13 Meeting Predictions for


or video-on-demand to extend the life of the meeting after the event. Still, event producers are still coming to


grips with how to best use this wealth of new tools. Special handling is needed in order to engage a remote audience. Some best practic- es include providing an emcee for the remote audience, significant white space time blocks, onscreen timers of when the next presenta- tion will start, game challenges for the remote audiences, and opportunities for remote ques- tions and comments. As these streaming video with slide shar-


ing capabilities open up, it is likely that virtu- al event tools using Second Life-type avatars will continue to diminish in use. 10. Consolidation and acquisition of meetings technology vendors will continue. Significant events technology acquisitions occurred this year: Active Network acquired StarCite. Previ-


ously, Active Network acquired RegOnline and WingateWeb in 2008. StarCite previous- ly acquired pioneering events tech companies: b-there, RegWeb and Onvantage (a merger of SeeUThere and PlanSoft in 2004). These ac- quisitions represent some of the biggest and pioneering names in meetings technology. Cvent acquired CrowdCompass and Seed


Labs (now CrowdTorch). This significant move by a major registration into the mobile space will likely continue. Cvent, having re- ceived $136 million in investment funding, more acquisitions are likely to continue. These acquisitions point to a trend by


larger event technology companies to expand their offerings to move to a beginning-to-end solution in an integrated platform. It is natu- ral for a registration company, for example, to incorporate mobile apps, using the same attendee/speaker and session data. Buying rather than building the technology is often the fastest was of accomplishing this task. An integrated platform makes it simpler for the


16


2013


meeting planner (buying from one technology provider instead of many) and for the attend- ees with integrated technology solutions be- fore, during and after the event. Expect to see more event technology acquisitions in 2013. 11. Event gamification will increase attendee engagement and drive behavior. Gamification makes a game out of tradi-


tionally non-game activities such as an event. Games can be used to engage attendees in a variety of methods including: • achievement badges • achievement levels • leader boards • a progress bar or other visual meter to indi- cate how close people are to completing a task a company is trying to encourage, such as completing a social networking profile or earning a frequent shopper loyalty award


• virtual currency systems for awarding, re- deeming, trading, gifting, and otherwise exchanging points


• scavenger hunts • challenges between users According to Bunchball, “People have fundamental needs and desires - for reward, status, achievement, self-expression, competi- tion, and altruism among others. These needs are universal, and cross generations, demo- graphics, cultures and genders.” Mobile technology opens up a wide range


to gamification options for events. Here are some examples: • PollEverywhere’s MIT $100K completion award


• Cisco’s efforts to engage virtual attendees • SCVNGR challenges and scavenger hunts for events


• EventMobi’s GamifyApp for events • BoothTag • GoGames Convention Games • Magency Digital • PeopleHunt.me With the advent of multiple inexpensive


Midwest Meetings Guide Book 2013


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