Freeman, a global event company, has partnered with Zenus, a provider of behavioral analytics for events and retail, to introduce a service that gives event organizers cutting-edge tools to measure attendee sentiment and engagement. 

With Zenus’ artificial intelligence (AI)-based behavior mapping, Freeman will offer aggregated and anonymized data around dwell time, sentiment and attendee activation. This metadata can be translated into actionable insights for exhibitor and sponsor ROI and future event planning.

Freeman chose Zenus as its AI partner because it adheres to ethical AI standards that ensure the data is captured responsibly and that respect the privacy of all event attendees, according to Paul Fletcher, executive vice president, audio visual and event technology operations at Freeman, adding that the two companies have been testing and piloting the technology in preparation to launch at scale across events and trade shows.

“Zenus was a logical behavioral insights partner for Freeman because of their scalable, turnkey technology and privacy-first approach to data collection,” Fletcher said. “Show organizers are under more pressure than ever to provide clear ROI to their exhibitors and sponsors.”

He continued, “With Zenus’ behavior mapping tools, Freeman clients can measure their live events the same way they measure their digital marketing channels — total impressions, dwell time and how show floors convert to key activities.”

Zenus’ AI smart cameras are mounted to capture data, however, no video is ever recorded or saved. Impressions and facial expressions are aggregated and anonymized with no attendee interaction. One of the primary benefits is its lightweight deployment with no infrastructure needed. That means no wi-fi is necessary, as it runs on cellular. The metadata that is captured is strictly dwell time, sentiment, demographic and position without violating privacy concerns.

Partnering with Freeman was an easy decision for Zenus, according to Panos Moutafis, the company’s co-founder and CEO. 

“As the general contractor for many of the top conferences and trade shows, Freeman has strong relationships with organizers around the world, which allows for easy setup and deployment of our system across a wide cross section of events,” Moutafis said. “Event organizers, exhibitors and attendees can benefit tremendously from the actionable insights our behavior mapping technology makes available.”

Freeman will handle the full technology deployment from start to finish and help the strategic placement of the smart cameras, ensuring optimal ROI.