The Washington Nationals recently upgraded their fan experience by adding RFID into the mix. Now, fans can manage their tickets, food and beverage purchases using RFID and are able to receive special rewards and offers.

The solution replaces paper tickets with a high-frequency (HF) RFID card, reducing the amount of time fans spend in line to enter the park. For now, the RFID system is being piloted with season ticket holders.

When season ticket holders enter the park, they simply need to have their RFID-enabled card through them and walk through an automated turnstile. From there, fans can use their card throughout the game to make purchases. The more purchases, the more points—the more rewards.

“It’s not about getting fans through turnstiles,” says Andy Feffer, the Nationals’ COO. “It’s about looking at ticketing as a three-dimensional experience.”

RFID has become an increasingly popular method of ticketing. If you’ve had an RFID ticketing experience, share how it affected your enjoyment by commenting below, or on our Facebook or twitter pages.

Mercedes is offering visitors at the PGA championship the chance to connect with their Facebook profiles via RFID

We recently discussed how a resort in Ibiza was using RFID to connect vacationers to their Facebook pages. Now, the concept has already arrived in the U.S.

Mercedes has brought this concept to the U.S. by setting up ten kioks at the PGA Championship in Atlanta. In addition to the kiosks, approximately 25,000 people received VIP passes with embedded RFID chips. Once VIPs arrive, they can simply register on an iPad to use their passes to check-in and like any of the cars.

View the video below to see the RFID Facebook kiosks in action:

Would you want to be linked to your Facebook at an event? Convenient, or creepy? Let us know by commenting below, or on our Facebook or twitter pages.

Discover how one Ibiza resort is using RFID technology and social media for free advertising

The Ushuaia Ibiza Beach Hotel recently launched a social media campaign integrating Facebook and RFID
technology.

When guests check-in to the hotel, they are given the option to receive a wristband that can be synced with their Facebook profile. Rather than having to use a computer or carry their phone, vacationers can simply wear a wristband, walk by rfid-enabled facebook signs throughout the resort, and can be instantly “checked-in” on Facebook Places.

For vacationers, this saves time, and prevents having to carry around a phone all the time. But, for the hotel’s marketing personnel, it’s considered free advertising. If vacationers are constantly checking in and uploading photos and videos, their friends are bound to see it and may consider booking a future vacation.

While many social media campaigns utilize QR codes, and some even use NFC, it’s rare to find one that is soley-based on RFID. One that comes to mind is the campaign that Vail Ski Resort implemented last year, but can you think of any others? Let us know by commenting below, or on our Facebook or twitter pages.

Tradeshow marketing can be tricky—attendees are often busy and have a certain agenda to fulfill, but in recent years, marketers have been looking for new and creative ways to collect data from attendees. At this year’s RFID Journal LIVE!, there were RFID-enabled kiosks that allowed for real-time Facebook “Likes and “Checkins.” There was even an RFID-enabled photo booth that allowed show attendees to scan their badges, get their photos taken and have them automatically post to their Facebook page and the RFID Journal’s page! Rather than having to search for a smartphone each time, the kiosks provide a convenient way for attendees to participate and update/check-in.

The use of the RFID-enabled kiosks linking to Facebook was strategically done in order to show attendees how RFID can enhance user participation at events, while still providing valuable data, in real-time. The fact that everything is done in real-time allows for marketers to connect with the customers while they are still at the show, creating the potential for more face time.

In collaboration with the RFID Journal, Zebra Technologies and their partners worked to make the RFID kiosks a possibility. Learn more about Zebra here.

ASICS, a manufacturer of running shoes and clothing has been working with companies to provide video and images of supporters of marathon runners as they pass by RFID reader. This service, coined Support Your Marathoner, debuted at last year’s New York City Marathon and featured videos of encouraging friends and family, displayed on gigantic LED screens, as runners passed by. This year, ASICS plan to offer the same service, only bigger and better.

The Support Your Marathoner system woks by using RFID-based timing technology and implements a total of 46 RFID readers throughout the course with antennas running across the track and each runner wearing an UHF Gen 2 RFID tag.

As runners’ RFID tags pass through the readers, data is sent to a cloud-based server and contains valuable running time information, in addition to displaying personalized messages to runners.

This year, ASICS will launch a social media campaign in order to encourage friends and family of those running the marathon to submit videos. In addition, the video screens will be larger than in previous years.

Let us know what you think about the Support Your Marathoner system by commenting here, or on our facebook or twitter pages.