RLS 2013 was themed as ‘an invitation to innovation’. Since ‘the proof of the pudding is in the eating’, here’s what the RAI team set out to do in terms of “first-of-a-kind’s” that  the event format pioneered:

The innovation tree: This was meant to represent the fountainhead of creativity – (see pic).

Participants were encouraged (nudged in some cases given that there were contests as well!) to put up their thoughts on innovation on the tree. By the end of the 2 day the tree stood in full bloom.  Some of the  innovative thoughts which were put up were: “Create virtual communities; to encompass all buildings in a street and provide customers with the ability to order and get home delivery across all categories”.

Twitter: We tweeted our way before , during and after the event. On both days, the #RLS2013 was trending in the top 3. Some of the questions to the panelists were received via twitter. Most of the delegates commented positively on the velocity of voice in social media.

Structured panel discussions:   The event was structured as a series of panel discussions.   To ensure that there was some structure around the deliberations,  each panelist was provided with a background note with infographics and key issues around the questions.  Similar background papers were prepared for each session for the delegates as well.

Passport: To encourage people to visit the expo, and ensure our partners get footfall, a “passport” was given as part of the delegate’s kit. Anyone with ten “visas” stamped on their passport were eligible to participate in a contest.

Contests:  Contests included the best tag on the Innovation tree, a speech bubble contest, and twitter contests looking for answers to such questions as “What will happen if women stop shopping?”  as well as a lucky dip among delegates.

The winning entry for the speech bubble was based on the theme of showrooming (something that the session on IT led innovation commented on). The entry was :