The event registration brief
The Ford Skills Contest 2026 required more than a standard RSVP form. The registration experience had to support several connected event moments while recognising that participants and invited attendees needed different questions, permissions and communications. The project included the Welcome Dinner, Contest Day and Awards Ceremony. The system had to identify which events an attendee was invited to, collect only the relevant response choices and keep the participant journey focused on competition travel and identity requirements.
AFRIREG translated the meeting notes, client spreadsheets and changing operational brief into a working registration model. The work covered the public facing journey, the database, administration, invitation control, email communication fields and onsite readiness. Instead of forcing every guest through one generic form, the system treated the approved invitation data as the starting point for a personalised experience.
Different journeys for attendees and participants
Invited attendees verified their email address against the approved guest list before continuing. Their registration journey displayed only the event invitations selected for that person. An attendee invited to Contest Day and the Awards Ceremony did not need to answer a Welcome Dinner question. Where the Awards Ceremony was available, the form could ask whether an Uber voucher was required. This made each RSVP clearer and reduced irrelevant questions.
Participants followed a separate path. Their journey collected identity and travel information needed for the competition, including whether a flight was required, the departure province, arrival planning and return flight requirements. All three core event moments could be treated as part of the participant programme. The role based journey made the form easier to understand and produced structured data for the team arranging travel, accommodation and onsite support.
A custom domain and secure hosted platform
The RSVP experience used a dedicated event domain so the registration journey felt official and easy to recognise. The public case study does not disclose the domain itself. AFRIREG prepared the application for a hosted server environment with Xneelo, supporting fast page delivery, secure HTTPS access, database storage and reliable South African hosting.
The PHP application and database were designed for responsive use across phones, tablets and desktop computers. Email verification controlled access to the correct invitation record. The system stored responses, event selections and operational requirements in a structured way, while the administrative tools supported imports, guest review, invitation updates and reporting.
Mailchimp fields, tags and communication analytics
Mailchimp formed an important part of the communication workflow. AFRIREG mapped registration information into audience fields and tags so the client could segment contacts according to invitation, response and operational needs. Invitation fields distinguished Welcome Dinner, Contest Day and Awards Ceremony access. Registration status, guest type and other approved fields supported more accurate campaign targeting and analytics.
Conditional campaign content meant each guest could receive event information relevant to the invitations selected for them. The team could identify registered guests, non responders and contacts needing additional communication. This approach provided more detail than a single RSVP yes or no field and supported measurable sending, delivery and engagement activity across the campaign plan.
Travel, accommodation and Uber voucher information
The registration system gathered the information needed to coordinate participant travel without confusing ordinary attendees. Flight requirements, departure details and return travel could be collected in the participant route. Accommodation and transport information could then be connected to the approved guest record and communication process.
For invited attendees, the Awards Ceremony journey supported an Uber voucher requirement. Voucher communication could be segmented and sent to the correct people at the correct time. The broader communication plan also supported the delivery of accommodation details, travel instructions, event reminders, venue information and final arrival guidance.
From RSVP to onsite registration
The hosted registration database was designed to support onsite operations rather than ending after the form was submitted. Guest records could be searched during check in, while event invitation and RSVP information remained available to the operating team. This created a practical bridge between pre event communication and the live arrival experience.
Onsite registration planning included guest search, event access visibility, check in status and the ability to support multiple devices. The same structured data could feed attendance reporting after the event. This reduced the need to reconcile separate spreadsheets and gave the project team one connected source for invitations, responses and live activity.
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