As current trends in meetings technology gain more traction across the industry, what changes will they likely bring? M&C asked several forward-thinking tech experts to share their projections.
1. Mobile apps for events will become true revenue generators. You may have heard the buzz about mobile apps' potential to bring in revenue, but up to this point a lot of app use has been in the experimental phase. "To be honest, enhanced listings haven't been picked up very aggressively by exhibitors," admits Bob Vaez, president and founder of Toronto-based 5Touch Solutions, which makes the EventMobi app. Sponsorship deals have been more successful, he notes, but because app use is still relatively new, those agreements haven't yet generated much revenue.
"I think that within the next one to two years, there will be a huge shift in thinking," adds Vaez. "Thus far, exhibitors are seeing a lot of value when enhanced app listings are offered to them for free." And that value, he says, is easily measured in the form of requested information, downloaded documents, click-throughs and the like. "We've been advising clients not to charge them up front," says Vaez. For the initial use, clients should collect analytics about how many attendees are using the app. "When you show them the numbers next year, that makes the sale a whole lot easier," he suggests.
2. Events will be one piece of a larger communications strategy. Social media strategists concur that an event is but one touchpoint of a year-round social media plan. "Most events are an explosion of content and ideas over one or two days," says Minneapolis-based event technology consultant Samuel J. Smith, "and it's hard for people to absorb all of that information. Social media and digital technology give us the tools to extend our events over weeks and months. So, content and ideas can be spread out further and more easily absorbed. We didn't do that for an event I did last year, but this year we are going to add a before and after strategy, so that we have that engagement throughout that entire experience."
3. Contact information exchange will become more streamlined.
Bellingham, Wash.-based consultant Corbin Ball is optimistic about the
current development boom in contact exchange and lead retrieval
technology -- but it hasn't quite gotten to where he'd like to see it.
Primarily, he believes that an automated exchange of contact information
and professional interests needn't be limited to the badge-scanning
devices exhibitors use at their booths. "The thing I find frustrating
about current lead retrieval," says Ball, "is that it's one-way and
location-based. I think everyone should have the ability to use lead
retrieval and exchange contact information." Indeed, with the upsurge in
mobile technology development, why shouldn't all trade show
participants be able to automate this exchange, anywhere at the event?
New
USB-key gadgets do make the exchange more two-way, and more mobile.
With products like the Getyoo Clickey, Mingle360's MingleStick and
Poken, to name some examples, show attendees can simply tap USB gadgets
together, then upload the data to a hosted site via a laptop or desktop
computer's USB interface. However, not every such device is designed
with trade shows -- or exhibitors -- in mind. That means they may not
suffice for lead-retrieval purposes. Then there's the fact that their
successful use at a show means every attendee and exhibitor needs to
carry around the gadget. No matter how small and unintrusive they might
be, wouldn't it be great if the same thing could be accomplished using
the phones we already carry? These gadgets may represent an "interim
technology," Ball acknowledges, until a cross-platform smartphone
solution arrives.
That's why, notes Ball, "NFC could be a real
game changer." Near Field Communication already is a commonly used
standard outside of the United States, often used to process
micropayments for public transit. Passengers can tap their NFC-enabled
mobile phones to a ticket kiosk, for example, to deduct the price of a
transit pass from their accounts. The protocol is similar to Bluetooth
in that it allows two devices to communicate, but the technology driving
it differs, and the effective range is much smaller -- generally only
one to four inches. Those kinds of specs would be ideal for the purposes
of exchanging contacts and leads. We're beginning to see NFC built in
on Android phones in the U.S., and rumors persist about the next
generation of the iPhone including the technology as well. "With that
technology built directly into the operating systems, compatibility
concerns lessen," Ball explains. Theoretically, two smartphones that
have NFC, regardless of brand, could exchange data, which can then be
processed by other applications running on each phone.
4. Virtual components will become more engaging.
"In the same way planners put themselves in their attendees' shoes
on-site," says Samuel Smith, "they're going to need to put themselves in
their attendees' shoes at their desks. At a physical event, planners
control the whole environment; for a virtual event, they only control a
small window on their computers. Because of that, the program for
virtual attendees can't be the same as the physical event.
"I
believe a person participating in a hybrid event is similar to someone
watching a live TV event," adds Smith. For a live football game, for
instance, announcers discuss the actual event before and during the
game. They provide analysis and back stories that help keep the viewers
engaged. "I think you need to do the same kind of stuff in your virtual
and hybrid events," Smith says.
Smith foresees a lot more
professional video production in the virtual components of hybrid
events, along with multiple cameras and angles. To really engage the
attendees, he says, the experience will become more like watching TV.