The Ultimate Guide to Event Technology

What is Event Technology?

Event technology is a vague umbrella term. Then again, it’s exactly what it says it is – technology used at and for corporate events. Put as simply as possible, event technology is any tool – hardware or software – that helps you plan and produce an event or as part of the attendee experience. 

What technology is available is at the mercy of the event planners’ time and place. Planners before never had iPads, and planners that come after will have toys we can’t even dream of.

Of the existing technology available for your events, you’ll face two things: what trends are hot (what people want or expect to see) and what your event type and goals are. And by the end of this guide, you’ll have a solid understanding of both.

There are two different experiences that typically come in the form of augmented reality or virtual reality. Augmented reality is a different way to see our world. It’s a filter in the form of a sound or image, usually achieved through an app. Virtual reality is a more immersive, complete experience that requires a headset and control system.

And now that you know what event technology is, you might be ready to read about more event trends that will boom in 2021!

Why Event Technology Will Improve Your Event 

Event technology is more popular than ever before. This reflects a general trend in our society. It is also a response to COVID-19. Instead of hibernating, the event industry has shown its versatility.

This huge uprise in event technology is backed by the industry too, with 90% of event planners believing that event technology can have a positive impact on the success of their events.

In short, event technology will make planning, running, documenting and analysing your event easier. It will also make for a better attendee experience by offering them a new, unique experience and increasing attendee engagement.

So it’s high time you learned how to utilise this brave new world. For example, check out our guide on how to enhance your corporate event with gamification.

What Kind of Events Are Possible? 

Any kind of event of any size and style is possible when it comes to event technology. The tech world is your oyster, from entirely online and on machines to in-person events with subtle technological touches.

There are no rules or limits to what you can do. It’s your event, and you call the shots. Look at your goals and objectives.

1. Virtual Conference: A conference is a formal meeting that takes place over several days and brings together people with a shared interest to discuss a specific topic. Virtual conferences tend to last anywhere from 1 – 3 days. The distinguishing tools usually seen at these events are networking tools and live streaming. They are a means of producing and consuming large amounts of content at the attendee’s pace and choosing, thereby avoiding fatigue.
2. Virtual Product Launches: A product launch is an event that celebrates the release of a new product. You can expect this kind of event to become increasingly popular going forward. For example, check out the Vanmoof e-bike launch that drew over 6,000 live views from over 110 countries.
3. Virtual Workshops: You’ll find that virtual workshops tend to be smaller events. In general, a workshop gathers people to discuss a specific subject or carry out activities focused on that subject. Virtual workshops are faithful to their original counterpart, focusing on interactive participation, whiteboard brainstorming, and file-sharing technology.
4. Webinars: A webinar is the virtual realisation of the seminar, collaborative exchanges of information on a specific shared area of interest. These events tend to be shorter and account for just 2% of all virtual events.
5. Hybrid Events: A hybrid event is the best of both worlds. It includes both live and virtual attendees in one single event. These events are booming now, with more than 97% of marketers believing that they will continue to grow in 2021. Depending on the type of event, available tools can assist with budgeting, registration, venue sourcing, virtual event solutions for online audiences, streaming and production.

Our final suggestion is for virtual brainstorming events. However, the power of a good brainstorming session is the collective spirit, which is sometimes lacking in online events. But don’t fret another sec. Just read our tips for effective virtual brainstorming sessions. If you’re still stuck check out this guide to virtual event ideas for companies.

The Hottest Trends in Event Technology Right Now

1) Gamification: Gamification adopts game design elements and principles in corporate events to create a more immersive and engaging experience for guests.

2) Facial Recognition: Facial recognition is an excellent tool for improving event logistics. It can speed up check-ins, improve security, stop bottlenecks, and save money on security. You can also use it to yield great data for enhancing and analysing your events.

3) Event Apps: Every event planner is using event apps now. They can help with organising, ticket sales, event running, participant engagement, and so much more. But you’re about to read all about this in our next section, so let’s hold fire for now!

4) Event Diagramming: Event diagramming is the layout of your event committed to 3 dimensions. This extremely cool detail might seem like a novelty, but it’s a great way to ensure effective floor plans, seating, flow, foot traffic, lighting, cabling, and other room elements. Thanks to intuitive event technology, this software is accessible and a must-have for the modern corporate event planner.

5) Live Streaming: A live stream is the live transmission of audio and/or video of an event over the internet. These are more common and easier thanks to the surge in social media.

One final word of advice on hot event trends: not everything at your event needs to be directly related to your company or event objectives. Some things can just be for fun, you know?

Fun side activities can be great for replenishing weary guests, capturing attendees engagement, and team building. Want some inspo? Check out our interview with Splitscreen about gaming and teambuilding.

Event Apps

Okay, so we teased this section just a handful of paragraphs ago. That’s because it deserved just a little bit more fleshing out, as you’re about to find out.

Event Planning

• Zapier: Zapier is a fantastic tool that automates repetitive tasks for you. For example, when you get an email from a new lead, it will automatically notify your sales team with a text.
• Guidebook: Guidebook is an all-in-one app that helps you build to-do lists, schedules, maps, private messages, social media functions and more.
• Whova: Whova is an award-winning event planning and registration app. Its key goal is building sincere and concise attendee profiles to make their experience more fulfilled and create connections between guests.

Conferences and Networking

• Entegy Suite: Entegy Suite promises a seamless experience for users. It will impress them with branded kiosks, badges, two-way networking and more. It yields rich event data, too.
• Boomset: Boomset is an all in one management platform that can be used for virtual, in-person and hybrid events.
• Swapcard: Swapcard is an end-to-end event and community platform. It is excellent for matchmaking and is super intuitive.

Ticket Sales

• Nutickets: Nutickets is an all in one platform that brings together the best of event management, ticketing and onsite solutions. From registration to cashless payments and entry control, their tech is the perfect solution to manage your event from tickets to tills and beyond.
• Tixel: Tixel specialises in anti-fraud technology that helps protect sellers and buyers. They’re so confident in their tech they offer a 100% buyer protection guarantee!
• Cyfe: Cyfe is a business dashboard that uses beautiful visual metrics for easy and usable business analyses.
• Lennd: Lennd is an app brought to use by event world powerhouse Eventbrite. It’s built to work seamlessly with other apps and covers all event needs, from website design to meal planning.

All of these fabulous apps are pretty exciting, we know. Now, how about some direct advice on how to get the best out of them? Well, you can do just that here. Read how you can use augmented reality at meetings and events.

Hot Event Technology Companies 

1. Shoflo: Shoflo is a superb piece of software that assists your production team in real-time. It creates cue sheets, show flows, rundowns, production schedules and more.
2. Glisser: Glisser connects your audience. With the use of a smartphone, your guests will have access to your presentation material, real-time polls, Q&A capability, sharing, downloads, and more. It’s great for engaging people.
3. Airfinity: Airfinity is the world’s first event data platform. They analyse events, audiences, sponsors, and more. So they relieve you of the duty of figuring out what’s, what doesn’t for your next event.
4. Showslice: Showslice is an innovative platform that looks to cost-share with events at the same time and city.
5. Lineapp: Lineapp is a patented piece of software that specialises in audio data. With Lineapp you’ll be able to transmit audio without an internet connection to local networks in real-time. Ideal for events with lots of verbal communication. Are you a content creator? Consider using Patreon to host live streams, Q&A sessions, and other event ideas exclusive to your supporters.
   
   

Wrapping Up

So there you have it, our ultimate guide to event technology. And now that you’ve got to grips with event technology. Your next mission, should you choose to accept it, is tackling our ultimate guide to corporate event planning.

Featured image: Playful Room for Creative Encounters via Eventflare

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