Phones have become an essential part of our lives, and mobile phone charging stations offer a great way to connect with clients.
These multiple device-charging lockers boost event exposure and give you an edge over competitors. That’s why an increasing number of event planners are turning to providing free charging solutions to entice attendees to stay longer and prevent early exits.
“Charging stations are the new event tech accessory that goes down well with attendees and shows them you care,” Event Manager notes.
“Charging stations can help you build trust between audience and brand at a trade show or simply show loved ones you care at a wedding or informal party, either way, they are becoming an event must-have.”
Visitors can become more engaged at events with charging stations for phones and electronics via app usage, online information and social media posts – all of which can drain batteries.
❛ The lockable charging station provided a point of difference and attracted additional foot traffic to the stand, which created more conversations❜
BidPal marketing vice president Karrie Wozniak sees phone charging as a key element of an event’s guest experience.
“Make the magic happen as soon as guests enter the door by scheduling unique entertainment in the registration area,” she writes in Forbes.
“Provide a charging station for cell phones and plenty of seating. Make waiting in line an experience.”
Free-to-use phone charging services have proven particularly popular at festivals, sports and entertainment events, trade shows and conferences, where planners must ensure they provide a first-class experience.
Having charging stations at these functions enables representatives to engage with guests while their phones are on charge. 
Peek Exhibition’s Joe Downing says a charging station ChargedAs provided for a July conference in Auckland added value to the event supplier’s stand.
“Our client experienced an increase in customer engagement during a recent show that was largely thanks to adopting the ChargedAs station,” Downing says.
“The lockable charging station provided a point of difference and attracted additional foot traffic to the stand, which created more conversations.”
Events gain the word-of-mouth advertising benefits these solutions bring. Increased satisfaction drives positive reviews, recommendations and sales.
Many charging stations come with their own advertising opportunities. You can use them as billboards to showcase your brand and potentially reach thousands of customers.
❛Some companies have added value to events by incorporating charging solutions into stands with other standout features.❜
Features such as full printed wraps, decal placement and video content on charging stations raise brand awareness and present sponsorship opportunities. Our units offer all of this as lucrative advertising space.
These ChargeBox Prime lockers have the potential to reach thousands, all while providing the optimum customer experience – something the International Cricket Council’s Simon Jelowitz found particularly pleasing.
“Not only could we add our branding to the stations via the wrap and top screen, but the units were 100 per cent reliable,” the senior events manager says.
ChargedAs clients Te Wānanga O Aotearoa told me they chose our customisable ChargeBox Prime charging station for the National Secondary Schools Kapa Haka Competition 2018 because the educational institution wanted to take the event to the “next level”.
Te Wānanga O Aotearoa’s Candice Pomare finds the charging stations easy to use and showcase the educational institution’s brand. Organisers opted to have a colourful slideshow that promoted the educational services they offer on our on our locker’s LCD screen at the July event.
“It was a great resource to use as a way of engaging with members of the public, great way to brand,” Pomare says.
Other brands have chosen to on-sell station advertising space to sponsors.
As Jessica Gonzalez notes in Forbes: “Sponsorships can be critical for your event, providing the cash you need to create an impactful experience for your guests.”
She finds the best way to increase sponsor investment is to create interesting opportunities and effectively convey their value to your target audience.
Some companies have added value to events by incorporating charging solutions into stands with other standout features. Duracell was an early pioneer of this.
In 2008, the battery brand’s pop-up Power Lodge saw people pedal on bicycles to power a sign marking the new year in New York City’s Times Square. As part of the promotion, it had a section where visitors could play with Duracell-powered toys and charge mobile devices and other personal electronics.
At a New York City expo, Bravo showcased the importance of digital media to its brand in its Digital World space, BizBash points out.
❛Charging solutions are proven to reduce low-battery anxiety, helping to prevent early exits.❜
“[It] included TV screens, laptops, iPhones and iPads,” the event industry magazine says. “For guests there was a phone charging station as well as a spot that printed images posted to Instagram.”
At the kapa haka contest in Palmerston North, our station featured in an information enclosure with a DJ booth.
Phone charging stations take away any worries guests may have of their device batteries running low. Charging solutions are proven to reduce low-battery anxiety, helping to prevent early exits.
The secure lockers offer users the convenience of not having to be present while their mobile devices are charging. Some attendees find it frustrating to have to watch over their phones, rather than enjoying the event while their mobiles are charging.
This much-valued service keeps guests at events and prevents them from “continuously running back to their hotels or out to buy a new charger”, as Meeting Tomorrow points out in its blog, 5 Reasons Your Booth Needs a Charging Station.
The US tech events and audio visual production company says the machines increase foot traffic to booths “because you’re providing a service everyone needs”, and guests will stay longer while using a charging station.
Some companies have been concerned that charging stations would be an inconvenient hassle to install.
But many charging firms, including ChargedAs, take care of the installations themselves. For us, all we need to do is to wheel in the stations on a small trolley, or simply carry them from our vehicle, and put them in position.
❛ Power outlets can be scarce at events … it can be a real struggle to find a powerpoint to charge your dead phone. ❜
In deciding on the right charging solution for an event, planners consider the range of charging connectors required, such as micro USB or USB type C for android or Apple’s lightning connectors.
Multi-locker charging stations are a good way of providing universal support.
Power outlets can be scarce at events, particularly at ones where vendors need them to power their displays, so it can be a real struggle to find a powerpoint to charge your dead phone.
Multiple device charging stations are the perfect solution for this; our lockers take up less than 1 square metre of space, and they plug in to one regular powerpoint.
With these lockers taking up little room, walkways remain clear and there’s no risk of anyone tripping over any cables – and there’s no chance of anyone unplugging your phone to use the powerpoint.
Attendees are free to get the most out of events secure phone charging solutions.
The ChargeBox products we use feature a unique smart-locking security system and sophisticated telemetry software to maximise security and safety.
ChargeBox CEO Ian Hobson says security is a key consideration for his designers and engineers.
“We invented SmartLock, which essentially means that when I put my phone in, we detect that your phone is connected and charging safely and only then do we let you lock the [locker] door,” he says.
“The other added benefit of us using keys, of course, is that if you come back and there’s been a power cut or there’s been some other malfunction, with a key, you can always get your phone out, no matter what the situation.”
❛We are there to delight our clients’ customers and reduce their anxiety. If we help our clients do that for their customers, then we know there is value. ❜
The cloud-based monitoring system of the ChargeBox Plus range means technicians know how each unit is performing in real time, enabling maintenance issues to be identified remotely and providing a step-by-step account of usage. It even allows for usage report print-outs.
“The cloud-based telemetry is our own. Some other companies claim to offer some forms of analytics, but we do not believe they can offer even close to what we do with our system,” Hobson says.
All of this runs behind the scenes. Station use is easy for users: Plug in the device, lock and go.
“We are there to delight our clients’ customers and reduce their anxiety. If we help our clients do that for their customers, then we know there is value. There are many details, though, in achieving this,” Hobson says.
“We must focus on making our services as simple as possible – something we’re passionate about. At the same time, we must provide complete safety – for devices and for charging.”
Some event planners have hesitated about hiring charging stations amid budget pressures, but they soon see the benefits these lockers bring, along with returns on investment.
Others have recognised the advantages of mobile charging solutions, but they have used cheaper charging options – to varying degrees of success.
Poor-charging choices can leave attendees frustrated if they do not work properly.
A bad charging option runs the risk of failing to alleviate low-battery anxiety – prompting early exits.
Hobson says USB charging is a wide area, with standards that have evolved since early introduction.
❛There are also safety concerns with poor quality charging cables.❜
“Low power USB is not suitable for modern devices, but is often all that is available,” the ChargeBox co-founder says.
“Plus, it is not managed, so any faults are not detected, and it is not possible to determine safe charging.”
There are also safety concerns with poor-quality charging cables. In April, about 6000 portable charging packs had to be recalled because of concerns they could overheat and potentially cause fires or burns.
It’s no wonder more and more event planners are turning to trusted charging solutions manufacturers such as the British company ChargeBox, which ChargedAs provides exclusively in Australasia.
No device-charging station supplier in New Zealand or Australia can provide the same level of security and safety for clients and end users.