In the world of meetings today, technol- ogy is ever present and often integral in accomplishing what planners set out to achieve for their audiences. Having knowledge about a variety of technolo- gies is a help, and some meeting and event planners evenmight be quite pro- ficient at using it,but this ever changing, ever evolving and ever developing field constantly presents new opportunities along with newer and better versions of existing systems and platforms.
Taking this into consideration,how can planners be sure that they actually are getting the most out of their meeting technology? Here, a pair of industrial professionals talk about what is new for meetings and events, as well as how planners can maximize their use of existing offerings.
Industry professional Jason Cataldi, CTS, VP of sales and marketing, event staging for IMS Technology Services, says that planners looking to make an impression through meeting technolo- gy should give serious consideration to utilizing Augmented Reality.
“Augmented Reality (AR) has been in the news recently with the frenzy creat- ed by Pokemon Go! AR has been around for a while, but is now really starting to take off for meetings and events,” notes Cataldi. “So what is Augmented Reality? Simply superim- posing a computer generated image into a person’s real world, creating a new composite view. Our clients have used this technology to extend the life of a meeting by augmenting their brochures or company literature.”
“For example,” he continues, “IMS has used AR as a part of our marketing campaign for some time now. Our advertise- ment inMid-AtlanticEvents Magazineis AR Active. By downloading our free applica- tion for IOS or Android devices, you can see for yourself how it works.”
Cataldi notes that IMS recently worked with a client who used AR for a team building
exercise.Triggers or AR activat- ed landmarks were chosen around the city of Philadelphia. Team members from different disciplines within the company were paired up in groups of ten to go out and find each location, and each location’s AR trigger offered them a clue.
“After completing the challenge,”recalls Cataldi, “the teams used their clues to find their way to the venue that was selected for a dinner program. The goal was to open up lines of communication between coworkers in a social setting that required them to work together. Sales working with operations, opera- tions working closely with field engi- neers, administrative staff collaborating with purchasing, and so on. The over- whelming responses received in the post-event feedback survey was impres- sive.”
Jason Showers, technical director for Advanced Staging Productions knows how to get the most out of meeting technology, as well. Showers notes that many planners could be getting a lot more from their meeting – and says there are apps to help them do that.
“One of the most underutilized tech- nologies currently available is the use of a branded meeting app among events that don’t necessarily appear to have this technology within the budg- et,” he says. “With event app providers such as EventMobi, these sort of appli- cations are available and practical for even the smallest meetings. For a few years now,we have certainly seen meet- ing apps in use on larger conventions and sales meetings - most often custom developed at a high cost.However,with partners like EventMobi, we could see this technology becoming a standard at every meeting in the near future.”
Showers adds that these applications are available at a reasonable cost, incor- porate features such as real time agen-
da updates for attendees,provide event session feedback in the form of surveys and ratings, and offer an audience response system for live polling.
“An event app also provides an addi- tional location for event branding and screen real estate for sponsorship opportunities, which can generate rev- enue for your organization,” he notes. “The added benefit of capturing all of the attendee user information in the post event phase is reason alone to invest in the use of an event application service.With this feature set you can get feedback on actual engagement, real- time analytics on page views for spon- sors, and connections made between attendees.”
Aside from technologies planners are underutilizing, sometimes technologies are misused or misunderstood. This results in planners not always getting the most out of what is available to them through the tech they are incor- porating into their event.
One example of this, says Cataldi, is video mapping. “Video mapping is still one of the most misunderstood tech- nologieswe are asked about almost reg- ularly. There is an underlining belief that this technology is extremely expen- sive. Most recently, during the Rio Olympics, the planning team used video mapping for the opening cere- monies due to budget constraints. I remember back in 2014 speaking to Mid-AtlanticEventsMagazineabout this technology and how it can provide a new twist on the same content and at a fraction of the anticipated investment.”
“Video mapping can be used in so many ways,” he continues.“Using exist- ing architecture in a room is one of the most common. Space that oftentimes serves no purpose to the meeting, like a column in a room, now can provide interesting content. It really comes down to the creative graphics, the phys- ical room or venue constraints, and imagination.”
Mid-Atlantic EVENTS Magazine 39
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