73 Event Technology

Tools for 2015

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The meetings and events industry is a powerful,
growing force with a bright future:

the Bureau of Labor and Statistics predicts a 33% increase in planning professionals
through 2020, a growth rate that is significantly above the national average. That trajectory
hasn’t grown — and won’t be realized — without the industry taking significant steps to
innovate, reinvent and embrace the impact technology has on our future.

The principal definition of technology is “the application of scientific knowledge for practical
purposes, especially in industry.” Technology has galvanized the meetings and events
industry in more ways than one: it facilitates collaboration, decreases inefficiencies, drives
new business, automates tasks, and spurs further innovation.

We refer to the software platforms and technologies designed for the hospitality
community to alleviate time spent on minor details by automating tasks and allowing
planners to focus more strategically on their events Meeting Optimization Software (MOS).

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73 Event Technology Tools for 2015
EXAMPLES OF MEETING OPTIMIZATION SOFTWARE
The technological innovations available within the meetings and events marketplace
today have evolved beyond simple, one-service focused products to become pragmatic,
sensible solutions for cost conscious, productivity-oriented, data hungry planners while
simultaneously enhancing attendee engagement, communication, and satisfaction.

RADIO-FREQUENCY IDENTIFICATION PROFESSIONAL CONNECTION TECHNOLOGY:

(RFID) TECHNOLOGY:
The future of events is digital, and this wireless, non-
contact system is elbowing its way into that landscape. RFID
wristbands are increasingly appearing at festivals and large-
scale events, including Coachella and Bonnaroo.
Most RFID wristbands contain short-range (typically 3–5
cm), passive tags and don’t require batteries; instead, they
are powered when placed near or tapped against an RFID
reader. One tap and the information stored in the tag (credit
card numbers, social media accounts, ticket status, etc.) is
transferred.
Events require staff, and we all know good staff are hard to
find. Companies like Elance were created specifically to
address that need, and to keep you away from the
dreaded white pages. With 8 million freelancers
available to work and more than 2 million
companies currently signed on as customers, the
site provides a seamless transactional marketplace
that has thus far generated $750 million of work.
Meeting optimization software is evident here through
directly engaging two services, each with a need for one
another, with the click of a button.

COLLABORATIVE PLANNING TECHNOLOGY:

Google Drive has more than 120 million users. The cloud-
based service has obliterated the need for desktop documents
through its extensive suite of applications. This falls under the
Meeting Optimization Software. umbrella by providing instant
accessibility and real-time collaboration on documents used
for communication during the planning process.

73 Event Technology Tools for 2015

 73  Venue Sources
 Meeting Design
 Trade Shows & Lead Retrieval
 Event Marketing & Promotion
 Social Media
 Mobile Event Apps
Meeting Optimization Software Solutions  Mobile Ticketing
 Registration
MOS solutions available to the hospitality industry are
 Guest Management & Check-In
vast. Here, we’ve identified 12 of the most important  Attendee Engagement
categories for meetings and event planners, and have  Live Streaming & Event Visualization
outlined MOS solutions available for each.  Event Surveys

73 Event Technology Tools for 2015


 
 
 
 
Venue Sourcing  
 
Venue sourcing is the process in which planners search,
review and book properties based upon a range of
conditions, including RFP submission, rates, sleeping  
rooms, meeting space, F&B and location.
7 MEETING OPTIMIZATION
SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS:
O
 N-SITE – A sales acceleration and lead generation
software that allows customers to visualize meeting space.
E VENTUP – A comprehensive marketplace for event venues
providing access to locations of all types nationwide.
L
 IQUID SPACE – a workspace ecosystem at your fingertips.
Locate, book, check-in and share great spaces to work,
wherever you are.
C
 VENT – Offers software solutions to event planners
for online event registration, venue selection, event
management, mobile apps for events, e-mail marketing and
web surveys.
L ANYON STARCITE – Offers advanced Strategic Meetings
Management (SMM) software for companies.
E
 VENUES – Develops, aggregates, and operates an online
public marketplace and booking service for meeting, event
and unique spaces.
R
 EGUS – Provides convenient, high-quality, fully serviced
spaces for people to work, whether for a few minutes or a
few years.
73 Event Technology Tools for 2015
 5 MEETING OPTIMIZATION
SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS:
 S
 OCIAL TABLES – The leading provider of cloud-based
hospitality software that positions venues to work more
collaboratively and efficiently with their event and meeting
customers.

 R OOM VIEWER – Offers quick, easy and cost effective ways
to prepare event diagrams.

 V
 IVIEN – An intuitive, 3D event design & planning software
for event professionals.

 S MART DRAW – Helps organizations of any size save time

and achieve bottom-line results by providing easy-to-make
Meeting Design charts, graphs and diagrams.

 PARTY CAD 12 – A 3D event design software for the

Windows operating system.

Meeting Design is the purposeful shaping of the form and

content of a meeting to deliver on crucial organizational
objectives. Meeting design focuses on content and human
interaction and aligns meeting objectives with business
objectives.

73 Event Technology Tools for 2015


 
 
 
Trade Shows & Lead Retrieval
 
According to Convention Industry Council’s report, The
Economic Significance of Meetings to the U.S. Economy  
(Jan 2014), in 2012, there were 284,600 conventions/
 
conferences/trade shows in the United States, hosting
over 87 million attendees. The solutions for managing
these shows is expansive. Lead retrieval devices provide
substantial ROI for companies investing marketing and
business development dollars in trade shows.
6 MEETING OPTIMIZATION
SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS:
B
 LOODHOUND – Provides a mobile app for lead retrieval
and event planning at trade shows and conferences.
E XPOREP – A powerful backend management system
for managing your trade show map and all the data
for your show.
B OOTH TRACKER – The premier booth rental
management software for tradeshows, exhibitors,
event planners.
E XHIBITCORE – The portal to all of your tradeshow
management and event marketing solutions.
M
 AP YOUR SHOW (MYS) – Offers customizable
technology for total exhibition management software.
CONVENTION FORCE – Software for tradeshow and
banquet managers including floorplans, reports and
vendor sign-up.
73 Event Technology Tools for 2015
 5 MEETING OPTIMIZATION
SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS:
 L
 ANYRD – Allows you to add events, discover new and
exciting conferences and track your friends to see what
events they are attending.

 E VENTKLOUD – distributes personalized content,

encourages engagement & utilizes data-driven audience
intelligence to make your event marketing campaigns
consistently smarter.

 CONFERENCEHOUND – A conference discovery and

validation engine. We aggregate the world's conferences.

 B
 RANDSCOPIC – Captures event recaps and media
from your field staff or integrates with advanced capture
technologies.

 S
 PINGO – Combines research by event specialists
with user-submitted content to produce a robust and
Event Marketing & Promotion comprehensive event search engine.

Event marketing and promotion are critical to brand

expansion, product promotion, and event awareness.

73 Event Technology Tools for 2015

 TWEET
COMMENT

5 MEETING OPTIMIZATION
SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS:
 TAGBOARD – Uses hashtags to search for and collect
public social media within seconds of being posted to
networks like Twitter and Facebook.

 T WEETWALL – Full service Social Media Wall provider

including comprehensive moderation, customization,
sponsorship and advertising options for meetings and
events.

 P OSTANO – A social media aggregation and display

platform.

 E
 VENTIFIER – Collates all the event related content from
FOLLOW various social media streams.

Social Media  T INT – A self-service platform that allows organizations to

create social hubs in minutes.

 H
 OOTSUITE – A social media dashboard to manage and
Social media is a tool that, if harnessed correctly, can measure your social networks.

facilitate the exchange of information between event  B ONFYRE – A free application that allows users to
attendees and magnify the impact of your program to an create private networks, share photos and send messages
to others.
audience you wouldn’t otherwise have access to.

73 Event Technology Tools for 2015

 6 MEETING OPTIMIZATION
SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS:
 P
 OCKET PLANNER – A free event and meeting calculator
that uses Convention Industry Council standards to
recommend food, beverage, service and safety quantities
for events based on attendance.

 Q
 UICKMOBILE – Develops mobile event apps to compile
and manage information about meetings, conferences,
and exhibitions.

 P RESDO MATCH – Provides a networking event app that

builds a social network to connect and engage your event
participants.

Mobile Event Apps  B IZZABO – A networking platform that integrates social
media to build interactive event communities for event
organizers and attendees.

Two thirds of Americans own a smart phone. A study by  C ROWD COMPASS – Develops event, conferencing and
tradeshow mobile apps for iPhone, iPad, Blackberry and
Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers found the average Android devices.

user checks their phone nearer to 150 times per day. Apps
 G UIDEBOOK – A web interface enabling organizations to
are your most direct vessel to your meeting and event create mobile guides for their customers.

attendees’ attention and engagement.

73 Event Technology Tools for 2015

 TICKET 6 MEETING OPTIMIZATION
SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS:
 E
 VENTBRITE – An online ticketing service that enables
users to create, promote, and sell tickets for events.

 E
 VENTJOY – A mobile-first ticketing company that is
redefining how people organize and experience events.

 T
 ICKETBUD – An online event registration and ticketing
Mobile Ticketing service that puts all event organizers in complete control
of how they pay for the ticketing of their event.

 T
 ICKETLEAP – An online ticketing platform enabling
Mobile Ticketing is “the process whereby customers event organizers to sell, market and manage their events in
one place.
can order, pay for, obtain and validate tickets from any
location and at any time using mobile phones or other  E
 VENTBEE – Provides web-based event management
712-2435698 software that enables maximum ticket sales to event
mobile handsets. Mobile tickets reduce the production and managers.

distribution costs connected with traditional paper-based

 T
 HUNDERTIX – An event ticketing software and box
ticketing channels and increase customer convenience office management system.

by providing new and simple ways to purchase tickets.”

Remember those stats about cell phones? Make sure your
meeting or event has a mobile ticketing option.

73 Event Technology Tools for 2015

 1
2
5 MEETING OPTIMIZATION
SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS:
 E
 TOUCHES – A cloud event management enterprise
3 software covering every major function in the event life
cycle through 15 modules.
4
 U
 NGERBOECK – Provides an all-inclusive event
5 management software system for venues and facilities that
integrates CRM, sales, finance, booking and many other
6 services.

7  X ING EVENTS – Offers conference and seminar

8 organisers event management software for online ticketing

and event registration.

9
Registration  C VENT – An event management platform enabling

10 planners to manage all aspects of an event, including

registration.
11
 R EGONLINE – An event management software solution
Once a painful process for both attendees and planners,
12 for organizing events, meetings and conferences.
technology has created a plethora of options for seamless
registration – there are over 300 registration solution
providers. Look for software that provides a seamless
platform for both your attendees and your team.

73 Event Technology Tools for 2015

 6 MEETING OPTIMIZATION
SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS:
 S
 OCIAL TABLES CHECK-IN – The fastest check-in app on
the market.

 B OOMSET – A mobile event management platform that

helps event planners during events.

 C
 HECK IN EASY – Easy iPad/iPhone application for simple
guest registration, check-in and management at events.

 Z KIPSTER – The first bespoke guest list software, serving

event planners and PR professionals.

Guest Management & Check-In  ATTENDIUM – A guest list app & service designed to
simplify guest list management at venues and events.

 G UEST MANAGER – Event management software for

The facilitation of the most hospitable environment for event check ins,barcode ticket scanning, online ticket sales,
RSVPs and much more.
event and meeting guests begins long before the event
with attendee outreach, and follows a complete life
cycle through to the follow up communications, while
seamless check-in is your opportunity to make a great first
impression on your attendees.

73 Event Technology Tools for 2015

 7 MEETING OPTIMIZATION
SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS:
 F
 EATHR – Helps conference organizers and attendees
connect, network, and keep in touch with speakers and
other attendees.

 P
 OLL EVERYWHERE – A real time web, SMS, and Twitter
polling service that lets users submit votes or comments to
a PowerPoint or Keynote slide.

 S
 LI.DO – A web application for speakers and event
organizers to engage their audience with real-time
questions, comments and polls.

 L
 INTELUS – Browser-based slide sharing software that
enhances audience engagement and increases retention.

 L IVECUBE – Utilizes engagement technology to motivate

Attendee Engagement audiences with points, badges and real-world rewards.

 S
 OCIALTAGG – An integrated event platform redefining
how people check into and network at events.

Attendee engagement is the art of impacting participation  I NXPO – Helps brands interact with employees,

between guests and your meeting or event, and is critical customers, prospects and partners in a social environment
by creating a two-way dialogue.
to the success (and future) of your program.

73 Event Technology Tools for 2015

 6 MEETING OPTIMIZATION
SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS:
 U
 STREAM – Provides a live interactive broadcast platform.

 L
 IVESTREAM – A live video-streaming platform, allows
users to watch, like and share live events via a suite of
hardware and software tools.

 C
 INCECAST – Provides cloud-based conferencing
and webcasting solutions to produce and share size-
independent original file content.

 I NTERCALL – Provides quality conferencing solutions

— audio conferencing, web conferencing, and video
conferencing.

 6
 CONNEX – Software designed for virtual destinations
Live Streaming & Event Visualization that enables virtual trade shows, events, and career fairs.

 O N24 – Provides webinars, webcasting and virtual event

services and solutions.
The dramatic growth of second screen technology and
hybrid meetings has permeated nearly every meeting
and event, and should be top of mind for all future
programming.

73 Event Technology Tools for 2015

 6 MEETING OPTIMIZATION
SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS:
 W
 UFOO – A web application that helps anybody build
amazing online forms.

 T YPEFORM – A cloud-based application for users to

create and respond to surveys and other types of forms
on any device.

 S URVEYMONKEY – A cloud-based online survey and

questionnaire tool that helps users gather survey-related
information.

 S NAP SURVEYS – Providers of survey software and

feedback management solutions.

 Q
 UALTRICS – Industry-leading provider of Online Survey
Software.
Event Surveys
 S URVEYGIZMO – An online survey software tools
platform enabling researchers to build forms, collect data
and analyze.

Paper surveys take time, resources and collection methods

are oft inefficient at best. Online form providers are vast,
and can save your team valuable time and money.

73 Event Technology Tools for 2015

THE FUTURE OF MEETING OPTIMIZATION SOFTWARE

As technology continues to proliferate within the events and meetings industry, the

Interested in
products that will be introduced will be the embodiment of Meeting Optimization Software.
You will have virtual tools in your hands (or eyes, or wrists, wherever wearable technology
takes us), a pulse on your attendees through an app, and a deeper connection to your
programming on a mobile device. There is a lot of ground to cover, and it needs to be
done in a highly efficient and timely manner.
learning more?
Take a moment now to consider the apps and products you currently use. How many of
them fall under the definition of Meeting Optimization Software? The truth is that you’ve Visit us at
likely been engaged with the concept and didn’t even know it.
www.socialtables.com
That’s because the future of Meeting Optimization Software within the hospitality industry
is now. Meeting Optimization Software harnesses the best technologies available to make
events and programming successful. What are your plans to keep up with the technological
innovations permeating the events and meetings industry? 

73 Event Technology Tools for 2015