Why choose a simple app for your event?

A simple event app can often fulfill the essential requirements of most events while providing several advantages in terms of usability, affordability, efficiency, accessibility, reliability, and scalability.

An excellent example of this is an app we developed for CinemaCon, the largest gathering for the worldwide motion picture theater industry. For more than 10 years they have continued to use a simple version of our app.

Why would they, or you, choose an app with just the essential features?

As a large event, with all its inherent complexities, CinemaCon chose to focus on essential app features – the schedule, trade show, and sponsors – prioritizing easy access to the most critical information. Without the need to track specific usage, no login was required, making the app a download and go proposition.

We simplified the schedule by integrating their website content with the agenda in the app. Any updates made on their site would instantly be reflected in the app, reducing time spent and eliminating costly errors.

Of course, every event wants to keep their attendees informed, so CinemaCon used notifications extensively. With targeted and sponsored notifications, some including external links, attendees and exhibitors were kept up to date and engaged.

Feedback wasn’t forgotten. We eschewed the use of lengthy surveys. A simple star and comment field was included for every session, giving their audience an easy way to voice their opinion.

Ultimately, the choice of a conference app depends on your specific event needs and budget constraints. By focusing on the essentials and prioritizing user experience, a simple conference app such as CinemaCon can help you deliver a successful event with minimal effort and maximum impact.

Want to learn more? Contact us here!

Daily Health Check

I don’t need to tell you what’s been going on these past couple of years.

Needless to say it’s caused a few issues in the events industry (forgive my gift for understatement).

Now, we all want to get back to in-person events but, you know what they say, safety first.

But how do you keep your speakers, staff and attendees safe?

Well, it just so happens that our clients were asking just that!

So… we created the Daily Health Check.

How’s it work?

Attendees answer a few questions, either as part of our event app or as a separate Health Check app, submit, and their results are displayed.

They can then show their daily screening results when entering the events’ location.

Speaking of results, the response graphics are all customizable, so you can have a little fun with them or even give them a more ‘physical’ presence.

How’s that?

I’ll explain. For one client we tied positive and negative results to a daily color, with each attendee receiving a matching colored wrist band to show whether they’re safe to proceed.

Easy for your staff and your attendees!

A daily report, only available to those you choose, provides a quick way to check results and ensure compliance.

It’s nice to have a little peace of mind!

Want to find out more? Click here!

Hybrid Event Options

So, last blog I discussed why Hybrid events are, and I quote, “incredibly valuable if done well”!

What I didn’t do is outline some options for hosting such an event.

I know you’ve been waiting patiently, so let’s get to it.

You live-stream your in-person event. Simple right? Everything occurs on the same day(s), allowing your in-person and virtual attendees to interact real-time on your app or virtual platform.

OK, this is great! What’s the catch?

Well, it’s going to be more expensive. For starters, the venue is going to charge you an arm and a leg for the bandwidth you’ll need to stream high quality video.

Then there’s the additional personnel required to run 2 concurrent events, and the fact that, when it’s all live, anything can happen!

Hmm, how about another option?

Sure. Record all your sessions and hold a separate virtual event at a later date.

The additional cost to record your sessions is minimal relative to live streaming, and gives you some time to review and edit the content.

So you’ve got content. Now what?

Host a scheduled virtual event where you stream your recorded sessions, and, if I were you, bring your speakers back to do a live Q&A following each session.

After the event, create an on-demand archive that your attendees can access whenever they want, extending the life of your event and it’s value to your sponsors!

There are, of course, myriad other combinations but you get the idea.

Which one to choose?

Well, it just so happens we can help you with that! Click here to discover more.

Going Hybrid

I’d like to talk (well, write) about hybrid events, you know, events combining live and in-person with an online, virtual digital component.

I’m not going into details of ways to host a hybrid event – hint - there’s plenty – but focus on some key points.

The (big) challenge is to give a great experience to both in-person and virtual attendees.

OK, so how do you do that?

Well, for starters, you’ll need to focus more of your attention on your virtual audience.

Why?

Staring at a screen all day, without that human interaction, can lead to a lack of focus - driven to distraction you might say. You need to create an engaging experience for your virtual audience, encouraging connections with the in-person event!

So what can be done about this?

Basically, think mobile first – your event app is the connection between your in-person and virtual audience.

For example, if you're live streaming your event make sure your sessions are interactive, so virtual and in-person attendees can connect, participate and communicate through the app or virtual platform.

Another idea? Make other interactive components, such as the app game, the same for both audiences.

Make sense? OK, here are some takeaways:

Additional reach - by removing in-person obstacles, attendees who may not be able to attend live are also able to participate.

Improved ROI - selling virtual access to your conferences not only increases your events reach but also it’s bottom line.

So… hybrid events can be incredibly valuable if done well!

That’s great, so how do I host one?

Well, clicking here would be a good start!

Where's my Feedback

Event planners love feedback!

We get that, It’s important to know what you’re doing well and what could be improved.

But how do you entice your attendees to provide that feedback?

A survey of course, you say! Great idea, but just because you build it doesn’t mean they’ll come (sorry Kevin).

OK smart guy, what do we do?

We’ve found that many attendees enjoy a good app game as part of their conference experience. We’ve produced our fair share, getting attendees more engaged and, subtly mind you, steering them to the places (and sponsors!) you’d like them to see.

And you know what? It works!

So why not slip a survey or two into the game? Completing a session survey or 3 gets them a game badge. A conference survey – another game badge and some serious points towards their prize winning total.

The result? Your survey submissions increasing exponentially!

If you’re thinking of including gamification in your app, why not throw a survey into the mix. You’ll be glad you did!

What is Integration (and why do it)?

Integration… why do you need to know about it and what benefits does it provide?  Well, let's start out with a definition from those fine folks at Wikipedia. "…integration involves combining data residing in different sources and providing users with a unified view of these data."

OK, sounds like it could be useful. In terms of your event app, it means securely connecting the schedule, exhibitor, attendee and personal agenda data in your conference database to our Content Management System (CMS). Fine, so what's in it for you?

Well, basically it makes updates a breeze and minimizes costly mistakes! No need to update multiple spreadsheets or more than one CMS to keep your data up to date. Updates in one database are automatically made in the other. Synchronization between your conference database and ours allows for real-time data updates, scheduled data pulls, and username and password authentication through your registration database.

Not only that, your attendees require only one login to access their registration account or their personalized mobile app. Purchased sessions or pre-populated session schedules can also readily be added to an attendees agenda.

Let's not forget the exhibitors. Exhibitor information and category organization can be handled through your current exhibitor management tool. Any updates made will be synchronized with our CMS. No more wasting time duplicating updates, avoiding the inherent risk of mistakes being made.

Great! So integration makes updates easy, saving you both time and money, and… it's a one-time cost for as long as you use your current solution.

Shameless EventKaddy plug to follow:
OK, integration makes a lot of sense. Not surprisingly we at EventKaddy are big fans. We offer integration with data push and data pull of attendee, exhibitor and schedule information safely and, most importantly, securely.

If you'd like to learn more or discuss your requirements we'd love to talk to you. Just call me (Dave) at 1 613-224-5199 or email info@eventkaddy.com.

Analytics and Their Importance

Analytics. You've heard of it but what does it mean exactly and how does it benefit you?

So what are analytics? According to the Web Analytics Association its the "… the measurement, collection, analysis and reporting of Internet data for the purposes of understanding and optimizing Web usage." OK, a bit stiff, and we're talking about analytics for mobile apps, not the web.

I think of analytics more as collecting, analyzing and reporting the movement of users on a mobile app. Analytics is crucial because if you don't know how many people downloaded and used the app and on which platform it's very hard to assess its effectiveness.

All right, analytics is important but what are you going to learn and how easy is it to understand and use the information to improve the user experience and event objectives?

By tracking the number of downloads, page impressions, time spent on the app and the type of content people are viewing you'll better understand your audience and make informed decisions for your next event. You can also get real-time insight into attendee preferences and interests, allowing on the fly changes to your event.

It also provides critical information for your exhibitors and sponsors. They'll want to see accurate data about the return on their investment. How many leads are they generating? How many times was a sponsors banner ad clicked on? How many impressions were their listings getting?  

Based on the insight gained from analytics, you can adapt your event to give your attendees and exhibitors more of what they want, and gear your marketing efforts to better attract and retain them.

At EventKaddy, we create an analytics document for you after each event. It provides information on the number of downloads, users, which buttons were accessed and how many times, push notification response, and how long the app is being used amongst other metrics.

We also provide complete statistics on any internal surveys, session feedback, account logins and game results. And it's all presented in an easy to digest format with help at hand should you require it.

If you'd like to learn more or discuss your requirements we'd love to talk to you. Just call me (Dave) at 1 613-224-5199 or email info@eventkaddy.com.