by Abida | Jul 9, 2018 | Blog, Events
Event Venue – Factors To Consider When Choosing
With every event planned, there come a plethora of questions that need to be looked over. Most event planners can vouch for their experiences of having to tackle multiple logistical issues. That gets thrown their way, and one of the most prominent hurdles arise in the question of choosing the right event venue for their event. The event venue ultimately sets the environment and atmosphere for the entire course of the event and eventually helps in realizing the event’s design. When booking an event venue, an event planner must aim to strike a balance between creating a satisfying audience experience and the overall budget. That’s why it is critical to also think about what the venue might require to generate a space of creativity and attendee satisfaction. And we at webMOBI have collated a comprehensive and quick set of factors you can consider when choosing the right venue for your event.
1. Vision board
Many times, event planners focus on understanding how they’d want their guests to feel. And selecting a venue involves studying how an audience thinks about you, your brand, before, during and after the event. Before choosing a venue, formulate a vision board as to how you’d want your event to pan out – including a plan to reduce waste, optimizing resources, generation audience and venue appropriate entertainment, etc. And whether it’s an outside party or an indoor conference, always remember to have venue backup plan!
2. Capacity and Function
It’s vital to have an approximate maximum headcount of your audiences before deciding on the venue sources. Remember to consider a venue’s, and it’s ability to accommodate as many guests as possible when choosing a location – while at the same time making sure that you don’t splurge on a large venue that may offer more space than required. But apart from the size, the venue’s functionality and comfort is also a significant aspect to take into consideration. Try to ensure that your final venue has specific functional spaces, nearby services and rooms that can accommodate guests moving from various sections of the area for multiple activities, breakout sessions, attendees with disabilities, etc. In addition to considering a venue with multi-use conveniences, remember to request for spaces with both seating and standing room capacities. This facet comes especially in hand when there happens to be a small error in headcount, and you might maintain the space promised.
3. Cost and logistics
Staying within the budget is always a huge concern for any event planner, hence making it an essential factor to take into consideration when choosing a venue. An effective method to lower the price of a venue is to book your event on a day that is rarely sought after by other planners. Also, take into account the additional services provided by the venue authorities and its travel convenience to ensure that your attendee rates do not suffer. Logistically, event planners need to be careful of booking their venues on specific dates that avoid sharing the space with other conflicting events that might occur at the same time as your event.
4. Ambiance
While this factor might be the least technical, it is nonetheless a vital factor to consider. It is necessary to match the mood and the overall ambiance of the venue with the potential audiences that you hope to attract. Make sure that when choosing the venue you keep in mind the tone and message your event is trying to send to your guests.
5. Details
The tinier details regarding the venue need to be included in the checklist. Questions concerning the venue’s security services, curfew and vendor restrictions (if and any), sound and acoustics are some examples of intricacies you will need to look into before finalizing on a venue.
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by Abida | Jul 3, 2018 | Blog
Tech Events – Top 25 Events
Leaving behind the plethora of conferences that saturated 2017, comes a brand new set of exciting prospects for development and engagement. This year’s line up of top tech events and conferences will leave you breathless and rejuvenated at the same time. And more often then so, one of the primary aims of attending any tech events is the following media coverage. That’s why webMOBI has put together a comprehensive list of best tech events for this year and the next. This curation will allow you to not only easily navigate through the mass flood of tech events and conferences in the coming months, but also attend to the ones that best fit your professional objectives.
USA:
1. XLIVE Annual Conference and Expo | APR. 2, 2018: Like any other Las Vegas party, the XLIVE convention in Vegas, Nevada, is famous for convening leaders and major players in the music, film, tech events, sports, beverage, brands and the tech worlds to exchange ideas and experiences. The event is notorious for providing attendees an experience that resonates well with festivals and live tech events.
2. RSA | APR. 16-20, 2018: From individuals with start-ups to established corporations to news reporters; the RSA tech conference is an event that’s marked very early on everyone’s calendar. The conference attracts over 40,000 infosec leaders for keynotes and hands-on discussions regarding the current attack vectors and possible defense strategies. Hosted in San Francisco, the RSA also highlights the business side of cybersecurity, and it hopes to exhibit new resolutions and services through extensive dialogue. And to top that off, techies often end up finding new partners and customers through the interactive sessions.
3. Recode Code Conference | MAY 29-31, 2018: To be hosted In Palos Verdes, California, this tech conference has seen some of the most influential tech companies like Lyft, YouTube, and HBO, send their leaders to take the stage on media, tech, and politics.
4. E3 | JUNE 12-14, 2018: This Los Angeles based conference is notorious for being fabled as the “mecca for gaming.” From Indies to chartbusters, the E3 tech conference is sure to draw fans crowding the venues for the first play of some of the year’s most anticipated titles. Game developers will also be exhibiting their creations, with the media covering the best parts of the convention center.
5. Black Hat | AUGUST 4-9, 2018: With over 150 security companies showcasing their new solutions to over 7500 attendees, the Black Hat tech conference has always been a pioneering forum in bringing together some of the most dominant minds in the information security field. The conference highlights the exchange of research, trends and in-depth sessions on the latest security risks and possible solutions. It proposes one of the most concentrated platforms of cyber-security tech members and offers terrific opportunities to network.
6. TECHSPO Los Angeles | Mid-JUN, 2019: This technology expo is a space where business, technology, and innovation come to fruition. The conference exhibits the next wave of tech and creativity; showcasing new developments such as contextual technology, VR and AR, IoT, Wearables, 3D Printing, and many more! Attendees must prepare themselves to be amazed by the evolving new age of tech that is bound to influence our businesses in the future.
Note: Although attendance is free, it is however limited. So register ASAP!
7. The New York Summit | TBD, 2019: With a date soon to be announced, the New York Times is preparing to bring together some of the top leaders in business and technology, to scrutinize the promise of emerging AI tech. The conference will include invigorating explorations of the impending challenges, overriding questions, and opportunities that AI tech is proposing for world organizations.
8. SXSW | TBD, 2019: This meet up is no novelty in the world of tech events. One of the USA’s signature conferences, the SouthxSouthWest convention continues to create forums for creative minds, media outlets and large businesses and corporations build dialogues on potential strategies of development. The conference is a melting pot of tech, film culture and invites networking opportunities (in addition to BBQ).
9. CES | TBD, 2019: Apart from being a productive conference for business meetings, CES allows its attendees to meet reporters and gain the kind of media and PR attention one needs to kick-start their efforts. Known for being one of the table-setters in the line of tech events, the conference allows for an early look into the methods in which new developments in tech make its way into our current enterprises.
Europe:
1. Artificial Intelligence Conference | APR 10, 2018: The London based conference delves into the technical and abstract spheres of the emergence of AI. Attendees often enjoy extensive sessions and showcases on AI enterprise, the impact of the tech on current and future businesses, societal implications, and our future interaction with AI.
2. IFA | AUGUST 31-SEPT. 5, 2018: Europe’s largest technology conference is bringing together large household names and new exciting players in the business. From consumer electronics to home appliances, the IFA is one of the biggest tech trade shows on the continent. To be hosted in Berlin, the IFA tech event is attracting more and more US-based companies into the fold, allowing them to experience the European market and gain some of the media attention the conference pulls every year.
3. World Summit AI | OCT 10, 2018: The World Summit AI is a guaranteed trip for every techie. To be hosted in Amsterdam, Netherlands, the conference is a fast-paced and emphasizes on the innovation and safe development in machine learning. The event also promises to provoke deeper thinking, new partnerships, potential investment projects and new tech alliances.
4. Web Summit | NOV 5, 2018: What started out as a simple idea almost a decade ago, the Web Summit has grown to become one of the largest technology conferences in the world. Based in Lisbon, Portugal, the conference aims to connect the tech community with every other industry, to bring about a healthy and productive partnership for future businesses.
5.OnBrand | NOV 11, 2018: This event is the largest trending meet up of Europe’s most celebrated and sharpest minds in the tech and design industries. Across the years, delegates such as brand directors, creative heads, and CMOs gather in Amsterdam, to discuss and build upon the crossovers between technology and marketing. Notorious for being “Europe’s intention creative hub,” OnBrand also hosts many talks and sessions on the growing trends in the tech world that will eventually shape the future directions of the industry.
6. Mobile World Congress | TBD, 2019: The MWC, in Barcelona, Spain, is the largest premier tech event for any and all mobile technologies. Initially, dominated by European and Asian companies, the MWC has seen increasing participation rates from US-based companies in search of opportunities in other overseas markets. And it’s very likely that delegates would get exclusive opportunities and bragging rights to having witnessed the launch of major new mobile tech – like the Samsung Galaxy S9. The MWC has attracted over 6100 CEOs, 108,000 attendees, and has showcased cutting-edge displays and much more.
Canada:
1. Digimarcon | Late MAY, 2019: 2019’s Digimarcon will mark the 5th anniversary of the Canadian-based annual digital marketing conference. The tech event is famous for connecting digital marketing leaders with new audiences of investors and customers. Attendees often find themselves networking through novel ideas, technologies and unique business propositions. The conference focuses on discussing new ways to satisfy consumers through updated digital strategies, cross-analytics, search engine marketing and mobile integration and engagement.
Middle East:
1. The Sign and Graphic Imaging | JAN 21-23, 2019: Set in Dubai the Sign and Graphic Imaging tech conference is a 19-year-old prominent forum that has generated billions of dollars worth in sales for delegates serving the signage, POP/POS, and advertising industries. The SGI tech trade show has received some of the most dignified and major decision makers in the industry to take part in the exhibitions and attendees can get the chance some of these imminent leaders. The show is expected to attract attendees not only from the MENA region but also from around the world, for invigorating trade and networking opportunities.
2. The OurCrowd Global Investment Summit | MAR 7, 2019: Scheduled for the March of 2019, the OurCrowd Global Investor Summit is one of the largest and most anticipated investor events of the year. Ready to be hosted in Jerusalem, Israel, the summit is also revered for being the biggest equity crowdfunding event across the globe. The event hopes to offer an unmatched platform for members within the tech-start-up-ecosystem, to network, learn and grow from each other.
Asia:
1. Computext | JUN 5-9, 2018: Considered to be one of Taiwan’s largest B2B marketplaces, the Computex conference concentrates on tech that regards itself with consumer electronics, data storage, networking products and other wireless communication services. The tech events have witnessed several suppliers and distributes from various cutting-edge brands in the industry, interact and present their services.
2. TECHNOTEX | JUN 28-29, 2018: Based in India, the TECHNOTEX international showcase and conference emphasizes on the technicalities and chain of textile production, packaging, and distribution. The conference focuses on the growing market for investment and trade between India and other nations in the technical textile industry. TECHNOTEX hopes to provide a creative platform for exchange between international companies and leaders in the technical textile value chain.
3. Systems Integration | AUG 16-18, 2018: One of the leading trade shows in the Philippines, the Systems Integration conference serves as a substantial exhibit space for emerging technologies such as AI, pro-AV, transmissions and much more. It is known for being the marketplace for office solutions and tends to attract thousands of attendees who hope to see some of latest developments in gadgets, video and lighting, ITC and out-of-home media.
4. Malaysia IT Fair, KL | JUL 31 – AUG 2, 2019: The Malaysia IT Fair, KL, simplifies and helps create a quintessential platform for IT industry players and stakeholders to jump-start their work and campaigns. It also facilitates an accessible forum for companies and individuals to demonstrate their products and service, to a vast audience. The Malaysia IT Fair, KL, also offers a lively learning ambiance for its visitors to acculturated to the volatility of the IT world.
5. The China International Internet of Things Exhibit | AUG 16-18, 2019: One of Asia’s largest IoT expos, the China International Internet of Things Exhibit covers the different layers of the IoT industry and its subsequent chain of functions. It provides delegates with IoT applications and integrative solutions to members from different sectors and businesses.
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by Abida | Jun 19, 2018 | Blog
Event Marketing Ideas
Content marketing has increasingly emphasized its focus upon the customer’s experience of the content and consumers have been seen to seek for more in-depth output material from a brand. That’s why downloadables like ebooks, white papers, and other forms of digital content such as social media posts, blogs, and newsletters serve as the backbone for a brand’s content strategy. Audiences have been increasingly known to consume content in the hopes of being a part of unique and satisfying customer experience – thereby adding to the principal of experiential event marketing ideas.
Such brands and companies that offer in-person or face-to-face events for consumers are capable of creating interactive spaces of network and creativity for their audiences as well as forge more long-lasting and stronger bonds with them. Such in-person events can also work as a launching pad for fruitful marketing content and sales communications.
And as a B2B marketer, the primary aim should be to heighten your brand’s recognition in the market and to eventually produce well-established relationships with your consumers and prospective stakeholders/investors.
But, with around 67% of B2B marketers citing to have event marketing as their most effective strategy, many businesses find it difficult to leverage a significant portion of their investments after an event. That’s why we at webMOBI have curated a quick yet effective set of b2b event marketing ideas strategies that can easily be incorporated into a team’s marketing framework.
1. Crystal clear objective
Companies quite often underestimate the frequency at which marketers start planning their events without having a clear set of directions, and how the event would ultimately align with the company’s broader marketing and organizational aims. By setting clear-cut and quantifiable goals (e.g., no. of follow up meetings, no. of attendees expected. etc.), an organization thus has the capacity to not only measure the success of the work but also are ensured a solid framework to guide their workforce with.
2. Going digital with Social media
While the positive results from meet and greet events have been evident, the new age gamut of technology and digital content can also help optimize your event expenditures. Apart from the major advantage of easy and brilliant brand communication, going digital can help channel your communication and marketing strategies more cost-effectively and on a wider scale. Other functions such as event promotion, pre-event registrations, and post-event ROI tracking can all be conducted efficiently if marketers invest in the right kind of tech. https://www.caasimada.net/ It is critical to have a comprehensive digital framework that covers all communications before, during and after every event. Social media is one tool that can be easily used to learn more about and connect with your audiences. Using clever hashtags and uploading interesting audio-visual posts on Instagram can attract audiences to your brand/event, far beyond the actual date of the event itself.
3. “Tag” your “it”
Marketers can get more innovative by concentrating on smaller and more targetted groups, with more relevant content. Carefully directed marketing strategies and “micro tags” can be applied based on an intricate knowledge of the target market’s demographics in order to appeal to each persona within the audience. Such targetted tags can help address a wide range of unique points and needs, and further improve engagement rates.
4. In-person meetings
More often than so, the fundamentals of marketing are embodied by the need for a human element and depth in content. Consumers are always looking for a memorable experience – which is something that can ultimately catapult a brand into obtaining greater market share and dominance. The future of content marketing is heading in the direction of offering consumers with a tangible experience that can help them engage with the brand’s current services, products, and image. In-person events within the sphere of experiential marketing offer audiences the chance to interact and engage with authentic services.
5. Content is everything
For b2b marketers, it is necessary to think about enhancing customer experience and adding real value to the content produced and distributed. Innovative ways of promoting good content include digital posts via social media, blog posts, and articles – content that can easily be marketed across all platforms. Additional types of materials that can be generated can include interesting interviews, infographics and audio/visual content.
6. Webinars
When a business conducts a webinar, they help audiences gain information on new trends and issues of interest in the industry. With the right kind of tech and presenters/hosts, webinars can facilitate consumer interaction and engagement. Marketers need to make sure that these webinars don’t trail for too long, but just for the amount of time, it takes to the get a message out effectively to an audience. B2B Marketers should also keep in mind that participants and consumers incapable of attending the webinar should be able to access a recording of the event. Webinar attendees are also more likely to respond to a brand’s promotions and engage in authentic experiences.
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by Abida | Jun 12, 2018 | Blog
Event Speakers for a Successful Interactive Session
In the event’s industry, the primary objective of every organizer’s mind during an event is the need to maintain and maximize audience or attendee engagement. And while attendee engagement makes your event more fun and interactive, it also simultaneously enhances the brand’s awareness and development, as well as improve the brand’s engagement with its current audience of consumers. Interactive events are becoming a matter of importance when assuring a brand’s success, especially when in the case where our entire world is becoming digital; there arises a greater need for face-to-face engagement.
But what’s important to know is that attendee engagement is not a phenomenon that only happens once the event starts. It begins and continues long before and after the event itself. That’s why we at webMOBI have collated a comprehensive list of steps and pointers that event speakers and organizers can use to optimize their interactive events.
Before The Event:
Success begins at the venue
Planning out the room design can be the keystone to successful attendee engagement. Strategically arranging the room or venue, and deciding audience and event speaker placements can help maximize audience interaction and cognitive engagement.
Know your attendees
It’s critical to understand and know your audience demographics. This knowledge allows you to prepare and execute the content in relation to the attendee based data, thereby giving you an even higher opportunity to increase attendee engagement.
Social media hype
Promote your event via social media and the internet. In this digital age, utilize your online resources to attract and interact with attendees even before the event. Promote your conferences by blogging about it, by giving audiences a behind-the-scenes sneak peak through photos and videos on Instagram or Facebook or through creative and innovative Twitter hashtags.
At The Event:
Multiple studies have claimed that the average concentration of time for a human cannot last more than 20-30 minutes. So no matter how unique the speech or conference is, it’s impossible for any crowd to focus for a few hours. So here are some steps for you to follow to ensure that your event speakers are well prepared for any session:
The format matters
Event speakers can choose an interesting and interactive format of delivery to ensure audience interaction and engagement. It’s important that they prepare for the most suitable form of content execution in order help increase attendee engagement. They can incorporate panel discussions, TED-style talks, keynote presentations, workshops, demonstrations, panel discussions and even speed networking.
A briefing before the conference
A before-the-conference briefing should include all the event speakers, presenters, moderators and as well as people working behind the scenes and should contain all and any information regarding the run-through of the event program, and any rules and regulations for the event. By doing so, you go over all the necessary steps to ensure that you provide the best experience for your attendees and moderators.
Pointers for the show
A good speaker can champion any audience with a handful of implementations and qualities, such as:
-facilitating questions and discussion
– collecting, reciprocating and responding to audience questions
– listening to all the delegates and audience members
– delivering the content as calmly and confidently as possible
Q&A time
One of the most effective and easiest methods of improving interaction between the speaker and the audience is to assign a specific amount of time for a Q and A session or by collecting questions throughout the event. This is engaging activity helps multiply the context of the material delivered and can allow an audience to truly invest themselves in the event. There are even many Q&A and live polling tools that can easily allow any event speaker or moderator to crowd-source their questions directly from the audience such official event apps with live feedback features. This way, audience members can provide their questions and opinions immediately via their mobiles in real time and conjure up an informative session.
Incorporate a game
Integrating incentives, competitions, or games is an efficient method to increase audience engagement. Gamification like scavenger hunts and virtual or simulated competitions can facilitate audiences to engage with the content delivered in a way that will truly stick with them. Additionally, gamification in small groups further allows for attendees to not only interact with their peers but also with the speakers and moderators.
After The Event:
Keep the ball rolling
A unique yet effective way of keeping an audience energized even after the event ends is by hosting an after-party. Not only does it increase audience engagement but it ends up creating a great platform for promoting your brand and any future events, in an exciting and enjoyable manner.
Surveys and emails
Sending out post-event surveys and “thank you” emails can help continue dialogue after an event concludes. By doing so, a speaker can also receive valuable information regarding various aspects of the event or conference – like the content delivery, audience interaction, and satisfaction, session informativeness, etc., – that can be incorporated in the future conferences and events.
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by Abida | Jun 7, 2018 | Blog
There are two critical clauses in every event manager’s and planner’s Bible:
1) Every logistical detail must be planned out before, during and after the event.
2) The event must have scope for attendees to have an engaging experience.
More often than so, you can gauge the success of an event from the nature and extent of your attendee engagement. But simultaneously, it is easy to get caught up in designing the event and lose track of creating effective event marketing strategies to keep your attendees engaged. Even if your event attracts around 50 attendees or participants, it is vital for any and every event planner to formalize various strategies and techniques to Attendee engagement and generate positive responsiveness to the event’s content.
It’s pivotal to contemplate upon innovative methods by which you can not only promote your event to mass audiences but simultaneously keep them excited and captured – even before they physically arrive onsite. Using techniques to build solid relationships with your audience is an exercise that guarantees sky-rocketing rates of success, and it can overall facilitate a chain of networking and business development.
The plethora of technology available to us makes it even easier for attendee engagement in the process of an event. It opens up venues to create valuable and attractive content for your delegates, generate buzz around the event and eventually prolong the conversation after the event has ended. That’s why we’ve put together a comprehensive list of promotional tactics you can use to enhance your attendee’s experience and create a reliable and fruitful engagement plan for your events.
Pre-Event Hacks
A few objectives every event planner should always keep in mind, before an event, is to keep attendees updated continuously on a wide range of event-related news and promotions and create a space for audiences to interact with each other regarding the event. Some techniques include:
1. Share exciting content and news-shorts about the event through public and private channels.
2. Build networking spaces (chat-rooms) for novice attendees to connect with frequent event-goers.
3. Involve your targetted audiences in the planning of your event, to not only keep them engaged but to also gain valuable criticism and feedback.
4. Inform and leverage your speakers to start dialogues between themselves and their audiences about their upcoming projects. Attendees and speakers can communicate with one another via social media outlets like Twitter chats and Facebook live videos.
5. Design your registration website to provide all access to all your attendee’s needs and essentials. Also, keep in mind to maintain a smart and attractive aesthetic to the website. Your website should be an easy to use one-stop-shop for all your audience members.
6. Promote highlights from your previous events to inform and excite your incoming audiences; furthermore, the clever use of social media outlets becomes a focal space for marketing.
7. By surveying event registrants through specifically directed questions, event planners can gain significant insight into their audience’s needs and expectations. The information received can be further incorporated to tailor future events to boost audience engagement and satisfaction.
8. Post teasers and reveals of your keynote speakers and events, through creative and attractive ways.
9. For those who won’t be attending the event, planners should learn to create more chances for them to attend and participate in these events. A few approaches include offering discounts in return for social-media crowd sharing, exclusive participatory competitions for VIP giveaways and access passes, behind the scenes tours, etc.
During The Event
1. Utilize internal channels of information to bolster social networking and increase the hype leading up to the event. Internal social outlets such as members-only websites, forums, hashtags, event date countdowns, and mobile event app group activity, are ideal for building a sense of exclusivity and customization of attendee engagement. Audiences can engage, not only with the agenda and content of the event but other participants, speakers, and organizers as well.
2. Limit your presentations and content to small chunks of 10 to 15-minute demonstrations, and open a forum for interaction. Speakers should invite participant input and discussion to help maintain a decent degree of attendee engagement
3. Incorporate quirky activities into the event to boost audience experience and engagement. For example, set up a photo booth with props, so that attendees not only get the opportunities to document their experience but also share the pictures using an event-related hashtag and further promote the event.
4. The design of the space and venue also has a significant influence on the overall attendee engagement and satisfaction rates. Event organizers must learn to facilitate remarkable environments for learning and networking; this would involve seating designs and arrangements, internal infrastructure, etc. By altering the literal positioning of audience members, event managers and organizers can yield more cognitive engagement amongst attendees and with the content provided
5. Another feature to take advantage of on social media and internal channels is real-time attendee polls (e.g., Twitter polls). Event organizers and marketing strategists can use interactive question polls and voting systems to attendee engagement and the content provided at the event.
6. Weave in a few energizers through the course of the event. These energizers would include short breaks, upbeat AV content, interactive group activities, etc., and would have to be carefully designed and arranged as per the attendee demographic.
After The Event
An event planner’s work doesn’t end when the event concludes. In fact, it’s only when the event ends, does the job pick up.
While this part only accounts for a small portion of the overall social media updates, the post-event dialogue and promotion genuinely pushes the event’s success rates.
1. Press and Social Media Coverage: Invite journalists and press reporters to the event and cover most of the high-points and personal experiences
2. Post-event polls: Attendee feedback has proved to be vital across all the stages of an event. But a good event manager is distinguished by how they utilize and incorporate the criticism received from audiences. Respond back and reply to attendees for their votes, opinions, and thoughts, and assimilate them into future event plans.
