Silence Is Golden: A New Way to Hold Auctions

In our August issue we wrote about how the Incentive Research Foundation (IRF) used handheld audience response devices at their Annual Invitational fundraising and networking event in May. 

The IML device was also used at the Incentive Research Foundation’s (IRF) 17th Annual Invitational in May to facilitate their silent auction. Between a live auction and the silent auction that follows, the group raises “virtually our entire budget,” says Melissa Van Dyke, president of the IRF. With 133 items —virtually all travel packages — available, the ballroom of The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs was packed. 

“We do hundreds of silent auctions a year,” says Mike Vinup, vice president of IML North America. “Using IML raises the amount made, and participation rates go way up.” That was immediately clear on the final night of the IRF’s silent auction, especially when compared to the previous year’s paper-only silent auction. With the IML devices and personal smart cards, participants were bidding rapidly on many items at once, often checking every few minutes on all of their bids. And they did it without having to run from table to table, or “sit” on one item to the exclusion of others. Many congregated in front of a screen IML set up to cycle through all items and their current bids, often bantering with competitors. 

All in all, the IRF made the silent auction more of a cocktail and networking event than the previous year’s paper-only auction – and it kept the final bidding session going far longer. 

“It was a more engaging experience for people,” Van Dyke says. “It allowed them to network more that evening, and they didn’t have to forsake lower-priced items to concentrate on one item they really wanted.”

While it’s hard to quantify the IML’s contribution to any specific item or even the overall sale, Van Dyke notes, “last year we had a couple of items without bids, and this year we had zero.”

Comments

blog comments powered by Disqus