How to Choose a Festival Digital Event Passport Vendor in Singapore

Start with the festival journey, not a product checklist

A festival digital event passport can connect activities across stages, booths, precincts or programme zones. Participants might collect digital stamps, complete challenges, unlock content or qualify for a reward. Vendor selection should therefore begin with the intended participant journey rather than a generic list of platform features.

Document who will use the passport, where they encounter it and what they must do at each touchpoint. Specify whether access begins through a QR code, registration message, web page or another agreed route. Identify expected peak periods, venue connectivity constraints, audience accessibility needs and the operational response when a participant cannot progress.

This creates a useful baseline for comparing suppliers. A proposal should explain how the suggested approach serves the journey, what tools are required and which outcomes depend on venue infrastructure, third-party services or organiser inputs. For a broader explanation of the format, see the festival digital event passport guide.

Issue the same requirements to every vendor

Comparable proposals require a common brief. Give each supplier the same festival dates, operating hours, estimated audience profile, activity structure, locations, content requirements and delivery timetable. State whether the appointment covers only the digital experience or also includes activation planning, guest communications, registration operations, on-site support and wider event delivery.

Ask vendors to separate confirmed scope from assumptions and optional items. Their response should identify:

• The proposed participant flow from entry to completion.
• Included configuration, design, testing and deployment work.
• Required content, approvals and data supplied by the organiser.
• Third-party tools, licences, devices, connectivity or hosting dependencies.
• On-site staffing and remote support arrangements.
• Reporting outputs and when they become available.
• Explicit exclusions, optional services and change-control triggers.

Price should be read alongside these boundaries. A lower proposal may omit content production, device provision, integration work, rehearsal support or live operations. Compare the cost of equivalent scope rather than comparing headline totals.

Use demonstrations to test the proposed experience

A polished presentation is not a substitute for a relevant demonstration. Give shortlisted vendors a short scenario based on the actual festival. For example, ask them to show how a participant joins, completes two different activity types, encounters an invalid action, resumes after losing connectivity and reaches the completion state.

The demonstration does not need to be the finished build. It should make the supplier’s intended workflow understandable and expose assumptions early. Ask which elements are standard, which require configuration and which would need custom development. Technical outcomes should remain conditional on the agreed brief, selected tools, testing conditions and operating environment.

Questions to ask during the demonstration

• What does the participant see when an activity succeeds, fails or has already been completed?
• How are duplicate participation, shared devices or repeated scans handled?
• What can festival staff view or resolve during live operations?
• How would content or activity rules be changed after approval?
• What happens if a checkpoint device, network connection or third-party service is unavailable?
• Which parts of the demonstration are representative rather than production-ready?

Request written answers where behaviour cannot be demonstrated. This prevents an informal comment from becoming an assumed commitment.

Define responsibility boundaries before appointment

Digital passport delivery involves more than the participant interface. Someone must own content, activity rules, artwork, signage, QR placement, venue approvals, connectivity, devices, prize fulfilment, staff training, participant support and incident escalation. Assign each responsibility to the organiser, vendor, venue or another supplier.

Pay particular attention to interfaces between teams. If an activation agency designs a challenge while a technology vendor implements it, establish who confirms the final logic. If participation data supports reward redemption, identify who validates eligibility and who handles disputes. If registration information is involved, confirm the intended data flow, access permissions and retention approach with the relevant parties. Privacy and compliance requirements should be reviewed for the actual campaign and are not replaced by a vendor feature statement.

Get Out! Events can scope festival digital passport experiences through GO Labs alongside guest communications, registration operations, queue planning, on-site coordination and wider event delivery. The precise division of work depends on the approved brief and selected delivery tools.

Make exclusions visible

Procurement problems often sit in what the proposal does not include. Ask every vendor to state exclusions in one section, using direct language. Common areas to clarify include venue internet, participant mobile data, loan devices, messaging charges, payment processing, physical prizes, creative production, translation, accessibility remediation, integrations, penetration testing and post-event support.

Do not treat this list as evidence that every item is necessary. Its purpose is to reveal assumptions. The festival’s risk profile, audience, locations and campaign mechanics determine what belongs in scope.

Agree acceptance before build work begins

Acceptance criteria turn broad promises into observable results. They should describe what will be tested, who witnesses the test, which environment is used and how defects are classified. Avoid criteria such as “easy to use” unless they are connected to a defined participant task and review method.

A practical acceptance plan may cover:

1. Access through every approved entry route.
2. Completion rules for each activity type.
3. Messages shown for successful, invalid and repeated actions.
4. Progress preservation under agreed interruption scenarios.
5. Staff access and operational resolution workflows.
6. Approved content, links, branding and legal notices.
7. Reporting fields and export formats included in scope.
8. Testing on the agreed device and browser coverage.

Set deadlines for organiser feedback, vendor corrections and final approval. Also define what constitutes a change request rather than a defect. This protects the schedule when new campaign ideas emerge after the build has started.

Score suppliers on evidence and delivery fit

Use a weighted evaluation sheet so that each reviewer applies the same criteria. Suitable categories can include understanding of the festival journey, solution fit, demonstration quality, delivery plan, responsibility clarity, support model, relevant team experience, risk management and total evaluated cost. Weightings should reflect the festival’s priorities rather than an inherited procurement template.

Record the evidence behind each score. Strong evidence might include a clear workflow, named deliverables, a realistic schedule, documented dependencies and direct answers to scenario questions. Avoid awarding points for unverified claims or attractive features that do not support the brief.

If the wider requirement is primarily an audience activation rather than a passport-led journey, compare the scope against the festival digital brand activation vendor selection guide. Keeping the procurement category precise helps prevent unrelated capabilities from distorting the decision.

Complete commercial and operational checks

Before appointment, reconcile the final proposal with demonstration notes, clarifications and acceptance criteria. Confirm the contracting entity, payment milestones, change process, cancellation terms, intellectual-property treatment, data responsibilities, support periods and named contacts. Obtain appropriate legal, privacy or security review where the campaign requires it.

The strongest selection is not necessarily the vendor with the longest feature list. It is the supplier whose proposal establishes a credible participant journey, transparent boundaries, testable delivery and an operating model that fits the festival.