Our 5 Biggest Takeaways from The EPIC SHOW 2025

The energy at The EPIC SHOW 2025 was electric. As official partners, the TEPS team was on the ground, powering the check-in and onsite registration experience for over 600 attendees across two days. It was a fantastic event, thanks to the seamless collaboration with the Fashions Finest Africa team, who created a sophisticated and welcoming environment.

Beyond just managing the front door, being so deeply involved gave us a unique perspective on what makes a large-scale event truly successful. Here are our five biggest takeaways:

1. High-Tech Must Be High-Touch. Technology is a powerful tool, but hospitality is what makes an experience memorable. Our objective was to deliver a seamless and professional experience through visible, valuable support. We implemented thoughtful touches, like offering candy and snacks to guests upon registration and escorting them with umbrellas whilst it rained. 
   The lesson is clear: the best event strategies blend smart technology with genuine human kindness. As we say on our team, "We are in the hospitality business: Smile, be genuinely kind."
   
   
    
2. The Attendee Journey at the Front Door is just a part, not the end. One of our key deliverables was Session Attendance Tracking for the panel conversations versus the fashion shows. To achieve this, we used time-stamped registration records; any registration from a certain time forward was tagged to the corresponding session. This provided invaluable data on which parts of the event drew the most interest at specific times. It's a powerful reminder that to understand your event's success, you must measure engagement beyond the main entrance.
    
3. Flexible Check-In is  Frictionless Check-In. To manage the flow of over 634 guests, we used a multi-channel registration approach. Attendees could self-register by scanning large QR code posters at the welcome area, use preloaded TEPS tablets on stands, or get help from our 5-person mobile team. This flexibility is crucial for reducing queues and accommodating every guest's comfort level with technology.
   
   
    
4. Anticipation is a Measurable Metric. The data revealed a fascinating story about attendee eagerness. On Day 2, the peak arrival time was an hour earlier than on Day 1. This suggests that attendees who enjoyed the first day were more eager to begin the second day's activities. This isn't just a feeling; it's a measurable insight of audience anticipation that can inform future event scheduling and promotion.
    
5. The "VIP Blind Spot" Can Skew Your Data. In our post-event analysis, we identified a critical data gap: VIP attendance was not logged in the main check-in system. This omission created an incomplete dataset, making it impossible to accurately report on VIP engagement or perform essential follow-up. 
   
   

 Our proposed solution, and a key takeaway for all event planners, is to implement a unified digital check-in process for all attendees, simply tagging high-profile guests with a "VIP" status in the system to ensure complete and accurate data.