Klik SmartBadges by Bizzabo allow for enhanced networking, better follow-up and scheduling, and more. Courtesy of Bizzabo

From interactive event apps to projection mapping, innovative technologies and tools help build the foundation for meeting planners to create immersive events. As advances in tech tools continue to accelerate, the possibilities for engaging attendees are expanding as well, whether the technology is integrated into a scannable event badge or publicly accessible AI programs.

“There are so many exciting things happening with emerging technology in the meetings and events space, particularly since generative AI exploded onto the scene in the past year,” says Paulina Giusti, Cvent senior meetings and events manager.

Since 2020, the way people interact and engage with the world has changed significantly, prompting meetings and event planners to adapt the layout, structure and content of sessions to be more engaging.

“While the top reasons people attend events — for networking and learning — haven’t changed, attendees’ expectations for how these are accomplished have. Attendees want to be exposed to content that is inspirational or eye-opening. They’re looking for something that goes beyond the basics and addresses topics that are important to us in both our personal and professional lives — think sustainability, diversity, accessibility — just to name a few.”

Giusti cites an example from Cvent CONNECT 2022, where one of Cvent’s keynote speakers was deaf. They utilized live captioning and other tools to help bring his story to life, which she says resonated with the audience.

The Growth of AI

Many planners are looking to AI to craft immersive experiences and content. In the 2024 Global Meetings and Events Forecast report from American Express Global Business Travel, which surveyed over 500 meeting and event professionals and industry leaders from around the world, 42% of respondents say they plan to use AI in some capacity this year, with many meeting professionals utilizing AI for things like destination research, event communication and automating event registration.

Giusti notes AI can also be used to build entire websites, create customized agendas for attendees, and craft compelling push notifications and email reminders. “The technology may still be relatively new, but event planners are already finding amazing ways to leverage it and streamline the event planning process, all while making events more meaningful for attendees.”

AI is starting to be used across the industry, including by PCMA with its Project SPARK, which offers an AI tool for meeting planners to help with a variety of tasks and data management.

Meeting and incentive management company MCI USA is also looking to AI to drive engagement. “We have the capabilities through AI to create amazing, robust presentations with information that would usually take weeks to gather,” says Valerie Mortimer, vice president, Strategic Events, Meetings & Incentives, for MCI USA.

MCI Global recently launched an AI Assistant, Jade, to provide automation tools for registration, housing and leads.  Jade matches up exhibiting companies with all the attendees, and scores from one to 10 how valuable any one attendee would be to any one exhibitor.

AI is being integrated in other ways. Giusti says a recent prominent industry conference used AI session scanners, eliminating the need for any manual session scanning.

“These types of tools are not only making the attendee experience better but they’re also giving planners more opportunities to receive real-time data to better understand session and attendee engagement,” she says.

Bizzabo has Klik SmartBadges. One of the benefits is Enhanced Networking Opportunities, according to Alon Alroy, co-founder and CMO of Bizzabo.

“The badges can be programmed with light cues to indicate mutual interests or session reminders, making it easier for attendees to connect with relevant contacts and engage in meaningful conversations.”

The badges also help with post-event connectivity. Attendees can access a digital record of their connections and interactions, allowing for effective follow-up. Aside from lead capture the Klik SmartBadges can provide detailed analytics on attendee behavior, session popularity and overall engagement levels.

“You can not only see which areas people are physically visiting the most, but also which areas and planned sessions facilitate the most amount of networking. This data is crucial for measuring event success and planning more effective future events.”

Mobile Apps

While mobile apps at conferences and events are not new, the capabilities of everything from networking to lead capture are expanding.

Melissa Blackshear, senior director, Event Management at Maritz, says “Mobile apps are not really a ‘nice to have’ anymore. People want to interact with community. We want ways to draw our virtual communities in with our in-person communities and the mobile app is a great way to do that. And onsite we want to give people an experience that they can’t get virtually. We want to create some of that FOMO, so we’re trying to create those Instagrammable moments, really cool experiences.”

Onsite using digital content boards at trade shows and other events boosts engagement. Maritz offers signage displaying a QR code that is placed in an exhibitor’s booth or a touchscreen monitor that is placed in a high traffic area at the event. Attendees scan their badge and they are automatically sent information electronically.

CompuSystems’ new M3 app also features the capability to scan QR codes at booths so exhibitors can exchange contact information with leads immediately. The app was introduced at the AAPEX Show last year, and exhibitors saw a 196% increase in leads captured due to streamlined digital content delivery. The app also includes a gamification element.

“As part of an incentive to have the attendees learn about and use the product, we challenged CompuSystems to help us gamify the M3 experience. The results in year one were a huge success, and we look forward to continuing and enhancing the program as we get more adoption in the future,” says Mark Bogdansky, vice president, Tradeshows and Community Engagement, Auto Care Association.

Attendease, recently acquired by Tripleseat, provides a streamlined integration for event planners looking to book events at specific venues. The acquisition combines two separate ecosystems, social and corporate event planners, and event managers, at restaurants and hotels.

“Attendease helps create an immersive event because it’s easily branded,” says Tripleseat Senior Corporate Event Manager Rachel Mazzola. “Everything from when an attendee first visits our website to the emails they receive from us to when they come onsite with us, and then when they leave, everything has the same look and feel, so it immerses them in that experience. It helps create a consistent brand story.”

Mazzola says Attendease also helps launch and promote events, and can send out individualized or personalized emails.

Eventsforce starts engaging attendees in the registration process, according to Andrius Remeikis, vice president of Growth at Eventsforce. Rather than using different apps or other tools for registration, Eventsforce offers an all-in-one solution, including personalized invitations, registration management, custom websites and advanced reporting.

“We’re helping event planners by giving them easy to use tools to digitize those initial touchpoints from the initial event registration and marketing. The heavier lifting is predominantly done through the app. It is well synced and connected, and it provides the seamless experience to the attendee that can add in great value.”

Remeikis says Eventsforce is working on the possibility of introducing AI into its app, with the ability to ask the app to review custom recommendations, like what sessions to attend and who to meet.

Bluetooth Technologies

Bluetooth technology is often running in some way behind the scenes to power an event. It’s very agile, and the sky is the limit when it comes to integrating this tech into events, according to Giusti.

“When event planners think of Bluetooth, session attendance, wireless badge printing, data collection and tracking to render real-time attendee insights might be some of the first uses that come to mind, but this technology can be used to create more captivating experiences for attendees.”

At trade shows, Bluetooth can send a personalized push notification as attendees approach an exhibitor’s booth and can support wayfinding — which can help attendees find an exhibitor’s booth or the right breakout room in a massive venue. Bluetooth can help drive gamification with tasks such as prompting attendees to take a quiz or survey at a certain location or it can create a contest for attendees to upload photos to win points. Other options include using Bluetooth for feedback surveys or even to promote sustainability efforts by reminding attendees to recycle.

Visual Tools

Video and audio technology advances can help create an immersive event, including projection mapping, which can transform any surface into captivating visuals. From immersive stage backdrops to interactive art installations, projection mapping adds to the attendee experience.

“The cool thing is it helps from a sustainability perspective, as well as money and time,” Mortimer says. MCI uses holographic displays, creating a futuristic and immersive visual experience. Meeting planners can use these displays for keynote presentations — everything from the company CEO to a celebrity speaker — product showcases, or entertainment performances to engage and entertain attendees. “That technology is getting really slick and a little more affordable,” Mortimer says.

An LED wall also allows for branding. “A digital wall can be scenic and it can be leveraged for presentation as well, because it can show both video and stills, and we can do that simultaneously,” says Chris Johnson, director of global travel, enterprise events, and sports partnerships for Land O’Lakes, Inc. “We can build a scenic to start the event.”

Johnson also leverages technology to communicate in advance with highlight videos. “We’re getting vendors in front of customers to talk about their products ahead of an event. We’ve had good success. We tend to get stakeholders or presenters for a video that we’ll push out to the audience in advance of the event and that can be simply a ‘hey, we’re excited that you’re coming. Here’s what to expect.’ It might be a sneak peek at some of the content and what they’re going to hear when they get there.”

Despite all the new technology available, successful meetings and events don’t always need all the bells and whistles. “The more of the new tech you bring in, the more risk there is that something somewhere down the line might fall apart or cause headaches,” he says. “Sometimes, understandably, event planners are not always ready to adopt all the new shiny things.” C&IT