The Nudge Department: Why event tech needs humans to make it work
Most event technology programmes fail for one simple reason:
We treat adoption as a technical outcome when it’s actually behavioural
Organisers invest in a platform, launch an app, switch on matchmaking, and expect users to magically download it, complete profiles, message each other, and book meetings at scale. That’s actually a lot of work. A few weeks later, the post-show review lands on the same old conclusion: “The tech wasn’t used.” (and it was the tech’s fault!)
The uncomfortable truth is this: technology rarely changes habits on its own. People need reassurance, incentives, and above all, momentum. That’s why I’ve been pushing the idea of a Nudge Department: a dedicated capability that makes the platform do what it was built to do.
The big idea: “human-driven technology”
An Eventtech platform can enable matchmaking, messaging, content discovery, lead capture, and so much more. But only a human team can orchestrate those features into a compelling user journey, especially when attention is scarce.
People don’t want another app to create yet another profile in, but they will take action when the value is immediate and personal. An email that says “22 people are looking to meet with you” will beat a generic “Download the app” reminder every day of the week.
What the Nudge Department actually does
The Nudge Department operates across three tightly linked disciplines. First, it actively instigates engagement rather than waiting for users to self-serve. Second, it amplifies the atmosphere by ensuring the digital environment feels alive, valuable, and worth entering from day one. Third, it extends the engagement window, pulling meaningful interactions forward and sustaining them well beyond the moment of registration. Together, these three concepts turn technology from a passive tool into an active growth engine.
1) The instigator strategy: engineered serendipity
Driving engagement is proactive work. The Nudge Department monitors adoption in real time and triggers interventions that create meaningful interactions.
Query and act: Who hasn’t activated? Which segments are stuck? Which ones are flying? And more importantly, why?
Targeted nudges: Using human intelligence, send personalised prompts that deliver real value (e.g., meeting opportunities, curated recommendations, priority access) beyond what the system can provide.
Commercial alignment: Nudges that support buyer–seller outcomes, not vanity metrics
2) Amplify the atmosphere: never launch an “empty room”
A major point of failure is opening a self-serve portal that looks unfinished. If the digital environment feels empty, users bounce (digitally accurate terminology) and rarely return. So, the Nudge Department pre-populates exhibitor information, adds products, pulls YouTube videos, links social accounts, and so much more. This ensures the platform is worth using the moment it opens:
Profiles are sufficiently complete for exhibitors to brush up.
Listings have logos, products, and clear “why meet” cues for visitors
The platform is ready to deliver value then and there
3) Extend the window: start earlier, deliver more value for everyone
When you do the work for the participants (especially exhibitors), you can open the platform months earlier, creating more time for discovery and pre-scheduled meetings. This is how digital becomes more than a “during-show add-on”; it becomes an early pipeline builder.
Your SPEX pipeline sees the show already adding value with months to go
Visitors are incentivised to register earlier to benefit from the platform
You can play the “media operator” role, putting your webinars and content on the platform earlier, with the audience already invested.
IATF2025: the Nudge Department at scale
This project was delivered by Precision Communities as Afreximbank's digital operations partner. Contact us to deploy our expert team on your shows and maximise the return of your event tech investment.
The Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF2025) is not your typical exhibition. It is one of the largest and most complex trade events on the African continent, bringing together thousands of exhibitors, more than 100,000 visitors, and multiple countries, sectors, institutions, and deal-making agendas under one roof. The sheer scale of the event means chance encounters cannot be a strategy, and technology alone is not enough to deliver meaningful outcomes.
As the digital operations partner, our role as Precision Communities was not simply to deploy a platform, but to make it work commercially at scale. The task was clear: ensure that the digital platform (Expoplatform) became a functioning marketplace well before doors opened, and that buyers and exhibitors actually met with intent, relevance, and momentum.
Here’s what we’ve done:
Phase A — Pre-launch readiness
Opening the platform “complete enough”
At the IATF scale, an empty or half-finished platform is fatal to adoption. Precision Communities, therefore, focused first on digital readiness, not marketing prompts.
Exhibitor acceleration
Rather than waiting for exhibitors to complete long, multi-field profiles, the team proactively enriched listings using public sources, exhibitor-supplied materials, and structured data. Logos, descriptions, sectors, and product categories were pre-populated to ensure the platform looked alive from day one, with minimal dependency on exhibitor effort.Key account handholding
Priority buyer cohorts, such as institutional buyers, major procurement teams, and strategic delegations, were supported through a concierge-like setup to ensure their profiles clearly reflected their sourcing needs and target contacts.Quality threshold enforcement
The visitor-facing platform was not opened until a minimum standard of completeness was reached. First impressions drive adoption, and at the IATF scale, there are no second chances.
Phase B — Activation nudges
Turning registration into behaviour
With the platform ready, the focus shifted to activation through service-led nudges rather than generic reminders. On top of the generic “Download the app” messaging, select participants received high-value prompts such as:
“Here are 10 exhibitors you shouldn’t miss, based on what you told us you’re sourcing.”
“You have confirmed meeting opportunities available, review and accept in one click.”
“Three suppliers match your procurement requirements, would you like us to introduce you?”
This is where the Nudge Department earns its keep: value first, adoption second.
Phase C — Matchmaking operations
Human-in-the-loop, every day
At this scale, matchmaking cannot be left to algorithms alone. Precision Communities operated a live matchmaking function, monitoring and intervening continuously:
Daily tracking of sign-ins, profile completion, message-to-meeting conversion, and meeting acceptance rates
Identification of stalled segments by sector, geography, buyer type, or seniority
A lightweight “concierge” layer for priority cohorts, providing curated shortlists and proactive introductions
The platform enabled matchmaking; the Nudge Department ensured it actually happened.
Your first steps to implementing this (without overcomplicating it)
If you want the simplest version:
Contact us (get the details)
Appoint a matchmaking instigator (strategic owner, not junior marketing admin)
Give them data access (CRM + platform analytics + segmentation)
Start with a small set of high-value nudges (3–5 proven messages beat 30 generic ones)
Launch only when the platform is “alive” (completion thresholds matter)
Treat visitors like customers (chaperone the journey; don’t assume they’ll self-serve)
Why this matters now
Event tech is maturing fast. But the winners won’t be the organisers with the most features, they’ll be the ones with the best operating model around those features.
In other words, you don’t just need a platform. You need a capability.
If you’re investing in event tech this year (or you already have a platform that’s underperforming), the quickest value unlock is NOT another module or integration. It’s designing and running your Nudge Department, with the right strategy, access, and cadence.
If you’d like to hear more, let’s chat. I’m happy to share a practical template: roles, data requirements, KPIs, and a starter library of nudges that consistently move adoption and meetings.
The Nudge Department has been featured in The Event Tech Forecast from Expoplatform. It's been a privilege to contribute to this report, and I highly recommend reading it in full here.
