• • To our squad of relentless pollsters who just kept on questioning;

• • To the event organisers who simmered down the gents on security when they wanted to frog march us off the premises;

• And to the hundreds of enlightened LT16 visitors who stopped to tell us all about their visit,

We thank you. The LT exit poll V.2016 is here 🙂

If you’re new to our Exit Poll, here’s the skinny:

Armed with no more than a clipboard, a cup of coffee and a ‘can do’ attitude, our top team of talented pollsters is let loose on the streets of West Kensington with orders to seek out LT16 attendees.

Several hours and hundreds of questions later, we crunch the numbers through the night to deliver the first major study of what’s hot according to the L&D professionals who visited the event.

Now, less than 24 hours after the doors closed on Learning Technologies 2016: for your delight and entertainment, we present this year’s headline highlights from our Learning Technologies 2016 exit poll.

We asked: “When you planned your Learning Technologies 2016 visit, which company was on top of your must see list before visiting the show today?” LT16uk visitors said:

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You can’t fatten a pig on market day, which is why winning in the “must see” category is all about prep work. Getting the pre-show marketing right is essential for success.

Usually we see a pretty tight leader pack in the “must see” category with little distance between the top five players. This year Cornerstone wins by a country mile, achieving nearly twice as many mentions as runner up Mind Click (now Learning Pool).

Kallidus and Sponge are two first timers in this all important category and their success bumps companies like Brightwave, Leo and Fuse off the must see hot-list. “Close but not quite” status goes to Successfactors and Gomo, both of which hover at Sponge’s coat-tails.

We asked: “In terms of visual impact, which company really looked fresh and stood out for you at the show today?” LT16uk visitors said:

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Fuse just sails into the top spot here . The shocking pink player received more votes in this category than Kallidus and Kineo combined.  Worth a mention is Leo, Purple Media, Sponge and first time exhibitor Page Tiger, all of which hovered just outside the top 5 to give Brightwave some tough competition this year.

We asked: “Without looking at any of the literature you’ve come away with today, can you name one of the event’s official sponsors?” The top five responses were:

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We asked: “In terms of engagement, which company do you think you had the most profitable conversation with?” The top five most popular answers from our respondents were:

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In this exceptionally close run category, highlighting the top 5 alone doesn’t do justice to companies like GoodPractice, junction 18, Kokm, Aquafadas and Agylia, all of which made our top 10 . Factor in the obvious point that the more footsoldiers you have on the ground the more engaging conversations you’re likely to have, and you’ve got an elite top 10 club that every member should be proud to be in.

We asked: “Did you download the official Learning Technologies app?”

Yes 42% No 58%

Freebies, teasers and giveaways: We asked: “As you walked around LT16, which companies had freebies or giveaways that stood out or looked interesting to you?” The top responses were:

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Candies, pens, stress balls, USB sticks…whatever.

Splashing the cash on anything the search term “branded promotional items” brings up = money wasted. These freebies are gladly taken, but show visitors just don’t remember where they came from.

What we’re really looking for in this category is promotional stuff that actually connects prospects to a brand.

This year Olive Learning has raised the bar. The content learning company’s interactive brochure, complete with real video screen and a playlist of useful downloadable content was the most memorable freebie that passed the brand awareness test.

If it’s edible, it has to be Grade A gourmet before anyone stops to notice, which is why the Kallidus Juice bar and CrossKnowledge’s coffee stall take up second and third spot on the great giveaways list.

Sweet stuff that did stimulate enough brand recognition to make the top five this year include Glad‘s Krispy Kreme donuts and Atticmedia’s luminous lollies. Notable outsiders include Toolkit for Managers‘ Popcorn and Agylia’s (the new name for CM Group’ Luminosity) “Win a fitbit” competition.

We asked; “Without looking please name one company’s case study, brochure material or other information that you can remember putting in your show bag?” 

The top five most popular answers from our respondents were:

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Worth a mention, just outside the top 5: Obsidian Black, Hurix, Xerox, Docebo

We asked; “Of all the literature you’ve come away with today, what do you think you’ll be reading on the Tube home?” The top five most popular answers from our respondents were:

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Also worth a mention were, GoodPractice, Fosway and Towards Maturity.

One to watch! We asked; “During your show visit, did you see any new business or businesses previously unknown to you that looked interesting?” The top five most popular answers from our respondents were:

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Unusual to have a global brand heading up this new players’ hotlist, but Zerox’s decision to spotlight its vast portfolio of learning and training services at Learning Technologies this year certainly made an impact.

PageTiger’s bold branding and clear proposition gets the nod from LT16 visitors and takes spot number two ahead of some stiff competition.

We asked: “When you studied the free seminar series, which presentations held most appeal for you?” The top five most popular answers from our respondents were:

1. Gamification: your secret weapon against zombie learners, with Growth Engineering’s Juliette Denny
2. Social media – pay to play or fade away, with Mike McGrail, Marketing Director at Administrate
3. How do you fit a giraffe in a fridge? with Gavin Oattes from Tree of Knowledge
4. Gamification – how to excite and engage your learners in 2016, with Mike Byrne from Netex
5. Preparing to fill the leadership bubble (Leadership bench strength), withTom Roth, CEO at Wilson Learning Worldwide

More:

Why do we do all this researchy stuff?

Now Communications is a digital content marketing company focused on the L&D sector. We help companies develop profile, nurture leads and convert prospects into customers.

The more we know the better equipped we are to help and advise sales & marketing people working in eLearning, L&D and HR, so we routinely ask this industry’s professionals to share their thoughts and insights with us. As a result we’re able to advise clients better when they ask us to help them connect with customers and nurture leads.

More researchy stuff

LearningLive Special Report

CIPD L&D Show Special Report