Posted: November 14th, 2012
When Jason Paganessi, VP of Business Innovation at the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) talks association technology, he speaks with the unguarded enthusiasm of a child talking toys. Yet his technology strategy is serious business.
Today, he and PCMA announced ACTIVE Network as their exclusive event management technology partner to power most of PCMA’s global events—from annual conferences such as Convening Leaders to worldwide chapter events.
“We sat back and said, ‘we really need to know more about our members’…And that’s the situation a lot of associations are in right now.” – Jason Paganessi
Without good technology, many associations have bad data. Data is often scattered across several systems or, even worse, buried in excel spreadsheets. So, associations rarely have a persistent view of a member’s behavior – or even that person’s most basic information. (more…)
Posted: June 26th, 2012
As more and more event technology providers make the move into the mobile realm, it is a good step forward for event technology, and a positive sign that the event industry is moving forward.
During Active Network’s mobile release in May, we talked about the gap that exists between mobile adoption worldwide and mobile usage at events. In 2013, more web views will take place on a mobile device than a PC, yet only a small percentage of events deploy mobile applications as part of the experience.
That needs to change. Here are three positive take-aways from the movement of the event industry into the world of mobile:
- Mobile is not a cool toy. It’s a critical extension of the event experience: Until now, mobile has been something that progressive event organizers do to impress their attendees. But, as attendees rely more on mobile devices to manage their lives, those same people are demanding access to every stage of the event experience through their mobile devices – from deciding which events to attend, to registration, to finding and connecting with people and content. Mobile is proving to be more than a technology; it is now a natural extension of all aspects of your live experiences and a required technology for nearly every event, conference or meeting.
- Events can be measured like the web: For years, planners have struggled to measure activity at their events. On the web, marketers have been empowered to track every movement, every action and every interaction, but events remained a black hole. Now, as mobile becomes a persistent platform for engagement throughout the event lifecycle, planners can measure and evaluate the actions of those attendees to finally measure engagement and demonstrate value to their organizations.
- Integration is the new black: There are two reasons planners cite when justifying their decision not to adopt mobile – Price and lack of value for both users and planners. Until now, most mobile apps were custom-built, and developed by organizations that relied on revenue from those applications to drive success. Not anymore. With the integration of applications into core event management processes and technologies, planners will now have better access to mobile event data that is tied to every major element of their event. In turn, planners will be rewarded with a better user experience while attendees will no longer have to re-enter information or re-learn technologies when jumping from the web to their mobile devices.
The future for meetings and events is looking bright – and it’s now being served up on iPhones, iPads, Androids and Blackberry devices.
For more on mobile event technology check out the following links:
Active Network Mobile Suite
The Future of Events is Mobile White Paper
Infographic – Mobile is on the Rise: Meeting and Event Professionals Take Notice
Posted: June 14th, 2012
By: Eric Olson, General Manager
Active Network, Business Solutions
As meetings and event stereotypes go, there are two that have stood the test of time. Event marketing teams love to spend money; procurement teams love to save it.
So when Dell’s Global Events Marketing Director, Liz Lathan took the stage beside Strategic Meetings Management guru, Kevin Iwamoto at PCMA’s Education Conference in June, one might have expected sparks to fly.
Yet, the inevitable disagreement never materialized. Instead, the two laid out a vision for a new partnership between spend-happy marketers and their spend management focused procurement colleagues. And as shocking as the thought might be, this unlikely marriage may be exactly what the meetings and events industry needs to survive and thrive.
A Cost Crisis in Meetings & Events
The challenges of today’s meetings and event professionals have been well documented. Budgets have been cut. Results are under a microscope. And the demands of a younger, technology-addicted generation are putting pressure on age-old ideas of what a meeting or event should be. Yet, at the same time, there is another crisis emerging, according to Iwamoto. The cost of hosting events is rising quicker than the elevators in a high-rise hotel. Demand for meeting space is outpacing venue and hotel supply while travel costs are skyrocketing with the price of fuel.
“At any given time, management is going to say, ‘our cost of doing business is really high, we need to do something about this.’…And you need to have a plan in place to be proactive and not reactive…”
As a result, Iwamoto continued, something strange is happening. Event planners are turning to procurement for help in three key areas:
- Planners are working with procurement to create and monitor meetings policies and handle contract administration.
- Procurement is assisting with cost avoidance, providing visibility into spend so planners know where they can cut unnecessary costs, consolidate their supplier base and senior management can get spend transparency.
- And the two groups are teaming up to drive cost savings through smarter buying processes and more savvy negotiations.
In return, event organizers are creating better ways to drive results from meetings – delivering revenue from customers and improving performance of employees.
A Success Story at Dell Computers
Nowhere is this new partnership more apparent than in Dell’s newly launched Strategic Meetings Management Program (SMMP). In fact, the event marketing group actually pitched the office of the CFO on the idea for its program, claiming it could save more than $2 million a year. (more…)
Posted: May 10th, 2012
By: Eric Olson, General Manager
Active Network, Business Solutions
About a year ago I stopped carrying a laptop on short trips. It was a big — and slightly stressful moment — when I boarded a plane for a conference in San Jose with only an iPad and a presentation on iWork Keynote. But, something quickly dawned on me. Apps were made for the conference goer.
Event professionals need information on the go. And with the app market now worth over $10 billion with a staggering year-on-year growth rate of 100%, there is an app for just about every element of the business meeting experience — from the airport to the convention center and everything in between.
So, after a couple of years of experimenting with the latest apps on my smartphone and tablet, I’ve compiled a list of 10 of my favorite business travel and event apps. Check out my list below and please comment with your thoughts and any other recommendations you have.
1. Evernote – Winner of the best mobile app award by TechCrunch and Mashable, Evernote enables you to capture your ideas and notes on- the- go, documenting them as text, photos or audio recordings and auto-synchronizing all content to your devices (desktop computer, phone, iPad). This app now features geo-location tagging, advanced search capabilities and multiple language support. This is one app every mobile user should have.
2. Bump - is a virtual business card that allows you to swap contact info, calendar, pictures and social media profiles with others, simply by bumping your phone with theirs. The information is transferred wirelessly and automatically added to your contact list. Genius!
3. Trip-it – Log your travel plans and find out who’s near-by for business and networking opportunities. The TripIt mobile planner keeps all of your travel plans in one spot from flight information to hotel bookings and car rental confirmations. Forward your booking confirmation details to plans@tripit.com and the TripIt app organizes and shares your itinerary with family, colleagues and social networking contacts, making it easier to coordinate schedules. Itineraries can even be customized to include weather, maps and directions.
4. Quickvoice – This is the most popular voice recorder available. Record ideas, voice memos, voice email, dictation, lists, meetings, classes, and entire lectures or presentations on your mobile phone or tablet! With this nifty app, you can even email using your voice. (more…)
Posted: April 5th, 2012
By: Eric Olson, General Manager
Active Network | Business Solutions
Ok, let’s be real here. Event planners and technology haven’t always got along. When I was putting on events ten years ago, our technology was like boys to a group of third grade girls. My planners were forced to interact with it, but they generally thought it was, well, icky.
But just like third grade boys grow up, so has event technology. Suddenly, the much-maligned nuisance is becoming an important part of a planner’s daily life. And some tech tools are becoming downright sexy.
So, when EXPO magazine published its second annual event technology survey, I wasn’t surprised to see big increases in budget, increased adoption of technology platforms and a shift in the needs of organizers from pure event logistics to solving digital engagement challenges. I was, however, a bit frustrated to see that adoption is still slow and some of the same barriers to success are still plaguing us.
So, here are seven things I think planners can take away from this survey:
1. Budget for technology based on the goals of your events. The survey showed that 35% of survey respondents plan to increase their technology budget in 2012, which is encouraging because many planners don’t even have a technology budget. Planners need to make technology a part of their budgeting process and align spend with measurable results in either cost savings or, more importantly, event value.
2. Attendee data is the new black. It is good to see event planners prioritizing the core technologies required to pull off good events. The top 3 most important event technologies listed were event management software, website development/CMS and customer database infrastructure. Planners should not be looking to add “the next cool thing” before building a solid foundation of event and data management tools. The key to building the right technology solution is starting with an integrated platform with a focus on creating and managing good data.
3. Event management is no longer limited by the four walls of the conference hall. The job of an event planner is expanding to include management of the digital experience around an event. Planners need to learn about the tools to support that. The survey showed that social media, e-marketing platforms, smartphone apps, lead retrieval, mobile services and webinars are becoming increasingly popular, all placing in the top 10 list for important technology. Despite this, the adoption rate of such technology is still low as only 5% of respondents reported that their organization concentrated time and money on this type of technology in 2011.
4. Learn how to measure the value of technology instead of viewing it as a cost center. The survey showed that ‘money’, ‘affordability’ and ‘convincing senior management to buy into it’ were key barriers to implementing good technology. That shows me that planners are failing to affectively measure the impact of technology on their events. Technology is no longer about making your job easier; it is about saving you money and, more importantly, allowing organizers to improve event products, experiences and return-per-attendee.
5. Learn how to sell the value of technology to leadership. Once planners have learned how to properly measure the impact of technology, they’ll have the ammunition to sell it to the boss. And, according to the survey, that’s exactly what they need to do. 70% of organizations report that it is senior-level management that determines the technology budget for their organization with 38% specifying that it is the CEO of their organization who determines the spend on technology.
6. It’s STILL all about the attendee. And it should be. Event planners should never take their focus off putting on great experiences and creating more value for attendees along the entire journey. While 61% of respondents will focus their investments on technology to support attendees and exhibitors in 2012, the primary focus and concern for the majority of event planners is on attendees in particular.
7. Simplify. And don’t panic. According to the survey, “the biggest challenge related to technology is the technology itself – the trends are moving too quickly, making it difficult to keep up with the budget and resources offered.” While IT is advancing at a rapid pace, the uncertainty surrounding all of the new mediums being launched presents a challenge for event planners. Planners should be patient and focus on adding the technologies that tie directly to the goals of their organizations and events.
If you’re interested in finding out more about event technology trends in 2012 and beyond, I invite download a copy of ‘The Connected Event’ a report compiled by the Event Marketing Institute in partnership with Active Network offering further insight into technology trends in 2012 and beyond.
Special thanks to expoweb.com for commissioning and presenting the results of their second annual technology survey.
Eric Olson is responsible for driving global sales and operations. Before joining the company, Eric was Vice President of Marketing and Media for a prominent education provider, specializing in online courses, virtual events and live conferences. In seven years he grew the company’s annual revenues from less than $10 million to more than $140 million, primarily through the expansion of its events portfolio.
Posted: January 24th, 2012
By: Eric Olson, General Manager
Active Network | Business Solutions
Last year I spoke more than a dozen times on event technology, and every time I encountered the same experience. A nervous, overwhelmed event planner pushes her way to the front of the room, thanks me and says, “What do I do first?”
It’s maybe the single best question to ask about technology. Yet, there is only one person in the room brave enough to ask it.
As digital tools flood into corporate and association events, it’s easy to get overwhelmed and it’s even easier to overwhelm your audience. So, my response is always the same.
“Make sure you have a very clear list of business objectives for your events. Then focus on implementing ONE piece of technology to better achieve those objectives; Do that one thing really, really well.”
It’s really that simple. And since January is a time for diligently penning resolutions to drop a few pounds or drink a few less cocktails, I think it’s also time for every event planner to make a technology resolution.
Three Steps to Creating Your Technology Resolution:
1. Create a measurable, stack-ranked list of goals for your event or events in 2012. Whether the goals are to increase attendance or improve post-event sales, create a prioritized list of goals that you can control and measure.
2. Make a list of the technologies your audience uses most often in their daily lives. For example, I noticed a recent technology conference that 80% of the room was using an iPad to take notes and interact during a session. Yet, the event had no connection between the live experience and those mobile devices. Instead the event had a single microphone in the middle of the room. Think about the technologies your audience uses in their everyday life to 1) find content and 2) interact and collaborate with each other.
3. Identify one technology from the list in #2 that will better help you achieve one of your goals from #1 and create a specific goal to implement it in 2012. For example, if your goal is to increase attendance and your audience is filled with LinkedIn lovers, your goal may be to implement a LinkedIn group to drive attendance at your event. Remember, technology doesn’t always have to hit your budget.
This exercise can be as simple or as complex as you need it to be for your organization. But, the hardest part is getting started. So, start with one thing. Make it measurable. And focus on doing it really, really well.
If you do it right, this isn’t just a resolution you can keep. It’s a resolution that can grow, expand and continue to benefit your business for years to come.
Cheers to good technology and great events in 2012 and beyond.
Eric Olson is responsible for driving global sales and operations. Before joining the company, Eric was Vice President of Marketing and Media for a prominent education provider, specializing in online courses, virtual events and live conferences. In seven years he grew the company’s annual revenues from less than $10 million to more than $140 million, primarily through the expansion of its events portfolio.
Posted: January 17th, 2012
One of the general sessions at PCMA 2012 Convening Leaders Conference.
By: Eric Olson, General Manager
Active Network | Business Solutions
Last week, a promising college basketball player had to make a decision. It wasn’t a career altering decision. It was simply the noble question of whether he should “do the Dougie” at the team’s first home game.
The Dougie, for those who don’t know (I didn’t), is a dance that has reached notoriety with teenagers online. And the player, who, by the way, DID the Dougie, was one of the hottest prospects in college basketball. His decision to dance on the biggest stage of his career prompted one sports radio host to make the statement:
“Leaders,” he said, “don’t do the Dougie.”
Leaders, he argued, choose to lead. They stand out. They don’t do what others do. They exhibit maturity beyond their years. And, on the biggest stage, leaders shine. They perform. They get results.
So, as we convened our leaders in the meetings and events industry last week in San Diego for PCMA and Virtual Edge Summit, this story stuck with me and it occurred to me that our industry is at a similar decision point.
We can decide to lead. Or, we can decide to Dougie.
Convening Leaders. Converging Ideas.
The meetings and events industry has reached a point of convergence. This could not have been clearer than at PCMA’s traditional live events conference, combined with the Virtual Edge Summit, a progressive digital show. There we saw the convergence of ideas from our industry’s leaders, who badly want to elevate the reputation of events.
Talk in the hall centered on driving engagement, delivering ROI and building the value of events, while the discussion on stage relayed the findings of a recent survey, showing that just 38% of planners use the most basic attendee management technology.
So, while there’s a convergence of thinking and a clear opportunity to change, there is a gap in action and risk taking. And we, as an industry, are left with some importance choices.
Five Lessons From PCMA. Five Choices To Lead.
Throughout the weekend there were hundreds of examples of organizations that did choose to lead. Cisco demonstrated leading the way in virtual events by fully integrating digital and live environments to drive measurable value from their meetings. My employer, Active Network, announced its plans to forge the way for full technology integration by announcing the pairing of its engagement and logistics technology with StarCite’s leading strategic meetings management platform. And PCMA itself chose to embrace technology as the backbone of Convening Leaders, catapulting the association’s event to the front of this industry.
SVP, JR Sherman, announces the launch of Active Network | Business Solutions and the acquisiton of Starcite, at the PCMA 2012 Convening Leaders Conference.
Some of the best are choosing to lead. But, most are still years behind the needs of their businesses and associations – not to mention their members and attendees.
How can we glean from the best and choose to lead as a group? Here are five choices PCMA and VES should inspire YOU to make in 2012:
1. Choose to Embrace Digital Convergence
With VES fully co-located with PCMA, the world of digital events has changed. Virtual now includes all digital content, leaving behind hard-to-understand virtual worlds for new extended definition of content. And numerous case studies showed that good digital strategy can extend the reach of events, and provide content that adds value to live experiences.
Digital content is proving to be highly measurable, interactive and directly responsible for driving interest and attendance for live events. In fact, many of the people I met had been exposed to VES through free digital content before deciding to attend.
So, good planners are left with a choice. We can decide to embrace the convergence of live and digital content – and use it to drive more value through events. Or, we can continue to ignore it and lose attendees as they choose to spend their time elsewhere.
2. Choose Technology Integration
As technology floods into live events, most organizations have purchased it a la carte. Marketers tend to choose technologies focused on engagement while meeting planners choose solutions to solve logistical problems and control spend.
With Active Network’s announcement of the StarCite acquisition, the company is showing that the events world is ready to embrace the benefits of integrated technology solutions that meet the needs of both marketing and procurement. And it makes sense because technology is designed to improve experiences, create efficiencies and drive measurable value. So, if that technology doesn’t work together and support the whole attendee journey, organizers sacrifice experience, lose valuable data, spend too much money and lose efficiencies.
Technology is only important if it drives result. So, in the maze of new technology and cool ideas, integration just may be the most important feature we choose to elevate our industry.
3. Choose to Give Up Control
The way we communicate has fundamentally changed. Attendees make buying decisions based on friends’ recommendations. They want to learn from each other. And they want content built to support their objectives.
So, the best things we can do – although tough for event people – is to hand over the reigns to our attendees whenever possible.
The Active Network Educational Pod, in the Learning Lounge of PCMA's 2012 Converging Leaders Conference.
PCMA introduced interactive “idea” areas and learning lounges this year. I heard more comments about the value of these self-guided experiences, than about the sessions. With access to people and information becoming free and easy, event-focused organizations need to drive value in new ways, like facilitating attendee-driven content and leveraging it to drive engagement.
4. Choose to Commit to the Value of Events
We hold events to sell products, services or ideas. Yet, most planners spend most of their time managing logistics trying to save costs. While that approach got us by for years, and as digital technologies open access to people and information, our industry needs to focus on improving value.
One of the saddest stories I heard this weekend was of the British government’s massive cuts in events. In a time when it’s more important than ever to share information and bring people together, the government eliminated its event’s focused department and slashed tens of millions of dollars from its programs.
And despite the fact that it could now demonstrate the value of its events, it was too late.
While it may seem difficult at times to measure engagement, there were plenty of good examples at PCMA and VES of orgs that do it well. It’s important to set value-driven goals, implement measurement tools and leverage data to drive more value to events-driven organizations.
Data is the new currency of events. It’s time to commit to treating this discipline like other marketing and sales areas that have long embraced tactics to drive value before anything else.
5. Choose to be an Architect of Engagement
It’s becoming very clear that in order to accomplish everything – and in order for meetings and events to become a thought-leading industry – the definition of a planner needs to change. And the skill sets we bring in to our organization need to expand. It’s time to become architects of engagement.
It will require more education. But, we’re an industry built on learning. It will require restructuring. But, we’re an industry built on restructuring things.
We’ll need to add skills and technologies in community building, marketing, data analysis and the psychology of learning. It’s a new challenge. But, it’s a new opportunity for our industry, steeped in a tradition of building and monetizing relationships, to once again lead the way for corporations and associations.
These aren’t easy decisions to make. And they aren’t always comfortable. Yet, if events and meetings are going to thrive, we all need to commit to growing up. We need to commit to redefining our role and our value. And we need to commit to leading.
It’s time to make a choice. Are we going to lead? Or are we going to Dougie?
Posted: October 28th, 2011
By: Eric Olson, General Manager
Active Network | Business Solutions
Cisco knows events. And every year the technology giant puts on one of the world’s most talked about events, called CiscoLive!. From hybrid technology to user communities to cutting edge mobile, CiscoLive! has routinely set a new standard for innovative audience engagement and marketing excellence. And every year the event wins more awards.
So, what can you learn from Cisco? A lot.
As event technology evolves, the best technology in the world isn’t held for the big spenders. Many of the tools used at the world’s biggest and best events like CiscoLive! are available for every event, big and small.
We’re proud to be the technology provider for CiscoLive! and we wanted to share a recent article from Event Marketer magazine that explains how these event organizers turned “roadblocks into opportunities.”
You can read it here: http://www.eventmarketer.com/article/challenge-accepted
After you’ve taken a few minutes to see what the world’s best event planners are doing with technology, take a minute to tell us.
Posted: April 5th, 2011
By: Eric Olson, General Manager
Active Network | Business Solutions
Mobile technology is becoming an event professionals’ secret weapon to success. Not only are mobile applications enhancing the meeting experience for both the event manager and the attendees but they’re helping generate additional revenues for the events through enhanced sponsorship opportunities. We’ll go into that into more detail on this in another post. Today we wanted to touch on a few ways we’re finding that mobile technology is changing events for both the event mangers and attendees.
Improved onsite efficiency and accuracy
Onsite mobile tools now provide real-time access to attendee check in, reports, lead retrieval data and customer feedback. By linking directly to event management platforms, these applications are eliminating out-of-date data, immediate access to attendee records, management of payment issues, monitor exhibitor or session traffic and quickly compile and evaluate attendee feedback.
Flexible, environmentally friendly content delivery
Mobile is making content delivery less expensive, more flexible and “greener” than traditional channels. For instance, organizers can easily update content and send alerts while attendees can update schedules dynamically and access area information, hotel details and venue maps to reduce frustration at events.
Improved interactivity and informed content
In addition to improving content delivery mechanisms mobile applications are improving content itself by expanding interactivity and increasing content relevance. Digital guides come to life with interactive polls and discussions. Attendees can provide feedback through their mobile devices with everything from their likes and dislikes to real-time contributions to live debates. This allows organizers and presenters to respond and react, building informed content around the needs of the audience.
Expanded networking for attendees
Mobile improves the networking process for attendees by providing intelligent matching tools that pair up attendees based on shared attributes. Once matched, attendees can use these applications to schedule one-on-one meetings, share contact information and connect through existing social networks.
Persistent audience engagement platform
Mobile technology’s biggest contribution may be its capacity to extend the reach of events by creating a persistent community platform. Social media groups on Facebook and LinkedIn are pulled together to create discussion. Twitter conversations are marshaled to aggregate relevant tweet subjects. Invitations to new events are delivered through push notifications and registration becomes a one-click process, ensuring that organizers maximize repeat attendance. Additionally, continuing education credits can be tracked and organizers are able to create progressive profiles based on attendee behavior, delivering meaningful data about their audience to their organization.
We recently published a white paper on this topic – How Mobile Technology is Reshaping Events – which goes into more detail.
Posted: March 17th, 2011
By: Eric Olson, General Manager
Active Network | Business Solutions
I like good food. So, when I travel – which is a lot – I turn to local friends, family and the internet for restaurant recommendations. Recently, I found extraordinary sushi in Philadelphia – tucked in a neighborhood I would probably never visit for any other reason. I chose the restaurant based on reviews, which were effusive with praise. I even added one after the experience.
As I was finishing my last bite of yellow tail, I had a thought. Would you search out a new restaurant that was reviewed as “satisfactory?”
Of course you wouldn’t. Because “just ok” isn’t good enough for sushi.
So why then do we turn to attendee “satisfaction” as the measuring stick for our events, our sessions and our speakers? Is ok good enough for your attendees? Will satisfactory increase your attendance next year? Nope.
A standard that isn’t good enough for sushi lovers, isn’t good enough for your audience.
As choices for content continue to expand and access to attendee feedback gets easier, our attendees are becoming more savvy consumers. That means event organizers need to think less about satisfying attendees – and more about creating raving fans.
A New Standard: Measuring Promoters
When I ran events, we sent very in depth surveys that asked dozens of questions. How was the food? How were the speakers? How would you rate the content? In the end, we compiled the scores and decided whether our attendees had been satisfied with each piece.
The math was fuzzy. An average of 6 out of 10 may be satisfied, but that attendee isn’t going to write about it on her blog.
So, how do we better measure loyalty and excitement instead of satisfaction?
In our event registration software business we’ve adopted something called NPS, which stands for Net Promoter Score. It’s a fancy way of saying that we benchmark our success on the number of people who would promote us to their friends. It has become the gold standard for measuring customer mood, and it works very well for events.
The method is simple. You ask two questions:
- On a scale of 1 to 10, how likely would you be to recommend (company/event/speaker) to a friend or colleague?
- What was the most important factor in the score you gave us?
The scores are then separated into three categories. Promoters – people who are raving fans – are nines and tens. Passives are sevens and eights. And detractors are ones through sixes. To get your score you subtract the percentage of detractors from the percentage of promoters.
For example, if you had 40 percent promoters and 20 percent detractors, your score would be 20 percent. Great companies generally score 40 percent or higher.
By measuring this consistently, you can consistently measure how much you’re wowing attendees. And the second question, which is presented as an open field format, provides the unbiased, free-form opinions you need to understand your score.
It sounds simple, right? It is. Yet, by automating this in your event surveys you’ll always know why your attendees love you — or why they slipped out the back door early. And that means you’ll have the data you need to take your events from “just ok” to “can’t miss.”
When Jason Paganessi, VP of Business Innovation at the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) talks association technology, he speaks with the unguarded enthusiasm of a child talking toys. Yet his technology strategy is serious business.
