Event management has gotten a lot more complicated in the past few years. With new technologies coming up regularly, it can be overwhelming to stay on top of the fast changes in the industry. There’s a constant need to reinvent events, all while trying to increase productivity and work more efficiently. Meeting and event planners have to keep current to continuously manage a range of fields – analyzing data, planning, communicating, and most importantly transforming ideas into real experiences.

Needless to say, this complicated discipline of event marketing is powered by productivity. Since 2020 is set to be a busy year for event planners, here are 5 event planning productivity tips that will help event planners make the most out of their days:

The first rule of administrative command is prioritizing tasks on the basis of importance. With the overarching vision of the event serving as the parameter for judging the importance of tasks, tackling each task at a time is the most efficient way of getting things done. Time management and focusing on the right objective at the right time is the secret to efficient event planning. Prioritizing doesn’t mean rating certain event-related tasks as unimportant, it means doing the right thing at the right time.

As the event planning cycle is very similar in nature for every event type, you may consider creating a system that can be used through the entire portfolio of events you manage. For example, to plan for a conference you may start with booking the venue (so you can set on the date), followed by finding speakers and attractions (so you can promote the event), and reaching out to sponsors (to secure funds). Tasks that would take lower priority on the early stages of event planning may include catering, AV, promotional material, and more. Here’s a workback schedule template that can help you plan, prioritize, and delegate all aspects of your event.

Events have become increasingly analytics-based. There are various measurable factors that determine the success of an event. Hence, every important decision you make should be backed by information. Making data-based decisions also gives event managers the chance to improve with every decision.

Measuring Net Promoter Score (NPS) at the events, a metric for evaluating customer-loyalty for a brand or product is a great way of incorporating data into your event management processes. Also, conduct thorough surveys that surpass mere opinions and stories. Use calculable metrics to verify that the choices you make are impacting the event in a positive way.

Using data to make practical decisions helps event managers to learn from their mistakes and plan better events the next time. Since all decisions are being made based on prior results, event managers can reject ideas that haven’t worked in the past.

Despite the scientific approach that all event managers are obliged to have when planning for events, at its core event management is still a creative process. Without innovation and the skill to anticipate what attendees may or may not like, event managers will never manage to host successful events. Innovation is what makes an event stand out.

Team up with creative partners — design artists, comedians, musicians, entertainers, furniture and visual effects artists. The goal is to make your event as appealing as possible. Challenge your creative partners to do their best- from designing event merchandise, to creating Instagram worthy spaces.

When selecting an event destination, be sure to inculcate certain aspects of that region’s culture into the event. Since there are going to be a lot of local attendees, integrating the culture of the community into the event is a great way of showing appreciation and making the event feel unique.

Collaborate with the Convention and Visitors Bureau of the locality to ensure you incorporate all the right cultural aspects of the place into your event so that your guests have a memorable outing. Take into account the nature and demographic composition of the region your event is being held in to steer clear of any oversights.

Event management software can save event planners a lot of administrative time and make teamwork more efficient. There are actually a number of benefits of using event technology to help you be more productive. Event management platforms help event profs build event websites and manage registration, ticket sales, event schedule, attendee messages, and more. Here are some ways you can save time and be more productive working with an event management platform:

Event management solutions like Attendease can help you by providing intuitive digital tools for event professionals across multiple industries. Event automation platforms can help you automate important processes like registration, event check-in, event surveys, email notifications, and more. User-friendly features in a website that cuts down on the time needed to carry out these tasks individually boost the productivity levels of the event management team.

With all the effort that goes into organizing a perfect event, there’s always the risk of an unforeseen error. That’s where all this preparation helps. By following these essential tips, event managers will be ensuring that they are fully prepared to battle any unexpected circumstances.

Want an easier way to manage events in 2020? Attendease helps event managers create customized, branded and full-featured event websites while managing registration, passes, attendee communication, event analytics, and more. With a tool like Attendease, event managers can provide their attendees with a comprehensive one-stop-shop for all the event-related information that they need.

Sponsorships are the lifeline that keeps the events industry sustainable. An important aspect of event management is finding the right sponsors who can provide the right financial assistance needed to pull off a big event, in exchange for brand exposure. 

Over the last decade, event sponsorship has become the primary way in which events receive funding, products, and other services. Undoubtedly, the most lucrative form of sponsorship for event managers, the brands too gain a lot from these events. For them, these events serve as an extremely specialized branch of promotion and marketing, bringing together brands and potential customers/business leaders on a face to face basis.

For example, the watch company Rolex was one of the first brands to support TED conferences. Rolex created short promotional videos and played them at various TED Talks. The event marketing campaign was called, ‘Rolex’s DNA: innovation and design’, a theme that suited the nature of TED Conferences.

Budget

In a survey conducted by EventMB in 2019, it was revealed that over 70% of event professionals who spent over $5 million on events in the 2019 budget plan to spend even more on event technology in 2020. 57% of the event professionals who took part in the survey stated that the budget needs to increase in order to improve the event experience.

Organizing an event is an expensive undertaking. Ticket sales rarely recuperate the expenses. Ticket prices also have to be kept affordable to ensure maximum attendance. What’s an event planner to do? Sponsorship.com revealed that in 2017, sponsorship spending in North America on events reached 23 billion dollars. Sponsors make events financially feasible, keeping ticket prices reasonable, ensuring the implementation of the latest and the most innovative event tech.

Credibility

When brands and event heads enter into a partnership, both parties can gain credibility from each other. A great example of both parties coming out as more credible due to an event is TechCrunch Disrupt and New Relic. The cloud-based software platform New Relic started sponsoring the TechCrunch Disrupt events in the early 2010s. 

Since then TechCrunch Disrupt has become one of the most highly anticipated conferences in the technology industry with their event “Hackathon” which pits contending hackers against each other, gaining a widespread following. Both New Relic and TechCrunch Disrupt gained credibility due to this exchange. All events are aimed at brands and events lending and sharing credibility while increasing the number of potential customers and event registrations.

In 2020, finding event sponsors is not going to be difficult. Businesses have enough evidence proving that events are one of the most, if not the most effective form of marketing – both B2B and B2C. Here’s a complete guide on how to improve your event with event sponsorships.

Before you start reaching out to potential collaborators, you must have a clear overall vision for your event. Answer key questions like –

Only after thoroughly analyzing your ideological goals can you start planning for the practical ones. Brands are extremely particular about how the event will feel for attendees. The way they want the attendees to communicate with each other and the brand may not align with your views.

Teaming up with organizations that do not share the same vision as that of your event brand is pointless. Another important criterion is the experience of these organizations in sponsoring events. If they have limited or no experience at all, teaming up with them may not be fruitful in the long run.

Find organizations and brands that fit your overall event idea. For instance, partnering up with a meat company for an event about sustainable eating habits isn’t ideal. Choose only after thorough consideration and create a detailed list of potential event sponsors with their contact information.

Once you’ve created a list of potential sponsors, the hard part follows – pitching the event idea to them. Be it via mail, phone or personal meetings, pitching sessions shouldn’t be used by event managers to pander to all the demands that potential sponsors may make. It should be a collaborative endeavor focusing on important issues such as –

The better the communication is during pitching, the better the outcome. Even if an organization rejects the pitch, it is much better to clearly state everything in advance instead of facing disappointment and confusion in the future. Event managers need to communicate the value the event can add to the brand.

A fair exchange of value is what organizations are looking for when participating in such conversations. They care more about how the event will affect their bottom line. Hence, conveying crucial data such as –

The sponsor may also ask for event-specific data, statistics, etc. You can collect such data from previous events, especially if you use event management platforms with data collection and analytics visualization dashboards. Overall, communicating value and guaranteeing returns for the sponsors is the most important aspect of pitching. 

Explain in simple terms every benefit, incentive, and necessity in clear terms. The sponsors should know exactly what to expect in return for their investment. Since large sums of money are usually involved in sponsoring large events, a detailed projection report must be provided to every sponsor you pitch your event idea to. Another great way to convince sponsors is to provide them with testimonials from previous sponsors.

Since securing all the required funding from one or two sources is not possible, it is better to offer brands different sponsorship packages. Create multiple levels of sponsorship, each granted with various benefits and plugged at varying prices. For example –

Make sure to make the sponsorship page on your event website as optimized as possible. Use rich graphics to design the page.

Lastly, once a pitch has been made, event managers will have to give a clear ROI estimate to the sponsors. To prove that your event can return the amount you want them to invest, you must provide them with data from past events, information about attendee demographics, and testimonials from past sponsors.

Show the sponsors that you have teamed up with a professional marketing event automation platform like Attendease. Automation platforms are essential tools for event management teams. They help in creating a scalable event planning process. A partnership with a reputed platform like Attendease will indicate the sponsors that the event is set to be an intuitive, seamlessly branded and convenient experience for all attendees. 

Refrain from forcing sponsors to increase their level of interest. Teaming up with only the companies that suit your event ideals is a better approach than teaming up with anybody and everybody who is willing to pay money. Innovative event ideas when powered by the right sponsors have the potential to create something special. Use this guide to find the right sponsor for your event. 

Want an easier way to manage events? Attendease helps event managers create customized, branded and full-featured event websites while managing registration, passes, attendee communication, event analytics, and more. With a tool like Attendease, event managers can provide their attendees with a comprehensive one-stop-shop for all the event-related information that they need.

The events industry has been behind some of the most innovative tech conferences in the past decade. Opening the doors for new business prospects, these conferences are places where the top professionals meet and showcase their innovative concepts and bold theories for the future. Needless to say, 2020 is set to be another bar-raising year for event management professionals. Here’s a complete round-up of the ten best event tech conferences that you should be excited for in 2020.

Scheduled for October 13th-15th, 2020 in New York City, this is a must-not-miss for every event professional on the East coast. With three exhilarating days already planned, this year’s Event Planner Expo will focus on building industry relationships, allowing top influencers to network with professionals from the industry.

What to look forward to –

Even in this digital marketing age, nothing beats the power of face-to-face experiences. The Experiential Marketing Summit has become the event industry’s mega-show and brings together b2b and b2c brand-side marketers, executives from leading event agencies, meeting planners, tradeshow organizers, event strategists, experience designers, event technology gurus and more. Each year, our attendees hail from more than 32 countries—a great testament to the global growth of a booming experiential industry.

What to look forward to –

C2 is known for being one of the most progressive business events in the world. In its fifth year in 2020, the event plans to take greater strides by providing professionals from over 60 countries and 34 different industries with the latest industry trends via exclusive events for event organizers. The event is going to be held on May 27th–29th, 2020 and already has over 7500 registered attendees, 57% of whom are executives and senior managers.

What to look forward to –

Set to be held this September 15th-17th, 2020 in Las Vegas, IMEX America plans to hold over 180 classroom-style educational and networking seminars that are guaranteed to give every attendee a clear insight on how to mix creativity with hard-work and technology.

What to look forward to – 

The most significant yearly conference for wedding industry specialists, this two and a half-day conference, set to be held on November 17th-19th, 2020 in Las Vegas is a must-not-miss. Wedding industry experts will be speaking on wedding trends, what technological advances to expect this year and more. The seminars will be entirely focused on helping new entrepreneurs elevate their business reach.

What to look forward to –

http://wec.mpiweb.org/events/wec-grapevine

MPI WEC is one of America’s foremost guidance and networking conferences for event professionals. The theme of 2020 will be exploring the importance of authentic events and how authenticity is the new currency for up and coming professionals. Set to be held in Grapevine, Texas on June 6th-9th, 2020, here’s what you can look forward to at this event-

March 9th-12th, 2020 will be three special days in Las Vegas as two of the finest event planners join forces – The Special Event and Catersource are set to hold a combined event which will have conferences, tradeshows for event and catering specialists and interactive sessions with some of the world’s leading event marketers, business owners, chefs, caterers, designers and event planners.

What to expect –

EVENTtech joined forces with the Experiential Marketing Summit (EMS) in 2019. In 2020, May 11th-13th this event will give attendees a chance to meet top marketing and event industry experts from across the world. The event will be held at the famous McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago.

What to look forward to –

Attendees always get to experience creative and educational conferences at Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition and Conference (HITEC). This year, the event will be focused on finding new and more innovative hospitality solutions. It is set to be held in June 15th-18th, 2020, in San Antonio, Texas. 

What to look forward to –  

Historically, one of the most exciting event planning conferences, the NACE Evolve Leadership Conference in 2020 will be held in Dallas, Texas and will focus on bringing together some of the leading event professionals from across the country. The NACE Evolve community already has 3,500 professionals as members. The event will be held on January 24th–27th, 2020. It is known for providing first-rate educational tools and resources to attendees, and for hosting industry experts.

What to look forward to –

There is simply too much to expect in 2020 for event professionals in the USA and Canada. Use this updated list of the top marketing and events technology conferences to plan out your calendar and boost your networking skills. It is time to explore new horizons of the events industry.

Another easy way to learn more about event management in 2020 is to get an all-in-one event management tool like Attendease. Attendease helps event managers create customized, branded and full-featured event websites while managing registration, passes, attendee communication, event analytics, and more. With a tool like Attendease, event managers can provide their attendees with a comprehensive one-stop-shop for all the event-related information that they need.

In 2020, events are going to become an even stronger pillar of B2B and B2C marketing. With major organizations like Salesforce, Google, Adobe and HubSpot investing heavily in planning out innovative and interactive events, the smaller organizations aspiring to be industry leaders have to rush into event planning just to update their marketing strategies. Top B2B Chief Marketing Officers plan to allocate almost 30% of their marketing budget to event planning in 2020. 

While this is good news for event professionals, they need to start preparing to handle all of this work that is set to come their way. From determining and meeting event targets to choosing a top planning software to use – there is simply too much to focus on. Adopting a clear event strategy will be critical to seize this great opportunity. Here is a comprehensive guide for event professionals as they gear up for what could be the busiest year of their lives. 

The planning stage is unquestionably the most important. Event managers must set a clear schedule prioritizing each step of the event. From choosing what type of event will best suit the event objectives to a clear budget – decide on every important factor during this stage. 

The first and the most significant step of your event plan is determining the reasons behind organizing the event. Answer these important questions at the start of the planning stage – What are the objectives behind organizing this event? 

The most common event objectives include:

As much as companies have evolved with progress in technology, face to face interactions still are as important as ever in marketing. All of these objectives are achievable when an event is well-planned. It is the duty of the leadership team to determine the main goals of the event and prioritize them so that a clear event schedule can be devised. (If you want to learn more about setting your event plan, check this whitepaper with a comprehensive step by step guide to building your event plan.)

During the planning process, event administrators must also have a clear estimate on –

Based on these estimates, the leadership team must then create a final budget. Itemize every possible expense. Leave some room for additional expenses. Without a set budget approved by the leadership team, it becomes impossible for workers down the line to determine the safest promotional channels for the event and the necessary tools needed for managing these channels.

Lastly, event profs must decide on what types of Event Management Tools they must use to ensure that the event goes smoothly. Modern event planners have to use event management tools to keep track of every activity. Depending on the budget, select some of these key tools necessary for efficient event management –

A comprehensive solution is to get an all-in-one event management tool like Attendease. Attendease helps event managers create customized, branded and full-featured event websites, supporting from the simplest to the most complex registration needs. Offering all the key features needed to manage your events, Attendease power their platform to provide attendees with an intuitive, seamlessly branded and convenient digital experience to go hand-in-hand with a live experience. 

With a tool like Attendease, event managers have a comprehensive one-stop-shop for all the event-related information that they need. Here are a few features you can expect: 

Once the planning process is complete, start sending invites. Create a comprehensive mailing list to reach out to masses of potential attendees. Inform them about event details and create a countdown to the event. A simple mail mentioning a detail like ‘7 days left for you to register for the best tech event of 2020’ can influence potential attendees to check out the event website. 

Update the event app and website. Create an event hashtag and encourage target attendees to post about the event on social media websites using the hashtag. Start reaching out to social media influencers to create hype around the event. Publish a press release detailing the activities that are expected to take place at the event. Press releases, blogs and articles about the event increase the chances of potential attendees hearing about it. 

In all of the event-related content, focus on mentioning how unique and different the event is going to be. Mention the names of notable guests, speakers, event goals and outcomes in all the event-related content that you post. To make sure that the event details are read by a large number of people, reach out to top Press Release Networks like 1888 Press Releases, SB Wire, PR Newswire, PR Web and Business Wire. By doing so, target attendees and journalists will start receiving Google Alerts on their phones alerting them about the upcoming event. 

Once the word is spread about the event, team leaders must use all media avenues to promote the media in the best way possible. This includes email marketing, blog posts and social media integration. The best social media platform for promoting events is Facebook. Create a Facebook event and invite all potential attendees. Send customized messages to these potential attendees informing them about registration time, costs, best ways to reach the event location and the benefits that they can get from attending the event. The key question to ask when promoting the event is – what should potential attendees be expecting when signing up for the event? Raise their interest and expectations. 

Team up with SMO and digital content marketing experts so that regular posts containing high-quality images, infographics, etc. can be made on the official event page. If the budget allows it, hire videographers to create and edit promotional videos. Create a promo code for users and track how many times this code has been used to get a better estimate of potential attendees. Offer discounts and prizes to attendees for sharing event related content on their social media profiles. 

If the planning process is precise and detailed, managing the event surprisingly becomes the easiest aspect of the entire ordeal. Especially for event administrators who have invested in a customized event app, it is very easy to keep track of attendees. Make sure all the attendees are satisfied with the event proceedings. Greet them with a welcome email or an update on the event app containing the Wi-Fi password and other relevant information. Encourage visitors to engage with each other and take part in the planned activities. Ask attendees to take part in brand-related or event-related surveys. 

Make sure to follow up on all the attendees via mail. Ask them about their experience and thank them for visiting. Now that all the guests have left, the final task is to assess all the collected data. The event objectives are already established so match them with the overall event Return on Investment. Adopt an attribution and analysis model. Assess the success of the event by analyzing the total number of attendees, attendee surveys, number of business engagements made, etc.  

2020 is the perfect year for event managers to balance technology with face to face communication. Events are usually very successful because they are the most personal form of marketing. As long as event admins have a clear set of objectives and the necessary event technology tools needed to achieve those targets, they can expect great results. The goal must be to create unique and memorable event journeys for visitors – an experience that they will never forget! 

Need professional help with planning your 2020 events? Attendease is one of the leading names in the field of all-in-one event management software. Offering all the key features needed to stay relevant in 2020, Attendease provides event managers with an intuitive, seamlessly branded and a convenient digital experience that goes hand-in-hand with a live experience. Book a demo to learn more.

A corporate event marketer’s purview often includes a wide spectrum of events across the enterprise, with assorted attendee profiles, scale and objectives. The marketing and management strategy for a webinar differs, in some ways significantly, from the strategies for launching a multi-day user conference, for example.

Juggling a portfolio of these dissimilar events can be a challenging experience; it’s easy to get lost in the tasks, mix up goals and approaches, and lose sight of brand consistency. But don’t worry—there are some tricks of the trade to help the full spectrum of your corporate events run smoothly. The following shortcuts will give you a leg up on coordinating and marketing multiple events, enabling you to set up a clear, error-free, and efficient multiple event management process.

A repeatable, scalable event process is the holy grail for enterprise event managers. By automating the cloning of existing events and their associated websites, you can avoid creating events and websites from scratch. This shortcut will save you an enormous amount of time, effort, and hassle, plus help present a consistent brand message. (An event automation platform is a good place to start if you’re looking for cloning functionality.)

Given the scale and diversity of events within your portfolio, it can be a challenge to track, manage, and control multiple events across the organization and across geographical locations. By creating and managing hierarchies of events and users within separate business units, you can control permissions and access to event management tools to minimize planning errors and execution hiccups. Here’s how you can manage business units with Attendease.

Shortcut #3: Create a master event file

By building a master file of attendee profiles, pain points, notable differences, and observations for all types of events, you’ll have a reference point to inform future events. Don’t waste time reinventing the wheel. Gather intelligence on every event you run, categorized by event type and business unit, and subsequent event planning will be a breeze.

Shortcut #4: Create a theme library and re-usable widgets 

To accelerate the event planning process, create event-specific themes and re-usable widgets for all your different event types—webinar, roadshow, user conference, training workshop, etc. This shortcut will ensure brand consistency across your entire event portfolio while saving you precious time.

Successful marketing and lead generation for different types of events requires a multi-prong, diversified approach. One size does not fit all when you’re attempting to attract attendees to events of various types, objectives, scale, and even location. A valuable shortcut is to create a master file of all your marketing experiments so you can ascertain which channels and approaches were most successful for each type of event in your portfolio. With the master file as reference, you’ll be able to tailor your marketing approach to precisely target prospects for future events.

Data integration and analytics is a growing and valuable trend in event management, according to industry expert Corbin Ball. By integrating your event management platform with your CRM (e.g., Salesforce) and marketing automation platform (e.g., HubSpot), you can easily share event data across the platforms to manage and nurture leads and measure event ROI. This shortcut will help you stay on trend while ensuring an error-free lead management process. Plus, integration with Slack helps you stay informed of event activities as they unfold with instant status notifications.

Learn more about Attendease’s integrations here.

Attendease is a cloud-based marketing automation solution for corporate event managers and teams. A modern, feature-rich event management software that enables the management of an entire range of events of all types and sizes.

Event apps have become extremely popular: more and more organizations are investing in these apps because they create a better event experience by making it easier to manage event updates and communication for attendees. When promoted properly during the build-up to an event, the app can also be a powerful marketing tool. A collaborative campaign to get users to download and use the app before the event has proven to help boost the number of visitors and the general hype and anticipation surrounding an event.

Whether it’s networking, scheduling management, or getting general updates about the event, an event app can lead to a better event experience for your attendees. 

The smartphone boom caused a fast evolution in the core features of program-based event apps. All the successful conference and event mobile app focus more on customer engagement, and hence the features circle around offering visitors new ways to engage with event-related content.

Most event apps are designed from the viewpoint of attendees who will be using the app before and during the event. The focus must be on providing the best user experience. Here are some features and capabilities you should consider:

Setting up appointments with vendors: Let attendees reach out directly to vendors, making the meeting process smoother for everyone. 

Networking: When networking is one of the main goals of the event, seamless communication between attendees, partners, speakers and exhibitors can be a great feature to have. This is made possible through in-app messaging and notifications.

Capture real-time feedback with session surveys, polls, and Q&A: Create real-time engagement during sessions by running polls, collecting questions for Q&A, and sending out surveys in a timely manner. Everything is captured and made available via mobile apps.  

Personalized session scheduling: Personal session scheduling can be used to generate a personalized event timetable for each attendee attendee based on the sessions they will be attending.

Session favoriting: Allow attendees to favorite sessions that seem interesting, but are unsure of attending. 

Attendee Profiles: All relevant information regarding the Attendee Profiles – be it names, emails, phone numbers, etc. can be easily collected with an event-based app. Following up on them becomes easy.

The utility of your app to your visitors depends entirely on the kind of data and content they are provided with. For example, you can help them navigate your event by providing the following: 

Biographies of speakers, notable guests, and summaries of their presentations should also be provided on this platform of the app. Integration helps apps offer a broad range of information. 

Exhibitors must be urged to include as much detail as possible. Collect data from their personnel profiles beforehand. Create a video demonstrating their products and services and share them on the app.

Here’s a brief overview of other event-app features to consider: 

Remember, the aim is to create an easy-to-use app that drives event engagement during the event. 

In 2019, most tech suppliers have adopted a need of offering integration services. Presently 87% of event apps come with in-built integrations and registration systems.To save time and make things easier, consider creating an event app that integrates with your event website in real-time, so you don’t need to worry about duplicating efforts, paying for custom integrations, and having conflicting data.

For example, using the Attendease dashboard is extremely easy to publish and update content on both the event website and event app simultaneously. Imagine a last minute change on schedule, a speaker that canceled, or a new session that is going to be promoted. All this can be easily managed from one unique platform, reducing duplicated efforts while also avoiding conflicting information on different platforms. Having such system can also eliminate the need for print material and avoid outdated information to go around. Through the mobile app you can have everything guests need to know at their fingertips.

Events also serve as the perfect time to focus on sponsorship opportunities. With your mobile app, you can provide an additional space to promote your sponsors and give them more visibility.

In order to provide a fully branded experience to your attendees, consider building a standalone app. That means you will have your own white-labeled app available at the Google Play or Apple Store. Many event tech providers who offer event app services offer “container apps” which means attendees need to download the third-party provider’s app and enter a code in order to access your event app. This method is widely used by tech providers as it offers a quick solution for event managers, however, that is on the expense of building a fully-branded application. When seeking an event app developer or an event technology provider, make sure to ask if the apps they build are using standalone or container systems and what that means to you.

Modern event and conference apps carefully blend the live experience with the digital experience. In order to create an event app, consider using an event management platform that provides an event app feature.

Attendease is one of the leading names in the field of creating branded and full-featured mobile event apps. Offering all the key features needed in an event app, Attendease powers the app algorithms to provide attendees with an intuitive, seamlessly branded and convenient digital experience to go hand-in-hand with a live experience.

Request a demo today to see how Attendease makes event management easier than ever before.

It doesn’t seem long ago when marketers were scrambling all over the place trying to learn how to be compliant to one of the most significant privacy and compliance changes in the past twenty years. If you are thinking GDPR, you are right. We all made it , after a lot of studying, consulting with lawyers, updating our websites, and changing how we collect data and how we communicate with our contacts. And just when we got comfortable again, CCPA comes in. Let the games begin once again! 

In today’s article, I will cover the main differences between GDPR and CCPA, and what you need to know to be compliant by the deadline of January 1st 2020. More importantly, we will discuss specifics of GDPR and CCPA for the events industry.

The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ushers in stricter data privacy protections for California residents. That means consumers will have the right to see all the information a company has saved on them, as well as a list of the third-party tools that gained access to that information. In addition, they can request to have their data deleted at any time.

In order to be affected by the CCPA you must meet at least one of the following criteria:

Any California resident within the government’s jurisdiction is protected by CCPA’s regulations. That means anytime a business interacts with a resident of California, regardless of where the business is located, they must comply with the CCPA regulations. Here are some of the rights consumers will have under the CCPA:

While GDPR had a more intense approach by requiring consumers to opt-in before collecting data, CCPA has a less strict approach, in which businesses may collect data, but offering the option to unsubscribe at any time.

If you will sell or transfer consumer data, you must give consumers a notice before doing so under the CCPA. Under GDPR, you also need explicit consent before the data transfer occurs. 

While all industries doing business in California will be impacted by the CCPA, here are some things to consider when collecting data from events:

If third-party software is being used to collect data, such as a registration platform or a check-in tool, you should take some additional measures. It’s a good idea to keep your data organized so that if you are asked to produce information, you can do so readily, and to make sure any vendor you are working with is capable of doing the same. 

Working with tech providers who have a solid data protection policy in place, like Attendease, can alleviate some of the steps to keep you compliant. Once your event is over, if you wish to use the data collected for a purpose different from what was stated to the consumer, make sure to send a clear notification to communicate how the data will be used and how they are able to opt-out from it.

As consumers have a stronger than ever digital footprint, there is a growing concern on how to keep personal information safe and to give more power to consumers on how and when they would like to be contacted by organizations. GDPR was the first big step in this direction, but there are other regulations in different geo-locations, such as the CASL in Canada and now the CCPA in California.

What this teaches us is that organizations have a big responsibility on how they use and manage personal information, and that should be handled with transparency and care.  Once we accept this new reality and start to change our processes and guidelines, it becomes increasingly easier to adapt to new policies that will continue to come up. 

CCPA is the first large policy change in the United States, but other states may come up right after with their own policies. The best way to handle it without going crazy? Have a solid process and strategy that is inclusive of all locations, and not only for the areas being affected. Instead of “not worrying” about GDPR because you don’t do business in the EU, start thinking about implementing change across the board in order to provide a transparent guideline to your contacts. If you can comply to GDPR and CCPA, chances are you will be compliant to most other regulations current in place or new regulations that we may se come up in the near future. The consequences of not following the data privacy regulations are costly, so keep your eyes open to new policies that may appear and make sure to always consult with a lawyer for legal advice. 

Want an easy way to compare the differences between GDPR and CCPA? Loginradius put on a visual infographic showing the main differences. LoginRadius is a leading cloud-based customer identity and access management (CIAM) solution securing more than one billion user identities worldwide. The LoginRadius Identity Platform empowers business and government organizations to securely manage customer identities, deliver a unified digital experience, and comply with all major privacy regulations such as the GDPR. 

For more information and updates on CCPA, check the California Consumer Privacy Act website.

Pop-up retail events – commonly known as flash retailing – are an emerging marketing tool used by brands to boost their sales. At these pop-up events, a brand will set up their products and services at a temporary location, and through event marketing, will hype these events as the ultimate place to be at. These temporary spaces have the potential to become a major brand-boosting tool for weeks when planned and executed properly. 

In 2019, the pop-up event market is exceeding expectations for growth and projected to bring in $10 billion. Why are pop-up shops so successful? With more customers looking for experiences (especially millennials and Gen Z), pop-up events offer the opportunity to access exclusive events and products because of the fear of missing out (aka FOMO). For brands, the low overhead allows for greater profits.

Consumers love pop-up shops. Specialization, exclusivity, and the opportunity to try products usually only available online contribute to their appeal. In one survey, 61% of consumers stated that seasonal shopping was their primary reason for going to pop-up shops. From farmers’ markets to Christmas markets, pop-up shopping is the best way to get in-season products otherwise unavailable for the rest of the year.  

30% of shoppers attributed their shopping at pop-ups to the fun of the experience. The appeal of flash retail grants a sense of adventure to your shopping trip, aligning with changing trends in how consumers spend their money – looking more for experiences than products.

With a well-planned pop-up event, your brand can benefit greatly. If you haven’t planned a pop-up event before, here are 7 tips for planning a successful event. 

Although just about any public place can be converted into a venue, when planning the location having an element of surprise is important. Select locations that distinguish your brand from other pop-up events. Since pop-up events can be face to face with target audiences directly engaging or virtual with video calling, or even a hybrid of them both, it’s important to hold these events at locations that have basic amenities. They can be held in hotels, resorts, parking lots, unused retail offices, shopping malls or even in empty buildings. 

Set a fixed budget at the start of the project. Make sure you address these issues before setting a budget:

If you have a steady theme and concept in mind, even a small budget targeting topics and themes that the crowd may love is possible with smart planning.

Technology like digital kiosks, VR Stations, giant touch screens, and event planning software can have a massive impact at pop-up events. Investing in event management technology when planning one of these events is a must. You must invest in:

The best way to simplify your event management process is to invest in technology that helps with event management and automation. Attendease, for example, is the leading provider of event management technology for pop-up events, helping to plan events of all sizes. Attendease’s modern approach to efficiently manage these events has raised the bar for pop-up event planning. We help in consolidating all your efforts on one platform, managing the overall event portfolios of major brands. They provide –

The key to getting success at a pop-up event is to garner enough excitement in the masses so that a certain number of fixed participants are guaranteed to visit, irrespective of the time frame. Social media is the best tool for driving curiosity and excitement in the public. Creating an event on Facebook, hosting an Instagram Live and working with influencers during these events are the best ways to attract the masses. 

Make sure to use a hashtag for these events to further brand the event. 

For successful pop-up events, providing a clean and hygienic food and beverage experience is a must. Only serve fresh food and drinks at optimal temperatures. No one likes warm soda and overly hot sandwiches. A lot of companies have developed new, low-maintenance technology to keep food and drinks fresh at remote locations. Strike a partnership with some of these companies before launching an event.

Cashless payment technology supervises payments rapidly and guarantees accuracy. With mobile payment options, customers can pay directly instead of having to wait in long lines to make their purchase. There is an extensive range of mobile payment options including PayPal, Square Cash and more who can help provide the technology needed for these events.

Because of the social aspect and large crowds at these events, make sure to have a professional team of photographers and videographers available. They can capture the key moments of the event and help you prepare content to share it online. Whether it’s images for Instagram, videos for YouTube 

Since there’s so much room for improvisation when designing a pop-up event, there are countless ways of making the crowd interested and excited about the event. These seven factors are absolute musts when planning for a pop-up event. 

When managing pop-up events, a powerful and easy to use event management and automation platform will help to make planning, marketing and reporting even easier. 

Attendease is a powerful event management software and automation platform designed specifically for corporate event teams. By helping you address the entire event lifecycle, using Attendease can reduce event costs and make events easier to run. Find out how Attendease can help by requesting a demo.