Event Marketing Trends for 2018

Event Management News

December 27, 2017

We’re taking a look at three event marketing trends marketers are going to be embracing even more in 2018. Wondering how event audiences are being affected in an increasingly technological age? There’s always lots of news about tech innovations, but the tie that binds these three event marketing trends is the continuing focus on creating amazing human-centric experiences.

Technology provides important opportunities for people to make a connection, and these 2018 trends for the event industry are focussed on fostering that connection even more.

Trend #1 – Focus on event experiences, instead of things

Experiential marketing is tailor-made for the digital age. Eye catching and exciting – these innovative experiences are perfect for social sharing. Swag bags and great meals are nice, but pull off an engaging experience and you’ve really made an impact on your audience who then go on to share it with their networks. Experiences are now the focus for innovative events, and are perfect for catching attention for your marketing efforts during and after the event too. Here are some more great ways to ensure you make the most of these exciting opportunities.

We love this example: Unbounce’s Call to Action Conference did a great job at this. Instead of handing attendees a swag bag with a t-shirt in it, they made people work for it. Attendees had to get inside a booth blowing air, and try to pick as many “unbucks” (Unbounce cash) as possible. They could later trade the amount gathered by a selection of t-shirts, socks, water bottles, and other options available.

Another innovative alternative to swag bags is to hand out digital swag bags, like those offered by Eventbaxx. Not only this is a huge time saver, but it’s also a green option that is highly measurable. With digital swag you can gain data that wouldn’t be available otherwise, and you can see how each promotion is performing. This can be impactful for sponsors and exhibitors, as they gain more insights about their event ROI. And it’s also more fun for attendees, as they get to interact more with exhibitors and sponsors in order to claim their swags.

Trend #2 – Use innovative technology to increase event engagement

A recent survey from Event Tech Lab showed that 67% of event professionals plan to increase their investment in event technology next year. What type of technology is capturing their attention? Here’s what Event Industry News found:

“Artificial intelligence, crowdsourcing, and facial recognition technology all featured in the question on technology types but the most popular choice for engagement technology was interactive screens. It was evident that planners are looking for easy to implement solutions that are familiar to attendees to engage with”.

An option to use technology to increase event engagement is gamification platforms, like Poken. Poken is a cloud-based platform that enables event organizers and exhibitors to create interactive events. The tool brings together digital and physical spaces to drive engagement and gain better insight through real data. There are many creative ways Poken can be integrated to an event, and by the end of it, you can see all the interactions and touchpoints recorded in a chronological format. The data can be used to gain insights on attendees, generate leads, and engagement tracking.

Thinking about Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality? VR and AR are a hot topic right now. But how are event professionals leveraging this up and coming technology? Jeff Heilman, from BizBash, wrote a great article on how companies using technology with events in mind. Kalahari Resorts & Conventions, for example, created a VR arena, where attendees can play three different games, in groups up to eight people.

Trend #3 – Connect even more with Instagram Stories and Facebook Live

Meeting planners are embracing video in all aspects of their marketing efforts, but one area that has developed greatly this past year is Facebook Live, a really easy and inexpensive way to communicate brand stories and perfect for events. Instagram Stories provide the opportunity to connect with those who are there at your conference for example, and your virtual audience. They both make strategic marketing sense and are a great way to connect your attendees with your speakers, influencers and your team.

Here’s a tip: Instead of being concerned that sharing video content from your conference is going to prevent prospective attendees from making the effort to be there, the opposite has been proven to be true. Live streaming reaches audiences you haven’t reached before, and makes them want to sign up to attend in person next year. According to Digitell, 15% – 30% of virtual attendees will come to your physical event in the following year.

Technology is a collection of tools to be used, but event marketing is all about connecting people and providing them with special opportunities they can’t find anywhere else. As these trends demonstrate, in the coming year, event marketers will have access to more and more innovative event tech and be using it to make the attendee experience better.

[INFOGRAPHIC] The Real Value of An Integrated Event Management Platform

Event Management News

February 6, 2017

Today, event professionals are producing the most complex and engaging events at a faster pace than ever before. Planners are tasked to ensure all stakeholder objectives are met, productivity is increased and event return on investment is achieved in a timely manner.

However, working with a segmented toolkit can be damaging to the efficiency of the planning process and a clear view of future actionable event insights. In this infographic we’ve collected some amazing data to show you the real value of an integrated event management platform. Enjoy!

For more information on how Attendease can simplify and organize your event management process and help you grow your events, get in touch with us here.

How the Net Promoter Score (NPS) Can Revolutionize Your Event

Event Management News

September 29, 2016

Are you in the loop with NPS?

The Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a score that measures your customer’s loyalty. NPS was invented by business strategist, author and speaker, Fred Reichheld with research provided by Satmetrix in 2007, and has been developed into a renowned, cross-industry customer satisfaction evaluation tool. The NPS is utilized by hundreds of top companies in the healthcare, technology, telecom, financial, retail, manufacturing and travel industries, to name a few, including top brands such as Delta Airlines, General Motors, Citigroup, Lego and Paypal. But don’t be fooled because we’ve only provided large conglomerates as examples – the NPS is an ideal event management tool for helping corporate event planners and marketing managers to gauge their attendees’ feedback to their events.

Your NPS Score comes down to your customer answering one question – just one, that’s it! “How likely is it you would recommend us [product, service, event] to a friend?” Respondees are asked to rank their response on a scale from 0-10, with 10 indicating extremely likely, and 0 indicating not likely at all. The responses are then grouped into three categories:

(image courtesy of checkmarket.com)

Promoters (score of 9-10) – These are your loyal fans, who will sing your event’s praises to their friends and colleagues. They generally account for about 80% of your referrals.

Passives (score of 7-8) – While these folks are still considered to be satisfied, they might have qualified or not-quite-enthusiastic responses to your event and could easily be lured by a competing brand.

Detractors (score of 0-6) – These people are unhappy customers/attendees who account for more than 80% of your negative word-of-mouth. They have the power to discourage new customers and create low morale among your event team.

The NPS is then calculated by subtracting the percentage of detractors from the percentage of promoters. Industry benchmarks are typically available for a fee via different research companies, but you may want to start simply by collecting your own data to establish an internal benchmark.

Before your event is over, you can share this question with your attendees via email or event app push notification, to gather their responses while the experience is fresh in their minds.

So What Does This Mean For Event Marketing?

Once you have your data in hand to help you track your customer journey, you can then learn who specifically among your event attendees are your Promoters, Passives and Detractors. This, coupled with dynamic event surveys, can lead to detailed engagement with those targeted audiences.

Promoters – Ask your promoters about their favorite aspects of your event. Once you understand what is really working, you can preserve and even refine those elements of your event to make it even better in the future. These influencers are perfect to include in your post event wrap-up videos and next year’s event collateral – they can even help close new sponsors or exhibitors with their passion.

Passives – Ask your passives what would make them more excited about your event – what would tip them over the edge to turn them into promoters. Ask them about the things they hated that might preclude future support. Although some of these things may seem like small details, they can make all the difference to your attendees, and you should pay careful attention to them.

Detractors – Give your detractors an opportunity to provide detailed information about the reason for their dissatisfaction, or to suggest ways they would like to see your event improved. You may even want to consider personal correspondence to soothe any particularly ruffled feathers.

With these kinds of actionable insights at your disposal, you are now in a position to execute a plan to create your best event yet! The NPS results can be used by all levels of your team, including front-line staff, management and executives, to refine your practices and objectives going forward. Many event planners also poll their staff for feedback on ways to make improvements as part of their post-event debrief. By sharing these insights with all of your team members, you can work together to constantly iterate your process and maintain a high standard of event excellence both with your attendees as well as within your industry.

To learn more about how Attendease can help you elevate your event management practice, click here.

Your Repeatable Event Portfolio Process

Event Management News

September 27, 2016

Running a successful event isn’t just about impressing your client or boss, it’s about adding to your event management portfolio so you can drive more business and boost your bottom line. Not only do you want your event to look good, you want to be seen as a leader in your industry. By using an effective process that can be duplicated, you can boost your event portfolio with fewer errors, increase your brand consistency, and avoid burning out. Here’s how:

Increase your event roster. Duplicating your processes could enable more events, allowing you to double your event roster. Using an efficient cross-platform event management solution will save you time, freeing up additional time and resources to take on multiple events. Taking on more events will show that you are capable of not only running quality events, but managing a higher quantity of events too.

Create a more diverse event portfolio. An event that is easier to execute opens up more opportunities to take on a variety of event types. This allows you to show your diversity as an event marketer, proving that you can manage events of different types and sizes, from webinars to product salons, to user conferences. Showing that you can work with a diverse clientele will not only demonstrate your ability to meet the needs of a range of clients, but it will increase profits for your business by tapping into new channels.

Customize events. Creating event-type templates allows for more customizable events, enabling you to create portfolios to match each unique event size and segment. Showing that you can customize elements of an event will not only impress your boss, it will impress your clients as well.

Generate new leads. When processes can be repeated and executed seamlessly, you will see more effective lead generation opportunities as a result. Event attendees will see that you’ve successfully managed your event without a hitch, and will want you to harness a successfully-run event for them as well.

Please the customer. Through creating repeatable processes, you can cater to various customer segments. This will allow you to grow and expand your reach, while ensuring a solid customer experience.

Show results. Aggregate event metrics for a portfolio view of your events. As part of your stream of repeatable processes, it is important to include a thorough, descriptive event report that summarizes all of the necessary metrics to make your event shine as a component of your overall portfolio. Strong metrics to back up the success of your event will draw in more business opportunities and prove your place as an event leader, while improving your overall event portfolio management process.

Using a repeatable process will not only cut down on your work time, but it will positively impact the event’s outcome. Your event team will be able to drive significantly better results through doing more events, generate more leads, and ultimately see a better ROI as a result.

About Attendease

Attendease is the event management platform trusted by teams running some of the world’s biggest, most exciting, design-forward and tech-advanced events. At Attendease, we believe that having the most effective events as part of an overall digital marketing strategy is all about giving organizations the right code, design and access to innovations. With ultimate flexibility in design and integrations, the Attendease powerful platform helps teams focus on developing amazing events that grow great companies. For more information, visit www.eventupplanner.com.

How To Take The Upper Hand On Event Technology

Event Management News

September 8, 2016

As an event planner, you are so busy!. Juggling strategy with execution is a game of timing that requires focus and organization. Between defining a theme and keynote speakers, managing your budget, booking hotels, creating registration forms, crafting a schedule, and finalizing the mobile event app, you may be looking at a best case scenario of organized chaos. The reality is, you need help to stay organized and effectively execute all those assignments that have landed in your lap. You need an event management platform that is powerful yet easy to use, allowing you to build out and manage content and information as you bash through all the tasks on your plate.

First Things First

The first thing you need is an event management tool that will allow you to quickly publish your event landing page and initial registration information, beautifully designed, while you are nailing down all your sessions and confirming all your speakers. You should be able to add this information in bits and pieces as the details are solidified. As a bonus, every time you make an important addition to your schedule, it’s a great excuse for an email blast!

Sharing Information With Your Team in Real Time

These days, event marketing teams are spread far and wide, sometimes working from different parts of the world, let alone in the same office. You need an integrated event management platform that allows you to communicate and collaborate with chosen members of your team in real time, so you can finalize copy, confirm speaker lineup, make decisions on vendors, and update your ongoing marketing plans as you get closer to your event date. You’ll also want to be able to plan and coordinate all your pre-production and load-in plans.

Easy Check-In

Your online registration software should translate seamlessly into easy check-in on the day of your event. No more clumsy, hand-written lists or endless excel spreadsheets. No more attendees fumbling for print-outs of their ticket confirmation. Integration of ticket sales and check-in is the new gold standard in event registration. Most people know now to merely bring their smart phones and flash their confirmation email for quick entry at the door. This saves time for everyone, and prevents annoying delays for attendees.

Event Communications Insights

It’s important to understand the flow of your marketing outreach – how people respond to your mailings, your press releases and your social media postings. Your event marketing and communications can tell a powerful story and provide the secret sauce for your best attended event yet. Your event marketing plan should be fluid and responsive, allowing you the opportunity to pivot and iterate your process at any time prior to your event.

Pulling it All Together

At any point leading up to the final execution of your event, you need to be able to make last minute changes and communicate the necessary information to all team members and attendees. With the right event technology, your entire production operation should be well integrated into a mobile first, fluid, technology ecosystem.

And this type of system even integrates into the future… When you’re ready to start planning your next event, you can utilize an event tech platform to easily launch your new event website and registration page by cloning a previous one or firing up a new template. You’ll be able to customize as you go, maintaining brand continuity while saving time and money across a series of events.

If you’d like more information on how Attendease might be able to help you with your next event, get in touch with us here.

How To Create a Unique Event By Utilizing Innovative Technology

Event Management News

August 30, 2016

In the competitive arena of event management, you want to stand out. By utilizing cutting edge technology in your event planning, you’ll create a memorable experience for both attendees and presenters and ensure that colleagues will eagerly await the announcement of your next conference. Here are just a few innovative event technology ideas to help you create a distinctive and cutting edge event experience.

Interactive digital graffiti wall. Use an interactive digital graffiti wall at your next conference and instantly elevate your event to the status of companies like The Today Show, Heineken, and MTV. From one giant multi-touch screen to touch table tops and everything in between, this innovative technology creates a strongly branded interactive experience. From initial registration through wrap-up sessions, the graffiti wall positively screams ‘cutting edge’ interaction and can even be tied in with attendees’ social media to create an immediate social buzz.

Wearable technology. From smart wristbands to high-tech t-shirts, wearable technology not only enhances your attendees’ experience, but also provides enormous data points to help you pinpoint ROI. From tracking how many registrants attend a particular session, to activity and even gesture sensing and social media integration, wearable tech will elevate your event platform to the level of the big boys. You can also use wearable technology to create interactive displays and branded games to enhance the event experience.

Event robots. Strategic use of robots can dramatically increase your event experience. For instance, technology is available for remote event attendees to “be present” via Skype and an on-site robot through companies such as Mantara. Robots can also be used as bartenders, booth attendants, and messengers, with data collection capabilities to better target your conference follow-up campaigns.

Create a brand-immersion experience. For truly innovative, cutting-edge event planning, use technology to create a complete brand-immersion experience that transforms the physical venue. Video walls, strategic lighting, virtual reality, and sensory sessions will captivate your audience so completely they will leave hungry for more with brand loyalty firmly in place. A custom event theme strategy that utilizes innovative technology can be a ginormous undertaking such as that of the 2015 Immersive Event Technology Gold Winner, or can be as simple as the ideal integration of simpler tech throughout your event venue.

Putting together a complete brand-immersion venue for your next event integrates brilliantly with wearable tech, robots, and digital graffiti, and provides you with nearly endless data to help you target CRM strategy. Whether you’re ready to pull out all the stops or choose to integrate just one cutting-edge innovation into your event platform, you’ll be miles ahead of the competition not only in usable data for analysis and future event planning, but also in experiential innovation that will ultimately increase measurable ROI. Contact us today to brainstorm ways we can help you integrate innovative technology for your next event.

5 Best Life Hacks that Change Your Event Tech – Part 2

Event Management News

August 8, 2016

While you may have read Part 1 of this series, we are determined to find ways to help event planners find a way to focus on what they do best while getting all the benefits of event tech. In this series learn more about the next 5 life hacks to help you fall in love with event tech!

Explore the world of what’s possible. When your time is freed up from the endless paper shuffle, you’ll be able to explore so many more possibilities once you fall in love with event tech. Have you wondered if you could simply track how many attendees participate at each individual session? Now you can! Wondered if you could create an informal networking small group but not sure how to efficiently get the right people together? Now its easy! Explore the nearly endless possibilities, then let tech make it simple.
No more paper reports allowed. Recently a company spent six figures to painstakingly evaluate their previous year’s ROI from events, generating an extensive printed report that just about no one ever read. Data collection and reporting is infinitely easier (and far more cost-effective) when utilizing technology. Bottom line, you’ll be able to simply provide the information your boss needs in order to measure success, keep paying your salary, and even increase your event budget, all without juggling multiple spreadsheets or printing one single report!
Connect everything. Seriously, this is easy when you’re using tech. From integrating social media chatter to engaging event attendees to targeting particular groups for follow-up, technology takes all the hassle out of connection. But there’s no reason for you to give up what works! Technology can simply help you integrate your current tools into a reduced-stress workflow system that will leave you more time and energy to let your creative juices flow. Whether you’re looking for a stand-alone app to help you manage one aspect of connection, or a fully integrated management tool that connects everything such as the Attendease event portfolio management system, you’ll discover just how much simpler connection is when you utilize the power of technology.
Stepping up means the latest event trends are now accessible. Once you’ve incorporated event management software, you’ll be able to take advantage of some of the latest trends in the industry such as wearable tech that not only enhances attendees’ experience but provides endless data to more specifically track what’s working and what’s not.
At the end of the day, it’s all about revenue. Your boss is focused on the company’s bottom line. Ultimately,event technology should be able to accomplish both the operational side of event management as well as the sales side of events and seamlessly make your job easier while increasing the business ROI. You can come off like a rock star by falling in love with event tech!

While it can feel a bit daunting to step away from that tried-and-true binder stuffed with coffee-stained notes and endless lists, it might be time to fall in love with event tech so you can focus on what you do best – create a unique event experience that lets your company stand out from the competition. Contact us today and let’s explore how you can get started!

5 Best Life Hacks that Change Your Event Tech – Part 1

Event Management News

August 4, 2016

Whether you’re tasked with planning the next annual meeting for your non-profit, or pulling together vendors and speakers for a major corporate event, if you’re not using event management software you’re likely leaving money on the table. Although the world is moving to embrace technology in every sector, you may still feel attached to your spreadsheets, overflowing three-ring binders, and endless sticky notes. A recent survey showed that 20% of event planners don’t have any idea what the direct ROI is from their events as a direct result of not incorporating technology; the ability to explicitly track return on investment is absolutely essential if you want to remain competitive.

Your creativity, innovation, and long-range thinking is priceless; now let’s take a look at ways to make your event planning tasks infinitely easier. We’ve put together 10 life hacks to help you fall in love with event tech and we’re confident that soon you’ll dump the dog-eared binders and step boldly into the tech age (even if you’re absolutely not a geek).

Your time is valuable. How much time are you currently spending trying to integrate information from hundreds of spreadsheets and torn tabs in those heavy three-ring binders? Define where you’re spending the most time, then get ready for an almost magical way you can free up your time to do what you do best simply by embracing event planning technology.
There’s an app for that! If you’re tired of endless emails and phone messages, juggling a day planner, wall calendar, and sticky notes strategically stuck to the sides of your computer monitor so you ‘don’t forget’, and fighting an anxiety attack trying to keep track of last-minute schedule changes, then repeat after me: There’s an app for that! Today’s mobile event apps are designed to take care of things like scheduling, communication, multiple vendors and even integrating with your CRM campaigns. Check out Evernote to help you organize vender research and keep everyone on the same page. Doodle is a simple scheduling app that’s easier to use than sticky notes. And the brand new Eventbrite Sync app seamlessly integrates your event planning with your automated followup campaigns.
Let go of your apprehension about technology. There’s no clearer way to address this one. Whether you’re still using paper planning because its what’s familiar, or you’re just plain overwhelmed at the prospect of learning a new digital ‘language’, it’s time to step up if you want to remain competitive. We’re betting that even your great-Aunt Alice learned how to post pictures on Facebook, so we’re confident you can learn how to go digital with event management software.
No geeks needed. Embracing event management software is not the same thing as learning computer programming, being able to rattle off techy acronyms or never again jotting down a note on paper. The whole idea is to make your job easier, simpler, and more cost-effective. Event tech is designed for event planners with guided feedback by event planners – expect your job to get easier, not harder.
Dump the paper check-in and use an event registration app. If you’re still printing off long lists of names and expecting event check-in to happen efficiently, you seriously need an upgrade. Everyone’s got a smart phone these days and they’ll thank you for making the registration process much more painless. Save a tree (or several) by going paperless, reduce the human resource time-sink of managing all those cumbersome lists of names, increase your attendees’ delight with no more long registration lines.

Fiv Must-Have Productivity Apps For Meeting Planners

Event Management News

March 11, 2016

The last few years have seen big changes in the event management arena, with technology contributing as the catalyst for progress. Meeting planners have put aside bulky binders and notebooks, replacing most paper with electronic gadgets and tools. This breakneck evolution in the world of event management software has not simply been in response to consumers’ quest for the latest techy toys; it also speaks volumes about the push to use technology to make the complex task of event planning more manageable. To help narrow your choices from the vast array of both web and installed apps available, here are our top five productivity apps for meeting planners that will help you do your job more efficiently.

WiFi Calculator. You can go far in creating an atmosphere of professionalism at your event by providing WiFi for your attendees, but it’s a little more complex than flipping a switch. You’ll want to use a WiFi calculator to estimate usage, and to determine the number and locations of hotspots needed. Most of your attendees will activate just one device at a time, but they need reliable service during all aspects of the event and your event planning needs to include this essential service. During peak times like when your conference uses mobile interaction with speakers or in small groups, provides video streaming, or makes file transfers available, will take additional bandwidth and you don’t want to be caught unprepared.
Event budgeting and reconciliation management. Why use spreadsheets to track your conference budget when an app can make your task so much simpler? Expensify is a great way to keep your budget up to date and right at your fingertips. With unlimited line items and big picture functionality, receipt generation and customizable reports, this app will make your planning process infinitely easier.
Travel. Whether you’re coordinating travel plans for a few keynote speakers or tasked with synchronizing flight arrivals for a large group, the TripIt for teams app is essential. You’ll be able to easily manage multiple travelers, including flights and car rentals, confirmations, and team communication, all from one centralized dashboard.
Hospitality. If you’re providing food or beverage service at your next meeting, you don’t want to guess at the impact on your bottom line if you switch drinks or change appetizers. Designed to be the most comprehensive hospitality app available, Hospitality Calculators was created to make it simple to determine the profit margins of foods and beverages. This app is user-friendly and will give you food and beverage gross profits as well as reverse calculations, making it one of the ‘must haves’ in your event apps portfolio.
Translation. Expand your reach around the world with a translation app such as WordLens that translates in real time from a mobile camera image, or Google Translate that provides translation from and to any text as well as real time voice translation. Whether you’re providing a local event with international attendees, or an online event available anywhere, your effectiveness will exponentially increase by removing barriers to communication both during a conference as well as for successful followup.

While event planning is complex, making use of mobile event apps to help will enable you to come off looking like a star, with just a fraction of the stress. Mobile event applications that specifically address some of your challenging and time-consuming tasks are here to stay and only getting better as the industry demands greater efficiency, functionality and ease of use. Have a need for a specific app not mentioned here? Contact us today and we’ll do what we can to help you find the best technology for your next event.

5 Ways IBEACONS Make A Splash in The Event Industry

Event Management News

March 10, 2016

Chances are if you’ve been paying attention you’ve heard the term iBeacon. Some of the world’s largest events have begun using iBeacons to engage their attendees and provide an interactive experience that has the industry buzzing. If you haven’t heard the term it’s time you caught up with this exciting new technology.

iBeacons are low-powered transmitters developed by Apple that can sense the proximity of nearby iOS devices and send and receive notifications using Bluetooth LE (Low Energy). That might not sound like a revolutionary technology but it could have some powerful implications for how we use our mobile devices at events.

iBeacons are currently deployed in a number of applications. They have been used in select retail stores to display customized shopping experiences based on the user’s habits and preferences. In this case, the beacons can offer on-demand product information and allow for mobile transactions at the till. They have also been adopted by MLB who uses the technology to engage with fans at their stadiums across the US.

While this type of technology has shown some promise, it is also at the centre of a heated debate. The potential for misuse in the form of unwanted push-notifications or ads has many people wary. It’s easy to imagine a scenario where consumers are mercilessly targeted by advertisers who simply see iBeacons as a new channel for spam. If the early adopters are conscientious, however, and use the technology to promote relevant content and interaction, it could become an effective way for brands to interact and connect with their customers. While widespread use of iBeacons is far from imminent, they are becoming increasingly popular with the event management industry. iBeacons were used at some of the highest profile events in 2014 where the technology generated a considerable amount of attention.

This year’s SXSW festival in Austin, Texas debuted their mobile event app with iBeacon functionality for select sessions and on-site registration. For instance, an attendee within proximity of the registration area would receive a registration code and a welcome notification. SXSW installed beacons around the Austin Convention Centre and in select venues around the festival. At a Pepsi sponsored music event at SXSW, iBeacons were used to power Lightwave wristbands, a new form of wearable technology. The wristbands provide real-time data on audience movement, temperature, and sound levels. Using an accelerometer embedded in the Lightwave, Pepsi measured audience movement to judge a dance competition and ranked audience members on a leaderboard.

While using beacons and wearable tech to judge a dance competition sounds pretty cool, it may not be the sort of application that will have an impact on the event industry. So let’s take a look at a few ways iBeacons could help us manage events and improve the attendee experience.

Attendee check-in. As people arrive at the conference venue they receive a greeting notification on their device and are prompted to check-in. Using the mobile event app, they can then check themselves in and simplify the event registration process.
Navigation. iBeacons provide devices with extremely accurate location services, even without a wifi-connection. In large conference facilities where GPS is unreliable, iBeacons can be used to power hyper-accurate floor or venue maps, to assist conference attendees in finding their next session.
Networking. Using iBeacons, attendees can network through an opt-in feature in the event’s app, allowing them to discover and message others. With Linkedin integration, conference goers can get a detailed look at who is around them and decide who they would like to connect with.
Promotions and advertisements. Instead of distributing brochures or physical promotional materials, a conference exhibitor can send targeted promotions to attract attendees to their stand.
Gamification. Integrating gamification into events will provide new ways to engage and stimulate attendees. For example, iBeacons could be used for social games to drive networking, venue tours tailored to individual interests, or scavenger hunts for exclusive information and prizes.

It is still too early to know what kind of impact iBeacons will end up having on the event industry, but it’s clear it’s not a fleeting trend. Early adopters have proven that, while still in development, this technology has the potential to drive significant change in the industry. What do you think? Have you had the opportunity to manage or attend an event using iBeacon technology? We would love to hear from you. Post a comment below or tweet us at @Attendease

Troy Kasting

Marketing Coordinator