Posted by

Barry Siskind

Community manager

We are constantly looking to build a high-value data base for our exhibitions and conferences. We undertake serious marketing efforts to give people enough information to make an informed decision about whether they will register or not. But what if some of the traditional rules of attracting new people are changing?

I recently ran across an interesting experiment about a website called the 11K club. 11K has invited 11,000 people to join its exclusive club. On the site’s home page is the proviso that reads, “You are applying to join a club of which you know nothing about and trust we will make appropriate use of the information provided by you.”

There is no discussion of the benefits, no reference to the goals and focus of the club. The only thing that potential registrants know is that it’s exclusive. Potential members are asked to complete a form with their name, e-mail address, location and reason for joining.

Co-founder Steve Whyley reports, “I’m trying to see if people will sign up to a club that they know nothing about purely because it’s exclusive and because they fear they’ll miss out,”

If you are shaking your head thinking this is nonsense and no one would give out information when they did not know where it was going and how it was to be used, know that as of the date of this release in the online technology report Mashables the site had received 11,567 applications.

The lesson for all of us is to think about whether we can include an element of exclusivity in our exhibition promotions. Perhaps, what 11K has uncovered is that some people sense that being part of something that is not available to everyone has value.

This is an experiment that I will monitor and will let you know if there are any updates. If you want to read the article in Mashables click http://mashable.com/2012/09/20/website-exclusive-11k/