RAI

Sometimes it just happens to you. You're working on a beautiful innovation assignment, and then suddenly you see a possibility for your product 'live', something you hadn't thought of before.

In our assignment for the RAI regarding the Household Fair, it happened to us. The starting point was the question of how we could increase the engagement of visitors to this fair, especially in the lead-up to the fair visit.

To learn more about the Huishoudbeurs visitor, we embarked on a service design journey in which we gathered existing research information and supplemented it with qualitative and quantitative customer research. The outcome comprised comprehensive blueprints that encompassed elements such as preparation, journey, visiting stands, and food and beverages.

One of the concepts we wanted to test tapped into a key driver of Huishoudbeurs visitors: collecting samples and free giveaways. What if we could start this phenomenon even before the fair? Thus, the "scratch and win" app was born.

From a certain point before the visit, as a visitor, you could activate scratch card promotions and win prizes to be collected at the fair itself. We tested with a prototype of the app in the months leading up to the fair and ensured a more robust version that would run during the fair itself. Because even then, there were prizes to be won!

And so the Household Fair itself became our Living Lab. And something interesting happened there. There's a professional team from the RAI involved in monitoring and managing the crowds in the various halls and walkways. By opening or closing doors and pathways, they exert influence on where visitors can and cannot go, thereby making a significant contribution to safety. But what if with the push of a button, you could encourage people to move to another location?

No sooner said than done. We began live pushing prize draws during the fair, including the location where winners could directly collect their prize. The chosen prize locations were in quieter areas, and app users among the audience were notified. And off they went, leaving crowded areas. This way, the app suddenly made an active contribution to crowd control during the Huishoudbeurs.

Not everything can be planned, and in a Living Lab you may just be positively surprised.