Event Management Technology on Display at Conference

Posted on May 9, 2012 by Kenneth Bob

By Mary O’Neill, Vice President, Industry Relations

After three days of immersion in the Event Marketing Summit I have to say, this is one of the most dynamic, exciting and challenging industries to have the gratification of being a part of.

I was inundated with new event management technology, lead capture systems, social media trends,  mobile applications, and more.   I found there were a few words which were being repeated in every session and every piece of marketing collateral:

Authentic

Relevant

Integrated

Engagement

These are the buzz words and it shows the paradigm shift to a complete focus on the attendee.

All About Relationship Marketing

GM, Walmart, SAP, TED, SXSW and more all discussed their changing strategy to user/consumer based marketing due to the rise of social media.  It is now all about relationship marketing.

With the overwhelming deluge of social media touching every aspect of event marketing the effect is not evolutionary it is revolutionary for the industry.  It changes everything.

The last three years alone have seen an explosion in the use of social media by corporations but also by the event industry to communicate event information, drive participation, and build year-round online communities. Events and technology are part of a critical and evolving relationship.

Engaging in Social Listening

What I think is really important is the need to engage in social listening.

Every attendee is a member of the press,  everything will be amplified, good or bad.  The ability of the event organizer to listen actively to these conversations is critical.  We now have a real-time feedback loop that allows organizers to respond to attendees and optimize their experience.

So, for me, I think the conference was quite successful.  It was relevant and engaging with well integrated technology and social media applications with a very authentic feel.

I look forward to seeing the future of social media integration in event marketing!

 

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Changing Event Management Technology; My Personal Change Too

Posted on April 17, 2012 by Kenneth Bob

By Mary O’Neill, Vice President, Industry Relations

It has been a little over a month since I joined G2Planet and what a great experience it has been.   I have been in Event Marketing forever and having the opportunity to join such a talented and diverse team has created a whole new passion for me.  The prospect of truly changing the use of event management technology with smart applications from incorporating Social Media from the instant you register to attend an event, through amazing real time reporting on lead capture and session attendance.

But I digress; moving from 15 years at Silicon Valley high tech giants to a small agile company has been such an interesting change.  Certainly there are pros and cons to each!  The dedication of the amazing team and the can do spirit are so refreshing, while I do miss the resources and process in place at a Fortune 100 company!   I had the opportunity to visit the team of engineers in Minneapolis that are responsible for the amazing products and services that G2Planet delivers.  It was overwhelming the amount of detail these guys ( and, yes, they are all guys) live for.  I have never seen anyone so passionate about lead capture.

Bringing the Customer’s Perspective

My goal is to bring the perspective of the customer to the team at G2Planet to create the optimal solution for enterprise software for the event professional.

Whichever of the 20+ modules we offer: event strategy, portfolio planning, budgeting, registration, speaker management, lead capture, attendee agenda builder, attendee networking, etc. I think there is the ability for us to create a new standard for resource optimization in the industry.

Cool Event Technology

Stay tuned, I think there are some really cool things coming that will reshape how we view event technology and reduce the enormous resource needed to really show the value of live events.

Posted in All, Event Lead Capture, Event Management System, Events, Networking, Solutions | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Hot Event Technologies; Mobile, RFID and Displays

Posted on February 2, 2012 by Kenneth Bob

What are the hottest event technologies to look for in 2012? They include RFID badging and tracking, mobile lead capture, and a host of visual display and interactive applications, at least according to presenters at the recent “Event Tech” conference, held in New York and sponsored by Event Marketer Magazine.

The audience heard a wide variety of speakers discuss both strategy and tactical ideas on, according to the organizers, “leveraging social media and technology to optimize live events.” Presenters shared both case studies that featured actual use cases and more general thoughts on better utilizing technology.

From the Presentations

For example, a mantra that was repeated in different sessions was that you have to “know your audience” and integrate technology with the audience’s everyday habits.  Good marketers will find ways to integrate the physical event with virtual experiences. In other words – don’t force it.

One highly anticipated session was “10 Technologies to Bet On,” offered by Penn Arthur of Inhance Digital. Several of the examples related in some way to the visual display world – wall-size touch screens, stereoscopic 3D, tele-presence, immersive environments, augmented reality, motion and voice control over screens….you get the idea. There was also an emphasis on better engaging with the individual attendee with mobile devices and RFID. In the mobile device section the speaker spoke about lead tracking, digital collateral and event related games. A good of time was also spent on RFID, discussing the benefit to tracking movement and behavior, granting access and in general the gain in measuring metrics through RFID.

Other Tidbits and Themes

One speaker claimed that “87% of our audiences has smart phones,” suggesting that applications can be distributed to be used on attendee handhelds at conferences. Other presenters also discussed distributing apps on iPod Touches and iPads to staff at events for lead capture, mobile registration, management of the event and other uses.

Tesco, a leading UK supermarket chain, recently entered the South Korean market and used QR codes in a creative manner. To get exposure, they put wall size ads that displayed store shelves in subway stations. People could literally shop online on their smart phones using QR codes while waiting for a train. Online shopping went up 30% during the campaign, demonstrating that the key is making QR codes useful.

My Favorite Sound Byte

Phil Simon, an author, share a thought in his keynote address that applies to us all:

“The Innovators Dilemma: Your business will be cannibalized and the only question is whether you will do it or someone else will.”

 

Posted in All, Attendance Tracking, CE Credits, Event Lead Capture, Event Management System, Event Session Tracking, iPad, Mobile, RFID, RFID Session Tracking | Tagged , , | Leave a comment