Why Should I Use Wristbands For My Event? (5 Benefits)
Are you planning on throwing a killer event? Tickets and wristbands are the two most popular ways of tracking attendee entry to your event. But, which one should you choose?
Most event planners know about tickets. They’re the de-facto medium for managing event attendees. But how about wristbands? Here’s why you should at least consider leveraging wristbands at your next event.
What is a Wristband?
We know! You probably already know that a wristband is a paper (or other paper-like material) circlet that attendees can wear on their wrists.
But wristbands come in all shapes-and-sizes. Wristbands can be made of:
- Plastic
- Vinyl
- Paper
- Paper-like materials (i.e., Tyvek)
- Silicone
- Cloth
-
and plenty more!
Not only can wristbands be made of different materials, but they can also have different technology behind them.
You may be thinking, “how in the world can a wristband have... technology?”
Well, we covered RFID wristbands here.
And the consumer sector has basically turned wristbands into smartphones — but we doubt you’ll be buying your attendees $200 smart-tech wristbands, so we recommend sticking to regular or RFID wristbands for advance technology.
Why Wristbands for Events?
While wristbands look cool, and you can definitely shove some smart tech in them, are they really more useful than tickets? Yes. And no... It depends.
Tickets are still incredibly valuable assets for event planners. But there are some situations where wristbands make more sense.
Here are 5 reasons why you should seriously consider wristbands at your next event.
1. Custom Branding
We sell some incredibly beautiful tickets at Purplepass. Our tickets have custom designs, material options, cool holograms, neat guilloche patterns for security reasons.
But, here’s the thing — attendees still like wristbands better. As humans, we have a natural urge to keep things from events.
For example, did you know that 77% of people who attend theater shows keep their booklets?
You can’t even wear those! Wristbands are a great way to get your customers in mind.
If they keep your wristband for years, you’ve won at branding. Plus, they may even wear it around sometimes.
That’s free advertising!
For this situation, we are specifically talking about wristbands with more durable material like plastic or vinyl ones that can be preserved.
2. Extra Security
If you’re running a big event, you know how hectic security can get.
People can quickly swarm an event gate, and things can get out-of-control. The last thing that security needs to worry about is weeding out people who snuck into the event without purchasing a ticket.
With wristbands, security can tell exactly who belongs where.
This has a ton of benefits. If a child goes missing, security can identify them by a particular color of wristband. If someone is drinking who is underage, security can tell by their wristband if they are 21+. Having a color-coded wristband gives your security team the ability to quickly identify people.
3. Rapid Access and Speedy Entry
Both tickets and wristbands have to be checked. The difference is in how quickly you can check them.
With tickets, someone has to pull out their wallet or check their pockets, pull out the ticket, and hand it over to someone to inspect.
With wristbands, attendees simply have to flash their wristbands or leverage the RFID chip inside. That’s it!
What’s faster than that?
4. Saved Resources (and Time)
Are you throwing a 3-day event? If so, you basically have to use wristbands. If you don’t, you’re going to have to print 3 days worth of tickets, check them daily, and deal with tons of attendees losing their paper tickets.
You can offer mobile tickets that can be shown on customers' phone when entering the gate, but they still have to keep track of it.
With wristbands, they can wear the same material throughout the entire event!
That’s simple-as-pie! It saves you resources, your attendees time, and everyone headaches.
5. Easy Identification
If you have a VIP club, alcohol, or specific member-only areas of your event, wristbands can save you on time checking every person.
We touched on this in the security section, but the benefits go far beyond security.
Can you let this person backstage? Check their wristband!
Are they a VIP? Check their wristband!
Wristbands make attendee identification much easier for you and for your staff.
If you want to learn more about the different wristbands Purplepass offers, check out our YouTube channel on all the different tickets, material and swag we can make for your event.
Below is a video you'd find on our channel about poly sublimation wristbands to help get your started!
