The Badge is in the Mail

Written by CTE employees

Do not mail badges! Why not?

Because badges get lost in the mail. It can happen! Or perhaps your attendees forget their badge at home or have it eaten by a paper-eating animal. Maybe they remember to pack their badge, only to leave it in their hotel room. Hard dollar costs such as paper, envelopes and postage pile on the hidden cost of staff time. When "lost badges" show up at registration, another badge and set of credentials is printed, leaving their original valid set of credentials out there for someone else to use and the registrant open to identity theft.

The 21st century attendee is an online creature. Online creatures do not want mail. They ask for online statements and pay their bills directly from their online bank account. They arrive at the airport (showing their ID) to arrive at their destination, to pick up their rental car (ID in hand) and then proceed to their hotel check-in (government issued ID required.) Attendees know the drill and do no object to identity verification if check-in time is reasonable.

Print badges at registration? Why not!

It is done for onsite registrants already and is faster than getting through an airport. We know we are giving credentials to the proper person and know if they lose them that they at least had them once. Exhibitors can have their own name on their badge rather than the person they replaced at the last minute. We do not need to reprint badges for all those who for some reason do not have their mailed badges.

What else makes it better?

You will know which attendees have arrived and when. You can obtain other vital onsite information such as no=shows and hotel audits. You can be alerted if that VIP or key speaker has not arrived. You can make last minute changes to ticketed events. You can communicate last minute changes to the program. Your post event reports will reveal with statistical accuracy the arrival pattern by day and hour allowing the proper staffin hours for future events.