Best Practices
For years, the Massachusetts General Hospital Psychiatry Academy (MGH-PA) has provided world-renowned continuing medical education at its live events and on the Web. And when audience members expressed an interest in receiving educational content on their mobile phones, the Academy came through — promptly developing an iPhone application that allows users to download recent education programs from wherever they are.
Meeting green is nothing new for Oracle OpenWorld. The 37,500-attendee technology event for Oracle customers and staff, held at San Francisco’s Moscone Center each October, was recognized with the IMEX Silver Green Meetings Award in 2008. But in 2009, with goals to ramp up the scope and influence of their sustainability program, event organizers knew they’d need help.
Last year, as the economy struggled and many technology shows took a hit, CrossTech Media expanded the reach of its ITEC shows by launching a weekly Web TV show, ITEC TV. Formerly known as the Information Technology Exhibition and Conference, ITEC shows are oneday programs held in 12 cities across the country.
Cheat Sheet
Here are some legal situations that may be entangled with technology and your show, as well as precautions to take to avoid technology-related litigation.
Event Technology
ActivID from Sherpa Solutions combines an active RFID badge with a network of sensors and the Web to provide a real-time locating system capable of monitoring and tracking thousands of people in real time. Unlike passive RFID systems that require an external source to provoke signal transmission, ActivID badges contain a battery and can transmit signals autonomously.
Google Wave is a free, real-time, online collaboration platform, now in beta distribution (by invitation only), to be released to the general public sometime this year. It combines elements of e-mail, chat, text messaging,Wiki documents, blogs, tweets and photo-sharing sites to create an online “hosted conversation” or a “wave.”
Picture it. You’re attending a 2,000-person event, and you’ve been handed a device that let’s you slice and dice the reg list to identify the 20 people you’d most like to meet. When one of them gets within 30 feet of you, the device vibrates to tell you they’re nearby.
Several current technologies let shows leverage social media and smartphones, but Aerva technology also adds digital display networks to the mix. Aerva lets organizers engage, entertain and inform attendees with real-time interactivity and social media using mobile phones and digital display networks.
EXPO Plus...
Although the worst of the recession may be behind us, many organizers are still challenged with delivering quality shows on reduced budgets. It’s more important than ever these days to find ways to produce meetings more cost effectively. Here are a few cost-savings tips to try at your next show.
Parkers’ Lighthouse is a full-service, contemporary seafood restaurant and bar serving lunch and dinner with attentive service in a relaxed atmosphere. A perfect locale for private functions such as board and committee meetings, the venue is housed in a dramatic, free-standing building with an outstanding waterfront location at the point of Shoreline Village in Long Beach, CA.
Looking for ways to reduce the environmental impact of the dining practices at your next event? Try working with your facility’s caterer to incorporate some of these eco-friendly tips from the Environment Defense Fund (EDF).
Autotune software (which translates spoken voice into song) turned a song “sang” by Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) staff and McCormick Place employees into the Black Eyed Peas hit song “I Gotta Feeling.”
Feature Articles
“Private-equity (PE) firms run something of a shell game,” says Josh Kosman, author of “The Buyout of America: How private equity will cause the next great credit crisis.” “They buy companies with other people’s money by structuring acquisitions like mortgages. The critical difference is that while we pay our mortgages, PE firms have the businesses they buy take the loans, making them responsible for repayment.
Aside from dieting, few topics generate as many gurus and as much book ink as customer service. The result: both subjects tend to make your eyes glaze over. Yet to work well, both require a fundamental mindset change.
Rather than rely on typical attendee marketing avenues such as direct mail and advertising, Reed Exhibition’s Pop Culture Group sticks to strictly nontraditional marketing initiatives, choosing to send its messages solely through social networks, blogs and YouTube videos.
Openers
Not every show has the time or resources to invest in a full-time public relations expert or create an intricate press strategy. But even if you don’t have someone devoted to the press full time, you shouldn’t relegate the media to second- or third-priority status when it comes to prepping for your next show.
Publisher's Column
I’m sure many of you remember just yesterday when, in this very space, I announced the arrival of my first daughter. You’ll be shocked to hear that this morning, I enrolled that child in high school.
Sales and Marketing
Q: What booth sales tools would you recommend to other organizers and why?
The Buzz
DO YOU COME WITH THE CAR?
Ever wondered what’s going through the minds of the glitzy models hired to work the auto show circuit for car companies year after year? Check out one anonymous gal’s blog, Do You Come With the Car?, at doyoucomewiththecar.blogspot.com.
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