Meetings Blog Feb 06, 2020
The successful conclusion to the meeting or event you planned is still your fundamental objective. How you get there, of course, can take several different paths and is dependent on a multitude of factors. Advances in technology have opened further routes to success – whether in the planning, for the day itself, or for follow-up analysis – and professionals need to keep abreast of what is available and how it could aid them on achieving their goals.
To help, we’ve delved into a few of the more recent developments to the constantly changing face of event tech, with ‘face’ quite literally being one of the key words…
Now commonplace with applications such as unlocking a new smart phone, facial recognition is becoming more influential in the meetings and events industry. Being able to tell who is who, and cataloguing attendees based on age, gender, ethnicity etc., the technology can manage aspects such as traffic flow and profiling to enhancing the check-in and security processes. Having a computer system do the observation of your attendees rather than a human provides you with the benefits of more accurate data and is also proving to be more cost effective. People identification can also allow experiences on the day to be specifically tailored to ensure your guests get the most from it, but more on that coming up later.
There is no doubt that the gathering of data over the years has promoted continual improvement to events, learning from what has gone on before. Now, however, the goal is to capture real-time feedback which can mean those enhancements can be made during the event. If an element of the attendee journey is not achieving what was expected, tweaks can be made in order not to lose it completely – maybe an adjustment to the service or a change to the communication around it. This live information loop also means you can drive offers based on the reactions, some of which were not predicted in the planning phase.
From that data collection comes opportunities to deliver a better post-event experience, removing the traditional lag-time that naturally arose for analysis and understanding. Immediate follow-up on social media, for example, targeting those behaviors that were identified through the event, can ensure a swift and smooth journey to maintain attendee engagement. Pulling all available data together and responding in a timely fashion are key to maximizing future success.
The advent of virtual reality was quickly followed by its widespread adoption across the meeting and events industry. Constant improvements to the tech increased the scope for its application to planners and this continues apace. One of the most obvious uses is to allow planners to check out their chosen venues from afar, utilizing 3D images to enter, design and sign-off on rooms without leaving the office. At the event itself, headsets or goggles can lift attendees out of their current surroundings into, well absolutely anywhere, and while they are there can be more deeply engaged and interactive. Not only can VR help planners to be more efficient with how they use their finite time, there is also a clear link to green initiatives and reduction in carbon footprints.
The idea of making the attendee experience more personalized is nothing new to event planners, and technology is becoming ever more important to aiding this objective. Whether using Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, there is now the ability to build up a better idea of what the interests of your attendees are, and based on those you can take action. We have already discussed the importance of gathering data, and this can be used to customize the event journey to meet their desires, affecting their behaviors to meet required goals. As well as boosting the attendee experience, this will also give you, and others involved, information to improve and become more efficient, addressing a commonly referenced constraint to planners, time.
With so much development taking place in technology for meetings and events, and no letup in the pace of advancement likely, the question being asked in 2020 is whether the events industry can stay the pace. With the expansion of 5G networks, much of what we do going forward will be linked to the Spatial Web, as the real and virtual worlds combine. Those planners who are willing, and able, to take advantage of the tech opportunities out there will reap the benefits as long as they do so wisely. Speak to our expert team at NH Hotel Group and step into the future with us…
