A Tap of Luxury: Chanel’s NFC Wall Experience

À propos

Chanel, a brand often known for its elegance and widespread adoption among celebrities like Marilyn Monroe, who is famously quoted as saying, "I only wear Chanel No. 5 to bed."

In addition to producing high-end, luxurious products, their events are also among the most talked about globally.

Some of these events have included life-sized rockets rolled onto the runway, or even transforming the Grand Palais into a supermarket, complete with aisles and trolleys.

These shows became headlines because they were experiential, but also because every little detail, from guest/attendee check-in, was perfectly thought out, timed, and rehearsed without a single room for error.

And so, when they came to us planning a series of private events in Hong Kong and Macau, seeking a solution to facilitate attendee check-in, we knew the standard we set had to hold under pressure.

Défis

Shirley Chan, the event director at Chanel, came to us, seeking a partner who understood innovation, a tech that felt modern and could also blend into the background without interrupting the experience.

Chanel already knew how to make a splash, so what they needed was discretion, seamlessness, and a flair for precision.

On the table were competitors offering “faster” deals (roughly 30% cheaper), with promises to cover the Salesforce work and ongoing support.

But as Shirley quickly realized, that “support” came with caveats. Zero flexibility. No embedded services. No real investment in Chanel’s success.

At this level, luxury is often defined by how the experience is delivered.

And Shirley made it clear: if the solution couldn’t rise to Chanel’s standard, it wasn’t worth pursuing.

Some of their major challenges include:

• Too many manual check-in/out steps → slows the guest flow: Every guest interaction had to feel intentional, and every second at the door had to be accounted for. There was no room for awkward QR code fumbles, no patience for manual entry or back-end delays.


• Security restrictions (Salesforce only, no external tools): They required the entire experience to run natively within their existing system (Salesforce), without any external modifications.


• IT resource gap (lack of staff to implement integrations): They required the entire experience to run natively within their existing system (Salesforce), without any external modifications.


• Desire to make app adoption seamless: How could they integrate their event app without it completely being out of place at a Chanel event?

For a company committed to excellence, these constant gaps & inconsistencies were holding back critical communication across its global teams.

Solutions

So we built something that was Chanel-worthy.

A sleek, branded surface that lets guests tap their phones and glide right into the event.

The InEvent NFC Wall.

We designed it with two distinct zones:

• Zone 1: Instant check-in. A tap and you’re in.


• Zone 2: Survey activation. A moment of feedback, captured in motion.

The first activation launched in Hong Kong and Macau.

Store managers carried iPads pre-loaded with the appointment interface, and behind the scenes, attendee data synced in real time.

To help Chanel’s internal teams visualize the magic, we also created a real demo video of the NFC wall in action. Shirley used it to win over stakeholders and secure internal buy-in.

And for guests? It was precisely what it needed to be: elegant, invisible, instant.

But we didn’t stop at the surface. Chanel’s security standards were clear; nothing could live outside Salesforce.

So we embedded the entire experience directly into their Salesforce environment, just liike they wanted.

And since Shirley’s team had no available IT bandwidth, we rolled up our sleeves and delivered complete implementation services:

• Registration flows that allowed guests to pre-fill their information through unique form links.


• Plus-one logic that linked anonymous guests to their primary contact record.


• A room appointment system that showed availability per room, so store managers could allocate spaces for private product showcases in real time.


• An SMS module with scalable pricing, freeing them from the cost of Salesforce’s native SMS tools.

Every piece of this was scoped, designed, implemented, and tested by our team. Because when the standard is luxury, “done-for-you” goes beyond a perk. It’s the bare minimum for an expectation.

Prochaine ligne d'action

Following the success of the Hong Kong and Macau activations, Chanel is now exploring how this experience can be scaled to include check-in, survey activations, and eventually sampling redemption and loyalty workflows, all powered by the same seamless NFC wall experience.

As their strategic partner, InEvent remains embedded in their vision because we made the entire experience like it was designed just for the Chanel brand

So if you’re in luxury, retail, or enterprise events, your challenge goes beyond execution. Experience is a major part of it

You want guest journeys that feel intentional and systems that integrate without resistance.

You also want to stand out, but not at the cost of your team’s time or your budget’s stretch.

This is what the InEvent NFC Wall delivers.

A check-in so smooth it blends into the background and integrates efficiently.

A support team that shows up with solutions to your problems, concerns & questions (if any).

And a platform that meets your security, your branding, and your standards.

InEvent’s NFC Wall + enterprise services = proven formula for premium, scalable experiences.

See how InEvent can transform your event check-in with NFC.

Résultats

The results spoke Chanel’s language: efficiency, elegance, and impact.

Check-in lines were gone, and not a single clunky NFC wristband in sight.

Check-in time was cut by more than half, and not a single guest was left fumbling at the door.

Engagement with the brand’s app also spiked, because all it took was a single tap to get the download link.

And perhaps most importantly, Chanel didn’t have to hire a single engineer.

Everything, from integration to implementation, was handled by InEvent’s team.

The ROI spoke for itself.

They had more precise data that reflected a smooth guest flow and experience, stronger brand control, and a faster path to expansion.

With leadership impressed and stakeholders aligned, Shirley’s team had what they needed to build a case for rolling out the initiative across more business units.