Marketing Agencies and Event Companies that tackle concerts, graduations, weddings, sporting events or speaking engagements are starting to see the increased need for mobile phone charging stations. Attendees are now expecting that venues and events will offer a way for them to charge their devices. if there aren’t any present, attendees can feel frustrated and disconnected. Mobile Tickets, Trade Show Apps, Cameras and Contact Lists are all inaccessible when your phone is dead. For a truly successful event, attendees at all of these events must have the ability to keep their phones primed and ready. Fortunately, there are many practical and affordable charging stations for rent for any event you’re coordinating.

Special Events = Social Media Overload

Most people like to immediately post event memories to social media which can be challenging at lengthy events. And with so many apps draining an attendee’s battery life, phone and device charging stations are truly becoming a necessity.

Whether it’s a desire to live-stream on Instagram or post something to Facebook, attendees at will be paying close attention to their phone’s battery life. We’ve discussed battery anxiety before, and the feeling is especially true for exciting or emotional life events.

“I drained my phone battery by the time my sister crossed the finish line and I didn’t have a charger. If I’d been able to charge somewhere on the sidelines, I wouldn’t have missed her big moment.” Richard, brother of a NY Marathon Runner, NJ

Consider Your Event Type

For event organizers that specialize in school functions like graduations or reunions, fully-charged phones ensure that attendees don’t miss out on photo and video opportunities that may be memorable, once-in-a-lifetime events.

Charging stations for phones at weddings and wedding receptions arequickly becoming a growing trend. Guests want to make sure they don’t miss a thing, snapping away with their phone cameras for hours.

“I was so happy that my table was right next to a charging station at my cousin’s wedding. I was down to 5% battery power within 30 minutes of the reception starting. Most of my best photos were taken much later in the night when the dancing started. Three 15 minute charging sessions at The VIP over the course of the night kept me snapping away.” – Paula, MN

Not to be forgotten are keynote presentations and speaking engagements. Multi-device charging stations for professionals working on tablets and laptops are also now a must. If there are no (or commonly, too few) outlets to plug into, they will need another option to power up.

Station Placement

Figuring out station placement can be difficult to nail down depending on the size, scope and configuration of your event. Most events share common areas that would benefit from a dedicated charging station.

• Tradeshows and Conferences. These can be long events that start early in the day and go until late in the evening. The tradeshow floor is a great spot to place a charging station for multiple devices. It allows people to continue to roam around while they device gets some much needed juice. For Conferences, a great spot for a cell phone locker is outside of meeting rooms.
• Concerts and sporting events. Near ticket booths and next to refreshment areas are prime locations. Fans will be able to easily charge up on their way into the venue or after purchasing a snack.
• Marathons, fun runs, sporting events, etc. Most of the attendees in need of a charge at these type of events are the bystanders. Consider placing a phone charging station every mile or so around the perimeter of the course. For the competitors, having a few stations inside the buildings where they will pick up their bibs is a must.
• Graduations and reunions. Gymnasiums where graduates and families are seated for the big event are great spots for cell phone charger stations. Graduates, alums and guests could all utilize a strategically places charging station for phones.
• Weddings and receptions. It just makes sense to rent a cell phone locker like the The VIP. for a client’s upcoming nuptials. You could consider placing one in a corner of the reception area alongside a photo booth. It comes complete with a video screen to post the latest photos and videos of the happy couple.

Renting Made Easy

Growcharge Inc. offers the ability to easily purchase, lease or rent any of their products. For established event and marketing agencies it makes much more sense to outright purchase their stations, because it will be much more economical to transport the devices between each hosted event. It’s also common to see a mix of buying and leasing, perhaps buying several stations an agency knows they’ll need for each event they host, then augmenting those with leases or rentals in the case of larger-than-usual event needs.

The Major Takeaways

• Marketing and event agencies have a wide number of events to consider for charging station usage.
• Purchasing a charging station outright is usually the most economical option for agencies that regularly host events, as they can easily be utilized for each date and location.
• Choosing to place charging stations inside the entrances of most event spaces and by the restrooms are musts, as all attendees will be passing by both at some point.
• While most people considering phone charging needs, don’t forget about solutions that can also charge tablets and laptops since they are increasingly common for events such as keynote presentations and speaking engagements.

Anytime you’re planning an event that takes place over the course of several hours, charging stations should be a must. Not only will you be providing an important service to guests, but you’ll likely be heading off questions from dozens (if not hundreds, in the case of a large-scale event) of people about where they should go to charge their devices.