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Pay-per-click advertising is one of many tactics event organizers use to increase attendance, attract the attention of exhibitors and sponsors, and reduce no-shows. Some turn to digital marketing agencies to cover for their lack of in-house PPC expertise and the resources needed to constantly monitor and massage the campaigns. One agency stands out as both a PPC and an event-industry specialist. 

The event industry wants more diverse thinkers within its ranks so it can create more inclusive programs and its organizations can profit, improve, and innovate. There is a way to hire more diverse employees faster using matching technology that's just now emerging. For now, its developers are targeting the enterprise human resource management space. However, It's a good fit for any entity wanting to match people with opportunities. 

It's rare that a business leader provides an honest and transparent commentary on his event technology journey. In this article, reposted with permission, former CEO of DoubleDutch, Lawrence Coburn, details the highs and lows of staffing, marketing, scaling and, ultimately, selling a one-time category leader. It's a case study that every event tech entrepreneur should read slowly.

In recent years, corporate marketers have had to choose between digital marketing channels and live-event marketing channels. They like the scalability and measurability of digital, but crave the effectiveness of a face-to-face meeting. And because what they’re really after is more leads to pack the sales pipeline, they want an automated workflow that orchestrates the meeting and moves the outcomes of that engagement straight to the CRM or marketing automation platforms. It's available now. Here's an update to a previously published article.

Event chatbots are becoming more popular, and more standalone chatbot developers are emerging. Spice Factory, a full stack digital product agency, and an event management software provider, has taken a different approach. With Sava Events, it has created a chatbot-first event management software platform, offering event organizers a different pathway to the chatbot experience. 

The Brief:  In the future, exhibition organizers will have to think and act beyond four walls. A well-known strategy firm calls it an Exhibition 2.0 model. But rather than piecemeal technologies and data points together to build new products and a broader value proposition, organizations need a system for connecting and activating the data they already have. Welcome to The Nexus.

Small organizations, nonprofits, hobby groups, and weekend event warriors don’t often have the budget for software to automate community and event management. Many turn to social media apps and free tools to get the job done. So when a mobile app comes along with the backing of a company known as the Google of Korea and it’s free, it’s worth taking a look.

 

Effective networking is no small feat for event attendees. Despite help from software and mobile apps to suggest matches, set up meetings, and locate peers, successful connections often fail to materialize. Smart badges can simplify the networking process and jumpstart meaningful conversations.

Website visitors and attendees can provide critical insight into how effectively organizers market and execute their exhibitions or conferences. The metrics used to measure effectiveness can be accessed through a dashboard (in an event management solution), Google Analytics (a free platform), or a post-show attendee survey. Understanding how to use these tools can help planners evolve their events year round.

Event organizers want desperately to convert the data they have diligently collected from all of the event technologies they deploy into actionable insights, revenue, and growth opportunities. They’ve fallen in love with data for the potential it represents, but have been frustrated by the challenging work required to consummate the relationship. A new platform could change everything for event-data lovers.

#BCTECH Summit in Vancouver, British Columbia (BC), Canada is an annual showcase for the Government of British Columbia in partnership with the BC Innovation Council. In one event, event planners are tasked with representing all of the technology-focused companies, jobs, higher learning institutions, and youth in the tech-forward province. Implementing an event-technology stack that delivers the optimal user experience amidst a host of leading-edge technologies on display was a challenge that did not go unanswered.

Event Tech Live is Europe's only show dedicated to event technology. It covers a broad range of categories, including audio visual and production, connectivity and integration, event planning and data, engagement and gamification, revenue and sponsorship, and marketing and social media. Registration is open for the 2017 edition to be held on November 9 in London.

Marco Giberti and Jay Weintraub have written the first, in-depth examination of the opportunity and impact of digital technology on the event industry. In "The Face of Digital," they are mindful of the fate of other industries that addressed disruption with protectionism instead of action. While the authors present a well-researched and thoughtful case for moving quickly and strategically to avoid a similar end, not everyone in the industry is paying attention. 

Even though the event-technology landscape is crowded, much of the new product development still occurs in spaces already occupied by other companies and products. Occasionally, a smart entrepreneur discovers a new need and moves in quickly to take advantage of this uncontested territory. Navigating this “Blue Ocean” comes with challenges. Being the first to address a pain point is one thing, but it’s not everything.

Content is one of the most underutilized conference assets. A content management and engagement platform can provide organizers with the tools and incentives to extend the life of conference content. By expanding the definition of content, making it available to more consumers, monitoring content-engagement behavior, and contextualizing engagement data, organizers can produce more responsive, agile, personalized, and lucrative events.

Event management software platforms help users optimize processes. But that value proposition is short-sighted. EventCollab looks beyond process efficiency when it sells to the C-Suite.

Social machines, devices that deliver products in exchange for tweets and posts, are appearing in more events. It's a sign that event planners and brands are leveraging the multi-dimensional experiences that attendees are creating for themselves.

Chatbots are one of the newest technologies to enhance live events. The Concierge EventBot uses text messaging to help attendees navigate events. It may replace mobile apps in some cases.