here? Get in touch and we'll be happy to help.
Can we import an existing exhibitor list?
Of course! When you join VIKIN, you can import from spreadsheets, or you can request a custom integration if your exhibitor data already lives in another system. For The Showman's Show, we built an integration with the FFAIR exhibitor platform.
Can attendees plan a personal schedule for their day?
Yes. Attendees can add talks, demonstrations, and other scheduled activities to build a plan for their day and identify clashes. Attendees can also add exhibitors to their favourites, so they can plan which stands to visit in advance.
Can the app include a floor plan or outdoor show map?
Definitely! In our apps, interactive maps can show exhibitor stands, specific halls, demonstration areas, facilities and other useful locations across indoor and outdoor show sites. You can either request a branded site map overlay from our team, or bring in your own to-scale venue map image.
Can the app work inside a venue, when the reception is week?
VIKIN apps are designed to work offline. Schedules, maps, exhibitor profiles, search and practical information remain available offline. Using our bespoke content distribution infrastructure, you can still push out updates to your attendees, even if the phone signal is unreliable.
I already use a service for managing my exhibitor info - can VIKIN connect to this?
We're happy to take a look! We can build custom integrations where both the source system and technical access allow it. We'd start by having a conversation with you about your exact needs, before opening discussions with the service to see what is available.
Does VIKIN integrate with ticketing or payment platforms?
These are both on our roadmap for future development. If you're needing something for your event, let us know and we'd be happy to work out what you need!