OUR DIGITAL REALITY IS REALLY ABOUT COLLABORATION AND
CONSTRUCTIVE CONNECTIONS
The current paradigm of commerce isn’t about digital – it’s about connection.
Also called the ‘relationship economy’, the ‘experience economy’ and even, by Rolf Jensen, the ‘dream society’, the connection economy should place human interaction at the heart of every business. Success is measured by the ability to create and connect. As Dean van Leeuwen says, “the ability to form meaningful, emotional connections and relationships…and will have as far reaching an impact as the industrial revolution had 200 years ago.”
TO EFFECTIVELY HARNESS AND DESIGN YOUR 3D EVENT EXPERIENCE,
KNOW THE THREE DIMENSIONS of CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
“What brands need is for audiences to not only see and hear their messages but also to recall them, connect with them on an emotional level, even tell their friends about them, and ultimately to buy something.”
BEST PRACTICES FOR ORGANIZING YOUR OWN EVENT
DEVELOPED BY SKYLINE EXHIBITS.
THESE PRACTICES HAVE BENEFITED OUR CLIENTS
PLANNING AND SURVEYS The success of your private event depends on understanding what your attendees expect to get out of your event. Conduct extensive surveys of your stakeholders (attendees, exhibitors, etc.) to determine why they’d attend your private event in lieu of some other show. |
SPONSORS AND PARTNERS Maybe for purposes of revenue or sharing the work you don’t want to go it alone. But remember having “partners” in an event means you also have more people to answer to and possibly slow your decision making. |
ADOPTING AN ACHIEVABLE BUDGET The costs of sponsoring your own event can be a real eye-opener. Even if, you own your own event space, all the operational expenses that would otherwise be borne by a third party now becomes your responsibility. Include line items for everything from booth design, setup and tear down, venue/exhibit facility rental fees, marketing expenses, insurance, and security. |
PLANNING AND LOGISTICS IS KEY, IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT TO ROLL WITH THE
PUNCHES DURING THE EXECUTION PHASE OF YOUR EVENT
“Not only can you, simply, not control everything, but often the most exciting and most memorable moments emerge from those unplanned experiences.”
SEASONED EVENT PROFESSIONALS ARE AWARE THAT ANYTHING THAT CAN
GO WRONG USUALLY DOES GO WRONG
ONSITE PRACTICALITIES Think carefully about your venue. Does it have the adequate space, ambiance, and amenities for audience and your programming? 1. Consider the varying needs of main lectures, break-out events, or accommodating your VIPs. 2. Do you have sufficient furniture and A/V resources? 3. Do you have banquet and janitorial help on-call? 4. Is parking adequate? 5. If you need ancillary hotel or contractor help, research and secure those six months in advance. 6. Book a block of rooms at a nearby hotel, and check to see if the hotel is willing to provide shuttle transportation to and from your venue. |
EVENT PROGRAMMING Map out a timeline for all events you hope to hold, and include a sufficient buffer to make up for latecomers, lunch breaks, technical difficulties, and other common sources of delays. Decide who will give your introductory and closing remarks, what type of programming will fill the morning and afternoons, whether you’d like to include a guest speaker or demo/product launch, and any after-the-event parties you may want to organize. Be mindful of:
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SIGNAGE AND DISPLAY MATERIALS The display materials you’ve used for external trade shows will likely need to be supplemented for your private event. You will need way-finding signage, designated staff to help with attendees needs, and perhaps digital signage that you can update on-the-fly to present news and developments. A follow-up assessment is critical in determining if you have obtained the results that justify the extra work of hosting the event. You will make some mistakes and find things to improve in your inaugural event. However, it’s when you think everything is perfect and smooth that you need to really think about shaking it up so your event doesn’t get stale in participants eyes! |
ADDING IMMERSION TO YOUR EVENT EXPERIENCE IS ONLY ONE LAYER OF
MARKETING TO BUILD A BRAND EQUITY, ENCOURAGE INTERACTION AMONG YOUR INVITED ATTENDEES
EFFECTIVE SECOND SCREEN TECHNOLOGY FOR DRIVING TANGIBLE RESULTS FOR YOUR EVENTS
Glisser The real-time screen sharing works by the presenter uploading his/her PowerPoint, Keynote, Google Slides or other presentation program. The system allows for animations, transition and embedded video. In addition, the product provides for digital Q&A, live polling, twitter feeds, audience note-taking and analytics. Attendees gain access through a web app with a custom short web address (no download required). Good quality Wi-Fi access for attendees greatly enhances the experience. |
MeetingPulse MeetingPulse’s second screen feature is their real-time Pulse product that allows the speaker to see in real-time the “pulse” of the room. Participants can vote at any time that they like the content being delivered, disagree with it, are confused by it or they want the speaker to speed up. The speaker can see the audience sentiment immediately and react to the room’s feedback as it happens. There are lead capture capabilities if desired, and also raffle capabilities to randomly pick a member of the audience. At the end of the presentation, the speaker or event host can see the spikes of audience emotions correlated to the timeline of the presentation. |
ConnexMe ConnexMe has similar features to Glisser, including web-based slide distribution, digital note-taking on the slides, live sharing of the slides, audience response polling, and live questions. Additionally, there are many engagement tools such as audience-generated heat maps in response to polls, presenter and attendee annotation, and other tools. It is part of an overall event app which includes agendas, push notifications, private messaging to other attendees, session evaluations and event analytics. ConnexMe is a native event app (both iOS and Android) with web applications for the interactive features. |
TRAP THE ATTENTION OF YOUR ATTENDEES BY TURNING DIGITAL
DISTRACTION INTO ACTIONABLE CONVERSATION
ATIV Event Pilot ATIV Event Pilot is a high-end mobile app company designed specifically for large scientific meetings including detailed listing of abstracts, poster sessions and more. However, one of their features includes the ability to share PowerPoint presentations with note-taking, polling and other features. This feature is uncommon with many event app companies. |
FXP | touch This product allows presenters to share their slides with anyone via a mobile device with web access (including remote audiences). Participants can respond to poll questions, ask questions through the system and amplify the social media impact by posting comments and sharing the presentation to Twitter, Facebook and other channels. One of the strengths of FXP | touch is the analytic capabilities that measure real-time participant engagement, focus, and all activities when using the system. The name and email address of attendees are recorded as well as the exact moment they joined. |
Educational Measures Educational Measures provides the set-up, network and mobile devices/iPads loaded with their software. This raises analytics to a very high level. In addition to second screen services, polling, attendee annotation and slide saving are included. This product provides very detailed analytics, tracking attendees who ask questions through the system, how they respond to polls, what specific slides were saved and what notes were taken. It gives very detailed analytics of participant engagement measured minute-by-minute throughout the presentation. |