8/8/2019 EIBTM Show Daily 2010 Article SamSmith RuudJanssen

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| EIBTM Show Daily | day 137

Tuesday 30th November

It is called ActivTouch and it is amobile application for trade shows.

It manages the relevant here andnow data of the event. How doesit work? Information on speakers,attendees, exhibitors and productsare stored in the ActivTouch database

and can be accessed at any time via

the mobile web. For e xample, enterthe name of an exhibitor or a product

and the device automatically gener-

ates a map of the show floor, witha highlighted route from the cur-rent location to the desired booth.

Thanks to this Here&Now fea-ture, participants can find exhibitors,

products, sessions and keynotes that

are happening that very momentwithin an area of 50 to 100 feet(the GPS systems already includedin most smartphones are too impre-

cise to be of use in a trade show).In October and November, Activ-

Touch was used in Vision Expo West2010 and Global Gaming Expo, both

held in Las Vegas, ASIS International

2010 (Dallas) and ISC Solutions (New

York). Over 30 events are sched-uled for 2011.

Stand: 0260

Meet Sherpa at the Technology

Hour Extra session, Lecture

Theatre, 14:30-15:30

TECHNOLOGY

Ruud: Making a connection point withthose outside the room. Use a conversa-

tion aggregator (preferably a rich con-tent) to start the dialogue and keep itgoing. Make the content, context, con-nectivity and continuity of the dialogue

the core priority whether the dialogueis public or proprietary. In both casescontent aggregators exist to give eve-ryone a voice and chance to contribute.

Ruud: Many submissions were focusedon putting the power of technology inthe attendees hands. The mobility of the

technology function is key, whether itbe in Mobile Apps, lead retrieval, busi-ness (card) exchange, or connectivityto the Internet when it is not avail-able by default.

What was the most interesting example

of how technology helped a meetingwhen the volcano erupted in Iceland

and grounded many flights?

Ruud: I was asked the same in a tweetafter the volcano erupted. As a result, Iwrote an account of my personal experi-

ence when I was due to speak at an eventin Poland and all speakers got grounded.

We created a plan B which used the sim-

plest tools, ones practically all present-ers were comfortable using. All speakersreverted to a remote presentation using

Skype and phone as a backup.The other case was the creation of

a spontaneous event when many del-egates were stranded in London afterthe Skoll World Forum in Oxford. One of

the stranded delegates took the initia-tive to organise a spontaneous TEDxVol-

cano, one that was live streamed and put

together in less than 24 hours.

What should a meeting planner do

during the next volcano eruption:

have a logistics plan B and a

technology plan B?

Ruud: The key in any crisis plan is open-

ing up a direct communication line toyour key audience members. Participants,

speakers, key suppliers and organisingteam members must know where to look

for reliable up-to-date information onthe event. The organisers must alwaysknow how to reach employees, teammembers, speakers, suppliers and otherkey stakeholders. This can be via a web-

site, a Twitter hash tag, multiple real-time

channels or a mass notification system.The contingency planning should

include a crisis team split in two keyareas: communication; and contingency

planning, logistics and quick financialimpact scenarios. This is where the realorganisers will distinguish themselves from

the amateurs. Being ready to connect to

your audience not only live but also inhybrid ways (and being able to set thisup in a flash) is probably the key wayto save the event from going to ashes.As a planner you must know one or two

people in your direct network that canhelp or guide you through the crisis.

Crisis management? Technology can help,say Ruud Janssen and Sam Smith

And the winner is

SherpasMobile App

wins EIBTMWorldWideTechnology

Watch

Sams advise:

I see too manypeople chasingshiny objects andwanting to usea technology

because it is cool.Planners have tothink thoroughlyabout theirobjectives first

Sams advise:

We are goingto see more andmore meetingsand events turninto a singletouchpoint in acontinuous streamof conversationsand dialogue thatlast all year

Ruuds advise:

Making aconnection pointwith those outsidethe room, usinga conversation

aggregator to startthe dialogue andkeep it going

The solution combinesa database of allexhibitors, productsand sessions with alocalisation solutionmore precise thanGPS systems for easyorientation

Ruuds advise:

The key in anycrisis plan isopening up a directcommunicationline to your keyaudience members

The two famous tech-savvy consultants of our industryare back this year. This time, after a year in whichmany events rediscovered crisis management, they willtalk about how technology can save an event by doingthings like maintaining communication or findingalternative broadcasting solutions. You too have to beready, so read on

Elevator pitch: tell me one technology I should consider for my next sales

convention, and why.

You were judges of the WWTW. Any trend you would like to highlight?

Isnt it hard for people to follow

a meeting from their computer?

Email and thousands of cool web

pages are calling out for a users

attention... Who would leave the

mouse alone and focus?

Ruud: Distractions are possibly the big-gest threat to the ability for anyone toconcentrate on a single stream of infor-

mation. But allow me to draw the com-parison to the effect of an average book

or that of a page-turner that you readback to back through the night. The keyword is audience engagement.

In September, Sam and I were involved

in a hybrid event experience where audi-ence engagement was at the core of the

event design. Event Camp Twin Cities was

an experiment around innovation, col-laboration and social experimentation.The results show me that if we learnhow to design hybrid events correctly,we can engage audiences. Participantswant to be heard, listened to and engaged.

When they feel they are being served,they withstand the distractions and pay

attention. What we must not do is tryto replicate the type of events we havealways participated in live and then tryto televise them.

If these technologies enable

delegates to follow the

conferences content and connect

with others remotely, wont

meetings turn into continuous

online connections? If the place

dimension disappears, wont the

time element also disappear?

Sam: Yes, we are going to see more andmore meetings and events turn into a

single touchpoint in a continuous streamof conversations and dialogue that willlast all year. However, we are still socialcreatures and we still want to meet face-

to-face. Also, we are still going to wantto work together on projects, both online

and offline. I recently organised a con-ference where we had over 550 peopleworking online with attendees in threeremote sites to brainstorm and rankthose solutions. By working together,more people had a stake in that out-come than if it were just done in anonline discussion group.

Sam: I see too many people chasing shiny

objects and wanting to use a technol-ogy because it is cool. Before lookingat any specific technology, I ask eventplanners this question: What are yourobjectives? To increase attendee dialogue

and interaction? Extend the duration ofyour event? Include more participation?

Make operations more efficient? Once Iunderstand the events objectives, I can

recommend technology tools that canmatch these needs.

Sam: I was pleased with the quantityand quality of entrants. The big trendthat I saw was the drive to freemiumor simple low-cost solutions. This isgreat news for the industry becauselower cost options will mean greateradoption. Sam and Ruud will hold the ses-

sion Mission Possible, moderated

by Patrick Delaney, today at 13:00,

Lecture Theatre