Case study — project delivery
Incosmetics Global: Lead Capture Strategy
How a new NFC-based content capture technology multiplied leads and created a new exhibitor revenue stream at one of Europe's leading cosmetics ingredients events.
The project in brief
From Feature-Zone Experiment to Show-Wide Digital Lead Capture
The event had an existing self-scan product limited to feature zones. Ade identified an opportunity to scale it show-wide using NFC badging technology — turning a niche feature into a commercially significant, opt-out exhibitor product.
Get in touch about a similar projectThe challenge
The event had a content capture solution limited to feature zones. The brief was to review the existing strategy and implement a show-wide approach that would scale — increasing both exhibitor and visitor engagement with digital lead capture.
What Ade did
Devised a value proposition and technology implementation strategy around NFC badging devices. When a visitor taps the device, their badge ID is captured — triggering an automatic daily "trip report" of everything they collected, with no manual data work required for exhibitors.
The results
Leads captured multiplied significantly. The proportion of exhibitors paying for the product increased fourfold — to over 90% — in the year following the initial trial. A new exhibitor revenue stream was created from a product previously offered for free.
The Full Story
Incosmetics Global is the premier trade event for cosmetics ingredients, alternating between Paris and Barcelona. Exhibitors use it to demonstrate new innovations and discuss supply for the coming year — a commercially high-stakes environment where lead quality and follow-up matter significantly.
The event already had a self-scan product attached to its feature zones — curated showcase areas designed to drive exhibitor footfall. Small badge-scanning devices allowed visitors to self-scan and receive content post-event. The opportunity was to take that concept and scale it across the entire show floor using a more capable technology.
Working with the Global Innovation Team and the UK Digital Team, Ade trialled NFC-enabled devices that allow visitors to tap their badge at any exhibitor stand. The tap triggers a capture — no action required from the exhibitor — and at the end of each day, visitors receive an automatic "trip report" containing everything they collected: company descriptions, product information, brochures and contact details.
The implementation required simultaneous process changes across several areas: an NFC pairing step added to badge collection, an exhibitor onboarding communications programme (pre-event and onsite), and clear onsite guidance for exhibitors on device placement for best results.
Critically, the value proposition was reframed. Rather than being sold as a paid-for lead retrieval add-on, the product was redesigned as an opt-out feature — built on the idea of enabling visitors to collect digital content from anywhere at the event without carrying paper brochures. The product was offered free of charge in year one to prove value, then introduced as a standard contract item in subsequent years.
The Global Innovation Team collaborated closely with the vendor to analyse the rich dataset generated from the show floor — delivering exhibitor-facing insights that reinforced the product's value and gave sales and marketing teams new intelligence about how visitors engaged with the event.
Headline Outcomes
Ade's role: Product strategy, implementation strategy, customer communication strategy, metrics and reporting, and supporting the team through end-to-end delivery.
Working on Something Similar?
Whether you're looking to improve exhibitor lead capture, launch a digital content strategy, or scale an existing product — Ade would welcome the conversation.