How to run a virtual queue at a brand activation

Start with what each experience can actually handle. A virtual queue doesn't make an experience faster; it makes the wait easier. If more people want a simulator than it can serve, the line will still be long, just not in front of the simulator.

A simple method gives you the number of guests per hour for each experience. You need three things:

• Run length: how long one session takes, including getting people in and out.
• Stations: how many units run at the same time, such as simulators, cars or demo pods.
• Group size: how many guests each station takes per run.

Guests per hour = (60 ÷ run length in minutes) × stations × guests per run.

A worked example

Do this for every experience and compare it with the number of guests you expect. Where demand is clearly higher than capacity, add stations, shorten runs, or offer time slots so guests know early whether they'll get a turn. It is better to find this out on paper than on the day.

Not every experience needs the same set-up. Match it to how the experience runs:

Keep each guest to a sensible number of places at once. Cue allows two, with a clash guard that holds the later turn if both could land together. Our guide to virtual queues vs timed tickets covers the choice in more depth.

Ask for the minimum you need to run the queue: usually a first name and a mobile number for the alerts. Anything more, such as an email address or a company name, should have a clear reason behind it.

• Ask for consent to queue alerts and to marketing separately.
• Never pre-tick the marketing box.
• Name your brand as the data controller in the wording.
• Say how long data will be kept and how guests can ask for it to be deleted.
• Write the wording in English and Arabic, and have both versions checked.

Get this signed off by your legal or privacy team early. In our experience it is the item most likely to hold up a launch, because it needs people outside the event team.

Put QR codes where guests make decisions: at the entrance, at each experience and on the venue screens. Our QR code signage guide covers placement, wording and sizing in detail.

Three roles that keep things moving

• Host at the entrance: welcomes guests, explains the queue in one sentence and adds guests without a phone on a tablet.
• Marshal at each experience: calls the next group, checks codes and pauses the station with a reason when needed.
• Screen owner: makes sure the venue screens are on, readable and showing the right experiences.

On a small activation one person can cover two roles, but every role should have a named owner, so nobody assumes someone else is watching the screens.

Rehearse with the actual set-up, not a slide deck. Use this checklist the day before doors open:

• Every experience is set up with the right capacity, run time and group size.
• Branding, copy and alert templates are checked in both languages.
• A test guest joins each experience from a printed QR code.
• Marshals call, check in, recall and mark a no-show.
• A station is paused with a reason and then reopened.
• Walk-ups are added from the console.
• Screens are visible from where guests will actually stand.
• WhatsApp messages arrive on a few different phones.

• Call ahead. Cue sends a get-ready message one run before the call, so guests arrive as the station frees up.
• Pause with reasons. If something breaks, pause the station and pick a reason guests understand. People already in the line keep their place.
• Handle walk-ups. Add guests without a phone from the console; their code appears on the screens.
• Give priority where it's due. VIP and accessibility guests can be prioritised, and staff can see who has it.
• Watch the waits. If a line grows faster than it moves, open another station or offer time slots for the rest of the day.

Within a day or two, pull the report: joins, waits, no-shows and ratings by experience and by hour. It shows which experiences people wanted most and where the day slowed down, which is useful for planning the next activation.

Export the consented leads as a CSV or send them to your CRM, then delete the event data on the schedule you agreed. Ask for written confirmation that it has been deleted.