Tag: event technology

AI Beyond Imagination: Contemplating the Events Landscape 50 Years from Now

Posted on by Eventsforce

 

What is the future of events? You only have to read the news to confirm that the advancement of technology is a clear given.  With that in mind, could the future of the events industry be limited only by our imaginations?  No one knows what time may bring, but half a century from now, it’s certain that profound technological innovation will have radically changed the experiences and expectations of event professionals and the audiences they serve. Join us as we delve into the scenarios and experiences that could shape the landscape of the event sector in the years to come.

Virtual Reality Extravaganzas

Virtual reality (VR) will revolutionise the delegate experience of future events. By donning VR headsets, attendees will be able to transcend physical boundaries by transporting themselves to any location — even to a fictional world. From attending global conferences from the comfort of their homes to exploring simulated environments, VR will offer attendees unlimited possibilities for engagement and connectivity from the comfort of their own home.

Holographic Presenters and Performances

Imagine a future where holographic technology brings renowned speakers and beloved performers back to life — even making it possible for attendees to meet and interact with long-gone icons and celebrities.  The incorporation of holographic technology will bring an ethereal touch to events, blurring the lines between reality and the supernatural while enhancing the individual event experience.  We can already see this kind of thing starting with Abba Voyage at the O2.

Brain-Computer Interfaces

Advancements in brain-computer interfaces will unlock new dimensions of engagement at events. In the future, attendees could use this technology to control lights, sounds, and visuals with their thoughts, creating an interactive and immersive environment of their own making. From shaping the atmosphere of a room to controlling the flow of presentations, the power of the mind will transform events into deeply personalised and truly unique experiences.

AI-Powered Personal Assistants

Artificial intelligence (AI) will play a significant role in the future event experience.  AI-powered personal assistants could be used to anticipate delegates’ needs, provide real-time information, and offer personalised recommendations. These virtual companions will also enhance networking opportunities, facilitate seamless navigation through complex venues, and provide instant translations for global multi-language events.

Sustainable and Self-Sufficient Event Spaces

Future event spaces will be designed with sustainability in mind.  As such, these venues will feature advanced energy-capturing systems, self-sustaining ecosystems, and smart waste management facilities.  In these spaces, technology and nature will merge seamlessly and harmoniously.

Augmented Reality Networking

Augmented reality (AR) will transform the event networking experience. By donning AR glasses or contact lenses, attendees will be able to instantly view real-time information about their fellow attendees. These AR overlays will display information concerning delegates’ professional backgrounds and shared interests, details that will help to foster meaningful connections and enhance the overall networking potential of events.

Interactive Multi-Sensory Experiences

In order to create unforgettable experiences, events of the future will engage all the senses. Advanced haptic or tactile feedback systems will enable attendees to feel textures, vibrations, and even temperatures while Smell-O-Vision technology will allow scents to be incorporated into environments to enhance and even deepen the emotional feedback of any given event.

While there is no real crystal ball to see into the future, the possibilities for the development of the event industry are boundless.  Fifty years from now, the sector will be shaped by advances made in virtual reality, holographic technology, brain-computer interfaces, AI companions, sustainable spaces, augmented reality, and multi-sensory experiences.  As these technologies continue to evolve, we can look forward to memorable, meaningful, and valuable experiences —  occasions that challenge our imagination to create the kind of transformative moments that resonate for a lifetime.

 


Running live, virtual or hybrid events? Give your attendees an event experience they’ll remember with technology you can rely on. Learn how Eventsforce can make your next event fabulous and successful. Book your personalised demo now.

4 Ways Technology Can Help You Run Better Awards Events

Posted on by Eventsforce

Technology can be your best friend when it comes to creating and managing successful award programmes.  From launching awards sites and managing submission entries to allocating judges, communicating with stakeholders, managing payments and selecting winners. But having all this information sitting across different systems makes the whole process of managing awards events a lot more challenging.

Whether you’re running employee recognition programmes, peer reviews or award evenings for staff, partners or clients – using a dedicated awards management solution that combines all these different elements together on one centralised, secure platform will give you the insight you need for event success.

Have a look at the many ways awards management systems can help you boost submissions, save time and give you the real-time information you need to make decision on the go:

1. Build Attractive Awards Websites

You can engage with people from the very start and encourage them to submit their award entries with attractive, easy to navigate, information websites that can be customised to match your organisation’s own branding guidelines.  An awards management solution can help you create a unique look for each of your awards websites, branded with your own logos and the same look and feel of your organisation’s corporate website.

Custom templates, Content Management Systems (CMS) and cloning tools can also help you launch awards submission sites in minutes without the need for any html or web design skills.

2. Save Time Managing Award Entries

Having a user-friendly system that allows people to make their submissions online without any fuss is fundamental to the success of your event.  If your submission forms are complex, difficult and time-consuming to complete, then people will just give up and look elsewhere.

A dedicated awards management solution can create a much smoother experience for people when submitting their entries to your awards event.  Mobile-responsive tools will ensure that people can complete forms or make changes to submissions on any device. They can also save their work and submit their entries at a time more convenient to them.

As an event planner, an awards management solution can also bring a host of benefits that will help you save an enormous amount of time around managing the awards submissions process, including:

– Flexibility to set your own awards categories, submission parameters and deadlines

– Customised submission forms, helping you capture information in the format you want

– Integrated payment systems make it easier for you to manage payments people make around award entries – all directly linked to pricing categories, packages and early-bird discounts defined by you.

Are you looking after your attendee data? Learn more about the eight things event planners do that put their organisations at serious risk of breach!  Download your eBOOK now: The Event Planner’s Guide to Data Security in a Post-GDPR World

3. Make It Easy for Your Judges

This is usually the most arduous and time-consuming task when it comes to running awards events.  An awards management solution can help you allocate judges to specific award categories, while making it easier for you to communicate with them through personalised invitations and email alerts.

As with submission entries, a mobile responsive solution will encourage your judges to log-in to a secure online portal that can be accessed from any device at any time.  It can also help your judges do their jobs more efficiently with simple scoring systems and the ability to save their work and complete it later.

4. Make More Informed Decisions

An awards management system can support you with reporting tools that help you track progress on entries by categories, submitters and status. It can also give you insight on judges scores, comments and the whole selection process in real-time.  So at any given point in time, you’ll be able to see how many submissions have been reviewed, which of your judges you need to send reminders to, how close you are to making your final selection process and who to send rejection or nomination emails to.

Eventsforce Awards is a secure web-based solution that simplifies the whole process of managing award events, peer reviews and internal recognition programmes. For more information on how we can help, please get in touch with one of our team members at info@eventsforce.com

 

 

Event Planners – Look After Your Attendee Data or Face the Music

Posted on by Eventsforce

As an event planner, you will know how important the new EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has been in raising the issue of data security.  In fact, a 2018 industry found that more than 75% of event planners believe that the safekeeping of their attendee data will be a much bigger priority for them because of GDPR.  But why should event professionals start taking responsibility for data security and what are the things they need to do to minimise the risks of breach?

What Event Planners Need to Know About GDPR and Data Security

Remember that GDPR is all about protecting the rights of individuals over organisations. It is an important piece of legislation that ensures that organisations dealing with personal information (and the events industry is no exception here!) are doing so in a transparent and secure way – and always in the individual’s best interests.

We’re already starting to see how GDPR is changing the way companies market themselves. After Facebook’s recent data breach scandal with Cambridge Analytica, the social networking giant has run an extensive advertising campaign promoting its security credentials.  We’ve also seen others like Barclays and the NHS using radio ads and billboards to assure customers that the safety of their personal information is a priority for them as an organisation.  This is only the beginning.

Read: Is the Facebook Data Breach Scandal a Wake-Up Call for the Events Industry?

For meetings and events, there are three important reasons why data security is now more important under GDPR:

  • GDPR makes ‘Privacy by Design’ a legal requirement, which means privacy concerns and the security of attendee data should be a consideration from the offset of all your event planning activities – and not just an afterthought.
  • GDPR requires you to take responsibility on how your third-party data processors (hotels, venues, agencies and event tech suppliers) are also looking after your attendee data.
  • GDPR makes it compulsory to notify authorities within 72 hours of discovering a security breach – it is therefore important for event teams to understand what constitutes a breach and what they should do if data is compromised.

eBook: The Event Planner’s Guide to Data Security in a Post-GDPR World

You may think that the whole issue of data security is something that needs to be dealt with by your IT, legal and operations team.  But the reality is that there are many day to day things that you may be doing as an event planner that could easily put your organisation under serious risk of a breach. Things like sharing system passwords and emailing delegate lists.  Not briefing freelances properly, losing devices and using open Wi-Fi networks.   These are just some examples but there are many more.

A new eBook from Eventsforce titled, ‘The Event Planner’s Guide to Data Security in a Post-GDPR World’ investigates some of these common data security vulnerability areas for meetings and events and offers readers some practical advice on what they can do to look after their attendee data. It also provides some useful information on how to identify a data breach and what steps to take if attendee data does end up getting lost, stolen or compromised.

Event planners can also use the two checklists that are included within the eBook. One is for event team leaders and the other for individual team members, to ensure everyone follows the same processes when it comes to data protection and the safety of attendee data.

The eBook follows the publication of the ‘Event Planner’s Guide to GDPR Compliance’ which looked at the impact of the new legislation on things like event marketing, data management and event technology – along with some practical steps on how planners can prepare for the new GDPR requirements.

Conclusion

If there is one thing that GDPR has achieved it is that the ownership and responsibility for data protection and security now rests on everyone.

The volume of personal information we collect in our industry is staggering. And doing things that minimise the chances of this data getting into the wrong hands will give your attendees confidence that you are on the case and looking after them properly.

Doing this all the time will boost your reputation, generate more confidence and ultimately bring you more business.  After all, why would people want to work with organisations who are doing as little as possible to safeguard their personal information?

But it will, however, require a shift in thinking.  Some of the ways in which event planners operated in the past will need to be changed.  But those who embrace this change will be the ones who stand out.  By making data security a priority around their events, they will be able to show attendees that their organisation can be trusted with their most valuable asset – their personal information.

You can download the ‘Event Planner’s Guide to Data Security in a Post-GDPR World’ here.

Eventsforce offers a comprehensive set of event management solutions, services and expertise that can help with data security and support the event planner’s journey to GDPR readiness. Get in touch by contacting one of our team members at gdpr@eventsforce.com.

 

 

 

 

New LinkedIn Tool for Event Networking and 4 Other Stories Event Planners Should Read

Posted on by Eventsforce

In this month’s round-up of top tech stories, we look at how LinkedIn is finally making its mark in our industry with new tools that allow people to connect with one another at conferences and events. We also look at how event marketers can engage better with younger audiences through long-form videos on Instagram – as well as a new ticketing solution that virtually eliminates touting and ticketing fraud by using the revolutionary blockchain technology. Finally for a bit of fun, we look at some of the latest gadgets and gizmos out there that can make the life of a travelling event planner a whole lot easier!

Have a look at the top tech stories you don’t want to miss:

Social Media Today: LinkedIn Rolls Out QR Codes for Individual Profiles

This is a very interesting development from LinkedIn for our industry. The company this month has launched their own version of QR codes for profiles, which makes it easier for people to find user profiles and connect with them on-the-spot. It follows a similar move by the social networking giant when it unveiled its ‘Find Nearby’ tool, which uses Bluetooth technology to help people find and connect with others around them at conferences, events and other places within proximity.

The latest feature means LinkedIn is now the latest social platform to add a QR option, despite the fact that QR codes have never really seemed to catch on.  Or have they?  According to The Economist, QR codes are hugely popular in China and Japan.  That could be why social platforms see such opportunity in the option – so even if western markets aren’t as interested in QR codes, but there are huge markets of people who are, and those trends could translate across over time, making it a more significant consideration.  Read more.

Business Insider: Instagram Launches Long-Form Video

Interesting update from Instagram for those of you running events targeting millennials – the company has just announced that it will increase its video time limit from one minute to 10 minutes in an attempt to lure young viewers away from YouTube. Instagram accounts with large audiences will be able to go as long as an hour.

Why is Instagram doing this now?  It seems that many believe that long-form video sharing works and will continue to grow.  While ‘medium-form’ videos (lasting between 5-20 minutes) have gotten relatively little attention, short-form and long-form videos have switches places in terms of the proportion of time people are willing to allot to one or the other. Just two years ago, users would spend about 26% more of their time on videos under 5 minutes long – but they’re now spending 16% more of their time on videos longer than 20 minutes. Read more.

Read: Why Video is a Big Deal for Marketing Your Events

New York Times: The Tech You Need to Travel Better

While no product can guarantee a seat upgrade or make your delayed flight arrive on time, a few smart investments can make your next trip as a busy event planner more comfortable, more relaxing and less stressful. Some interesting suggestions include a Tile Bluetooth Tracker which can slide anywhere inside your bag and pairs with an app on your smartphone to let you know how far away your bag is at all times. Another is a simple USB travel scale like the Balanzza Mini USB scale which lets you weigh your bag on the go.

If you have trouble sleeping while travelling, a white-noise machine may just make the difference. The article recommends the Lectrofan – which is a stand-alone device that masks out barking dogs, snoring roommates or other mysterious hotel sounds.  Other suggestions include noise-cancelling headphones and streaming sticks, like Google’s Chromecast, which makes it easier for you to choose what you want to watch on the hotel TV.  Read more.

BBC News: Facebook faces £500,000 fine Over Data Breach Scandal

Facebook faces a maximum penalty fine in the UK after the country’s privacy watchdog said the recent data sharing scandal that involved Cambridge Analytica broke the law. The company had failed in protecting people’s personal information and had also failed in being transparent on how this data was being used by other third parties. Not only did the whole incident shake up people’s trust in the way organisations manage their personal information, but more importantly, it has made it apparent to everyone why we need tighter data protection regulations like GDPR.

As an event planner, you may easily think that the whole issue of data protection and security as something that needs to be dealt with by your IT, legal and operations team. But the reality is that there are many day-to-day things you may be doing that could easily put your organisation at serious risk of a security breach. Things like sharing system passwords and emailing delegate lists to hotels and venues.  Not briefing freelancers properly and using open Wi-Fi networks. These are just some examples but there are many more. Understanding these risk factors and doing things that minimise the chances of personal data getting into the wrong hands will give your attendees confidence that you are on the case and looking after them properly. Which can only be a good thing.  Read more.

Read: Quiz – Is Your Event Tech Ready for GDPR?

Exhibition News: Ticketing Solution Talks Up Blockchain Revolution

Blockchain technology has been one of the hottest buzzwords on the planet in recent years, and for good reason. It has already revolutionised the currency market and now it looks like it’s making its mark on the events industry. New start-up Aventus is seeking to revolutionise the way tickets are bought and sold using a blockchain-based system, which virtually eliminates ticketing fraud and the scourge of unregulated touting.

The live events space has numerous problems with ticket resale, scalping, and mass purchasing from bots. These are issues that blockchain can solve: Aventus assigns a unique identity to each ticket, which is checked against every computer in the network. This means each ticket is encrypted and cannot be replicated or faked. It also means organisers can keep an accurate record of who owns each ticket, and resale prices can be capped to eliminate scalping. An interesting development – though only time will tell whether this new technology could be as disruptive to our industry as it has been elsewhere. Read more.

Enjoyed reading this article? If you would like to get similar monthly round-ups on all things event tech, along with some expert advice on how to make the most out of your technology investments, then please sign up to our weekly EventTech Talk Newsletter here. 

 

Is Facebook Data Breach a Wake-Up Call for Events Industry?

Posted on by Eventsforce

The Facebook data scandal that’s unravelled this week is an important reminder to everyone in the events industry as to why GDPR is happening. The incident has shaken up people’s trust in the way organisations manage their personal information and highlighted the need for more tighter regulations around data protection.

Event planners should use this opportunity to learn from the mistakes made by both Facebook and Cambridge Analytica and think very carefully about how they’re going to look after the personal information of attendees in a post-GDPR world.

Download eBook: The Event Planner’s Guide to GDPR Compliance 

Why is Facebook in Trouble?

In 2014, Facebook invited users to find out their personality type via a quiz developed by a Cambridge University researcher. About 270,000 users’ data was collected, but the app also collected some public data from users’ friends. Facebook has since changed the amount of data developers can gather in this way, but a whistle-blower says the data of about 50 million people was harvested for political consultancy firm, Cambridge Analytica. He claims the firm used the data to psychologically profile people and influence voters on behalf of clients – including Donald Trump’s presidential campaign. Facebook says users’ data was obtained legitimately but Cambridge Analytica failed to delete it when told to do so. Meanwhile, Cambridge Analytica denies any wrongdoing – saying it did delete the data when told to by Facebook.

The repercussions of this incident so far?  Facebook has lost around $50 billion in its market value over two days and we’re now seeing the #DeleteFacebook campaign which is rapidly sweeping across the Internet, as people leave the site in protest again its use of data harvesting and manipulation. Advertisers are also now telling Facebook ‘enough is enough’ with news on the BBC emerging that the ISBA, a trade body which represents major UK advertisers, will meet Facebook this week saying if the company fails to provide assurances about the security of users’ data, advertisers may spend money elsewhere.

How is it Related to GDPR?

According to Reuters, privacy experts have said the data breach is a prime example of the kind of practices that GDPR is supposed to prevent or punish: “Had the Cambridge Analytica incident happened after GDPR becomes law on May 25, it would cost Facebook 4% of their global revenue,” said Austrian privacy campaigner and Facebook critic Max Schrems. Because a UK company was involved and because at least some of the people whose data was misused were almost certainly European, GDPR would have applied.

The maximum GDPR fine would come into play in an incident like this because of the number of users affected and what appears to have been inadequate monitoring of third-party data practices: “The fact of the matter is that Facebook lost control of the data and wasn’t adequately monitoring what third-parties were doing,” said Scott Vernick, partner and expert in privacy and data security at law firm, Fox Rothschild.

The article goes further to say that the firestorm has prompted a furious response from lawmakers on both sides of the Atlantic, raising the prospect of expanding GDPR’s approach to privacy protection regulations to other countries. Again, a warning for organisations of what may lay ahead once the new legislation comes into force.

Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg, has admitted that the social network ‘made mistakes’, apologising for the incident and admitting that a huge ‘breach of trust’ has occurred – but needless to say, damage is done.  People have lost confidence in Facebook and the way it manages their personal information.  And this is key when you look at why GDPR is happening in the first place.

GDPR is all about the protecting the rights of individuals over organisations.  And it’s happening because current legislations no longer meet the privacy needs of the connected world we live in today. We’re giving away our personal information freely to organisations without much thought into how they’re using it and how they’re keeping it safe from both theft and manipulation.  And this is exactly what GDPR wants to address: that organisations dealing with personal data (the events industry is no exception here) are doing so in a transparent and secure way – and always in the individuals best interests.

Ironically, Zuckerberg’s response to the incident reiterates the same thing: “We have a responsibility to protect your data, and if we can’t then we don’t deserve to serve you.”

The Importance of Data Security in Events

GDPR will certainly change attitudes to individual rights when it comes to data protection – especially in events. It will also change the mindset of event planners when it comes to deciding what data they should collect from attendees, how they use that data for things like marketing campaigns and personalisation, and what they need to do to keep that data safe.

Did you know that a data breach is essentially what can get your events into a lot of trouble under GDPR? Find out what you should do to prevent your attendee data from getting lost, stolen or compromised by getting your copy of ‘The Event Planner’s Guide to Data Security in a Post-GDPR World‘.

In fact, the issue of data security in a post-GDPR world is hugely important for the events industry.  A survey by Eventsforce last month assessing the GDPR readiness of more than 120 event professionals found that 81% believe data security will be a bigger priority for their events after the May 2018 deadline. And yet surprisingly, only 30% have taken steps to update their data security practices or prepare for a data breach (both of which are key to compliance requirements).

Data security is also an important issue when assessing the GDPR readiness of technology providers that process personal data on behalf of events (ex. registration systems, mobile apps, surveys, networking tools). The survey, however, found that only 41% of event planners were confident that their systems met the new requirements.

As an event professional, you may think that the whole issue of data security is something that needs to be dealt with by your IT, legal and operations teams – but the reality is that there are many things event planners do today that can put their organisations at a serious risk of a data breach and non-compliance to the new GDPR requirements:

  • Emailing unsecure spreadsheets that contain personal attendee data
  • Not paying attention to the data freelancers and temp staff have access to
  • Leaving printed registration lists unattended on-site
  • Not reporting theft or loss of laptops and devices that contain personal information
  • Not changing system passwords often enough/sharing passwords with others

It is therefore more important than ever for event planners to understand what they should and shouldn’t do when it comes to collecting, processing and securing the personal information of attendees under GDPR.

What Should Event Planners Do?

Most event planners will follow their organisation’s own set of data security and protection policies when it comes to storing and sharing event data – from communication procedures to firewalls, encryption and anti-virus software.  However, it is important to take some additional steps that will help your events meet GDPR requirements and minimise the chances of data getting into the wrong hands:

1) Keep Your Data Safe

GDPR makes ‘Privacy by Design’ a legal requirement, which put simply means that privacy concerns should be a consideration from the offset in any event planning campaign – and not simply an afterthought. Data protection and processing safeguards must become part of the DNA of all the systems and processes you have in place. This will be a major shift in thinking for event planners and something they need to think about now, not later.

You need to think about risk factors and see how you can minimise them. For example, find out who has access to your event data, whether they need to have that access and what happens to that access when the event is over? You should also assess the kind of personal information you’re collecting in registration forms, apps and surveys around your events.  Do you need to ask your attendees all the demographic information you currently do? If you’re never going to use their phone numbers, then don’t ask the question. If you only need to verify they’re over 18, don’t ask for birth dates or passport details.  Don’t forget, the more personal data you hold, the higher your chances of risk.

Read: Infographic – How to Keep Your Event Data Safe

2) Assess Security Practices of Suppliers

Just like Facebook should have taken more adequate measures in monitoring what third-parties were doing with users’ personal data – event planners should look into how their event data is being managed by all the third-party suppliers they deal with around their events (tech vendors, staffing agencies, hotels, venues, event management agencies etc). Why? Because if in the course of an investigation, the authorities find that these parties have not been compliant, then the host organisation may also be liable too (even if they themselves were compliant).

Find out how suppliers like your registration software vendor are managing the data they’re processing on your behalf.  How are they using the personal information of people coming to your events, who has access to this data and where are they based?  How important is data security for them and do they follow best practices?  How long do they keep your data for and what procedures do they have in place to delete this data when you ask them to? What about their own suppliers and contractors who also have access to their data?  You need to ensure they can clearly explain what contractual and legal safeguards they have in place to look after your data at all times. Having the answers to these questions will protect you from any unpleasant surprises in the future.

Read: 5 questions to ask your event tech providers about GDPR compliance

3) Prepare for a Data Breach

Failing to report a data breach within 72 hours can result in crippling fines under GDPR – so ensuring that everyone on your events team has a good understanding of what constitutes a data breach (ex. Loss of iPad containing registration lists) and how to follow best practices is key to compliance. You also need to think about what processes you need to put in place once a breach has been identified, including how to report it within the three-day timeframe.

Conclusion

GDPR clearly presents some new challenges for event planners, but it also brings some big opportunities too. By focusing on the rights of individuals over organisations, the new regulation will help events become a lot more responsible in the way they manage the personal information of people coming to their events. Those that can show they’re dealing with personal information in a transparent and secure way and have respect for the privacy of individuals will succeed in building new levels of trust.  And given what we’ve seen this week, this will be key in deciding which organisations people choose to deal with in the future.

Eventsforce offers a comprehensive set of event management solutions, services and expertise that can help with data security and support the event planner’s journey to GDPR readiness. Get in touch by contacting one of our team members at gdpr@eventsforce.com.

 

4 Technology Trends from Experts at Europe’s Largest Event Tech Show

Posted on by Eventsforce

The annual Event Tech Live show took place in London this month, and once again, it didn’t disappoint.   As Europe’s only dedicated exhibition and conference for event professionals interested in event technology, it attracts more than 1,600 attendees and 100-plus exhibitors from the event tech industry.  The show had a generous display of new technology innovations and solutions, including a launchpad pitch competition which gave a good insight on what’s coming next. More interestingly, the conference brought together a number of experts from technology vendors to event organisers to discuss and debate the latest technology trends and issues shaping our industry today.

From GDPR, personalisation and the future of event apps to the emergence of new applications like chatbots and facial recognition technology – have a look at our top takeaways from Europe’s largest event tech show:

In case you missed it…GDPR is coming!

If there was one topic that kept popping up time and time again across most of the sessions at the show, it was the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the impact it will have on the events industry. And yet surprisingly, an audience poll conducted by a panel of experts from Glisser, SpotMe and Krowdthink revealed that MOST event planners had actually very little understanding about the new regulation – which is quite alarming, given the implications.

GDPR is coming into effect in May 2018 and will apply to ANY event collecting and processing the personal information of European attendees – regardless of location. For event planners, the new regulation presents a change in the way they decide what data needs to be collected from attendees and how that data is used for things like marketing campaigns.  It will change the way attendee data is shared with other third-party organisations like venues, sponsors and tech providers. It will also change attitudes to data security and what measures need to be in place to keep attendee data safe. And let’s not forget about the fines.  Compared to current data protection regulations, non-compliance to GDPR can lead to some very serious financial consequences – and lawsuits.

But it’s not all bad news. GDPR will bring about some big opportunities for our industry too.  In fact, one of the main take-aways from the panel was that GDPR is a big chance for event planners to advance their careers. How? By taking ownership of GDPR.  By ensuring that events are dealing with personal data in a transparent and secure way – and always in the individual’s best interest.  And by getting their event tech ready too. If you’re interested in finding out more, have a look at this free eBook ‘The Event Planner’s Guide to GDPR Compliance’ which explains why the events industry has to start taking responsibility for GDPR, its impact on event marketing, data management and event technology and what steps event planners need to take now to get ready for the May 2018 deadline.

Related Article: 5 Questions You Need to Ask Event Tech Providers About GDPR

Event Apps Vs. Chatbots

The popularity around event apps has evolved so much over the last few years – most people attending any kind of event expect an app and it seems most event planners want one too.  But are apps starting to get a bad reputation?  How effective are they really in engaging audiences? And will other emerging technologies like NFC and chatbots replace the need for event apps all together?  These questions were addressed in a very interesting discussion by panellists from Sciensio, Beeem, NoodleLive and CrowdComms exploring the future of event apps.

In the always-connected world of smartphones, social media and information-on-demand, it seems that the attention span of our attendees is getting shorter and shorter.   And this is something that event planners need to address if they want their attendees to interact more with their apps. People don’t want to waste their time browsing through irrelevant content on an app just to find out the location of their next session.  They want the technology to add value to their event experience and they want the interaction with the technology as easy as possible.  And this is where chatbots come in.  They don’t require attendees to download anything.  They apply easy text-based messaging t technology that most people are comfortable in using and more importantly, they provide that instant personalised information service that attendees are looking for at an event. Though we firmly believe that native apps still have a firm place in the events industry – perhaps we will start seeing more people move towards what chatbots can offer over the coming few years.

All the panellists agreed that pushing more personalised content on people’s smartphones will be a key trend over the coming years. Websites can already send personal push notifications on people’s phones through Google Chrome (coming soon on Safari).  Google is also driving a big push towards progressive web apps – which basically allows you to run apps on a web browser. The technology will bridge the gap between apps and websites by offering the functionality of both, with more offline capabilities, improved speed and better performance.  Watch this space.

How Important is Event Personalisation?

Personalisation was another hot topic at the event and we can understand why. More and more attendees are starting to expect both the communication of an event and the live experience to be tailored to them in some way.  At the same time, the abundant use of sophisticated data capture tools – from registration systems and apps to surveys, social media, networking and on-site tracking solutions – are helping event planners collect and analyse valuable attendee information to create more powerful and customised event experiences.   But as good as it all sounds, is it something we should all do?  And how do we decide how much personalisation we should actually do?

This was the basis of one panel discussion between Eventsforce, Haymarket Media and the British Council which unveiled the results of a new research study on event personalisation.  It seems that despite it being a growing priority for 73% of event planners, more than 50% struggle to see how effective their personalisation efforts are in engaging attendees and building brand loyalty.  The study also revealed that more than half don’t end up using all the data they collect for personalisation and another 44% find it difficult to determine how much personalisation they should actually do.

So what was the advice?   Decide what data you’re going to collect, why you’re collecting it and agree across your organisation on how it’s going to be used before collecting it for the purpose of personalisation. Don’t ask your attendees any unnecessary questions as this will have a negative effect on their event experience.  And finally, explain clearly how the information they provide will bring value to their experience and that you’re looking after their data and privacy – especially with the upcoming GDPR. Click here to watch the full session.

Event Technology – What’s Next in Innovation?

This year’s show also saw the return of the Launchpad, a dedicated area for start-ups and providers of new event technology solutions – except this year, they also ran a pitch competition where providers had to battle it out in front of a panel of judges.   There were some very interesting applications of event tech, all designed to save time and enhance the attendee’s event experience in one way or another.  The winner was a web-based solution from Zenus which uses facial recognition technology to cut waiting lines and speed up the check-in process of attendees at events. When an attendee approaches a kiosk, their profile will pop up and a scanner can print their badges on the spot. Alternatively, you can place a tablet facing the line of people and attendees will be automatically checked-in as they walk.

Another noteworthy winner was Sciensio’s Concierge Eventbot solution which offers attendees an alternative to apps through a range of text messaging services, including agendas, directions, floor plans, surveys, polls and more.  We also saw a great staffing solution from Liveforce which promises to scrap the need for Excel spreadsheets when recruiting, scheduling, booking and paying temporary staff around events.  Worth checking out.

You can watch all the pitch presentations of the ETL2017 Launchpad competition here.

Want to be a tech-savvy event planner?  Sign up to the weekly EventTech Talk newsletter here and get advice and updates on the latest technology trends and discussions shaping the events industry today.

 

Ask the Experts: What Impact will GDPR have on Meetings and Events?

Posted on by Eventsforce

We’ve been talking a lot about GDPR lately.  And for good reason too.  One of the biggest shake ups in data protection and privacy laws for the past 20 years, the new EU General Data Protection Regulation will come into effect in May 2018 and completely change the way events collect and handle the personal information of European attendees.  But how important are these changes actually going to be for event planners? Is GDPR going to make things like data-driven marketing and personalisation a lot more difficult? Or will the new regulation bring on some new opportunities?

Are your events ready for GDPR? Get your FREE eBook: ‘The Event Planner’s Guide to GDPR Compliance’, and learn what impact Europe’s new data protection regulation will have on event marketing, data management and event technology – as well as what steps event planners need to take to meet the new requirements.

EventTech Talk spoke to a number of well-known event experts to find out what they think about GDPR and what kind of impact it will have on the industry.  Here’s what they had to say:

Adam Parry, Editor, Event Industry News

GDPR will have a huge impact on event marketers next year, and this in my opinion is a good thing.  As an industry we have been very lazy, relying on email marketing with outdated and uncheck cleansed data, I see it myself getting invites to events from previous roles and or having never attended the event in the first place.

We will have to work smarter as event marketers but there are tools and solutions out there to help us and not make it a case of having to work harder.  Let’s take for example retargeting technology, it’s not new but hugely under-utilised by our industry as a way of remarking our event to web visitors that didn’t sign up to attend.

Follow Adam Parry on Twitter: @punchtownparry

Michael Owen, CEO, EventGenuity

I’m surprised by how little is known about GDPR by those in business events and associations sector in the United States. Of those who are familiar with the regulation, many forego learning more, as they think it applies only to organisations based in the EU. With headlines about breaches of personal data like Equifax as frequent as the sunrise, one would think at least that curiosity would drive everyone to fully understand the ramifications.

How great will the impact be in non-EU organisations? It’s hard to tell right away. At a recent session, one gent said, “I’m not going to worry about it, because it will be hard to enforce.” Hard? Yes. Impossible? No. Once non-EU enforcement is figured out, and the first massive fine occurs, I suspect interest will spike.

Misconceptions place barriers to learning: “We don’t have offices or hold meetings in the EU”, etc. For business events and associations who host attendees have members or subscribers from the EU for whom they hold data, there is liability.

It’s not all bad news, though. There is opportunity to improve internal business processes. The requirements force organisations to become more, well, organised. Isn’t it a good thing to be more aware of what personal data one possesses, where it resides, how it is processed and protected? Compliance could well reduce financial and reputational risk, and build trust with customers, members, attendees across the board. This outcome would provide more accurate data sets and more meaningful relationships amongst organisations and valued customers.

Follow Michael Owen on Twitter: @EventGenuity

Did you know that more than 75% of event planners think that data security is a much bigger priority for them because of GDPR? Find out what you should do to prevent your attendee data from getting lost, stolen or compromised by getting your copy of ‘The Event Planner’s Guide to Data Security in a Post-GDPR World‘.

Brandt Krueger, Speaker & Consultant, Event Technology Consulting

I have extremely mixed feelings when it comes to GDPR, or for that matter, a lot of attempts to regulate the Internet. While companies clearly need to be held accountable for the securing of our personal data (I’m looking at you, Equifax), and I’m in favour of data transparency – most of these attempts at legislation are reactionary and only deal with new problems as they arise.

Much of the GDPR regulations surround consent. While noble in cause, we already give our consent to all kinds of things without thinking twice about it. We click through license agreements and software permission screens without reading them, and every website in the EU has to let me know that it’s using cookies. How many times have you stopped and thought, “Oh my, I don’t know about this cookie thing. I guess I’ll just shut down my browser and walk away.” Nope, you click on it as quickly as possible to just make the pop-up go away.

I worry that we’re going to be generating more and more of these types of screens, where people will be forced to check off 37 boxes of consent, just to find out where their next hosted buyer appointment is. Customers do need to be made aware of what information they’re providing, and exactly what is being gathered about them, but I have severe concerns about the implementation. This will be the most immediate impact on the event industry – how technology companies deal with the informed consent GDPR seems to demand. I predict lots of splash screens and checkboxes that absolutely nobody will read, along with signage next to fishbowl drawings at expos that, you guessed it, nobody will read.

On the positive side, I do think it’s important to require companies to provide a high level of transparency when it comes to other people’s data, though again I’m hesitant about the implementation. Does a dump of data into a CSV count as an accurate representation of your data? And again, the different types of data that are being gathered can be difficult to provide in a way that makes sense to the person making the request. Because it’s not just about the tangible, easy to understand, data like names and addresses – it’s often about the relationships, the links, the connections between that data that’s important. Knowing your name, address, and what magazines you subscribe to are three separate data points, but their interconnectivity can be enormously revealing in ways people would be shocked to discover.

Follow Brandt Krueger on Twitter: @BrandtKrueger

Kevin Iwamoto, Senior Consultant, GoldSpring Consulting

GDPR will have a major impact on the way companies and their event suppliers manage their events in 2018 and beyond.  All meetings and events that handle registrant-attendee personal information and the ways they handle, manage, and purge that information will have to change.  The currently liberal ways that attendee personal information is shared will also have to change.  GDPR will at least temporarily hinder how attendee data and registration lists are currently used.  The proliferation of technology platforms, mobile apps, etc. that currently use personal data for marketing campaigns and for determining things like Return on Engagement (ROE) and Return on Objectives (ROO) will need to be reviewed and changed to avoid major EU fines for GDPR violations.

Read: 5 questions to ask event tech providers about GDPR

All companies and their event supplier partners should be doing a personal data audit now to discover the multiple areas that will need to be modified to become GDPR compliant and to avoid the potential for massive fines.  Unfortunately, so many companies remain in the dark and in denial about their GDPR complicity requirements.

Follow Kevin Iwamoto on Twitter: @KevinIwamoto

Paul Cook, Writer & Researcher/Creator of Specialised Content Consultancy, Planet Planit

GDPR will have an impact on the events industry as it will on every sector. How big that impact is will depend on how many changes organisations will need to make in the way they look after personal data currently. For those companies that have strict policies in place already it will have less of an effect.

Having said that, marketing under the new regulation is a key area that will impact all businesses. Right now, the business has the power. Next May, the businesses effectively lose that power as it will be the individual that is in control. Consent to receive marketing messages will be a key challenge for a lot of companies and now is the time to sort out the data bases and work on privacy notices.  No longer will companies be able to say we will send your information to interested third parties. They will need to state who those companies are. Consent needs to be recorded and updated on a regular basis.

Does it bring new opportunities? Yes absolutely. One big benefit is that companies will be able to get closer to their clients and prospects. They will need to re-think some of their existing strategies for marketing but for the companies that understand how to make the most of the regulation they will gain trust and a bigger market share. After all, who wants to deal with a company that doesn’t care about whether your identity can be stolen or not?

Follow Paul Cook on Twitter: @planetplanitbiz

George Sirius, CEO, Eventsforce

GDPR is going to change the mindset of event planners when it comes to deciding what data they should collect from attendees, how they use that data for things like marketing campaigns and what they need to do to keep that data safe.  Current practices around getting consent in using this information and sharing it with other parties like event sponsors, for example, will land organisers into big trouble after May 2018.  The regulation is also going to force planners to play a bigger role in securing all the data they collect from attendees, as well as making sure that third party suppliers like agencies and event tech suppliers are also compliant to GDPR.   Again, not doing so can result in big fines.  And that is one of the big things about GDPR.  Compared to current data protection regulations, non-compliance comes with serious financial consequences. People aren’t fully aware of their rights yet, but they will be.  And once they are, the enquiries will start to come.  As will the lawsuits – especially if an event suffers a data breach.

Read: Will GDPR change the rights of your attendees?

But it’s not all bad news. I think GDPR will bring about some big opportunities for our industry too.  Event planners will need to think and act very differently in the way they talk to attendees – and be a lot more honest in the way they manage their information too.  Those organisations that show they’re dealing with personal data in a transparent and secure way and have respect for the privacy of individuals will succeed in building a new level of trust.  And this will be key in deciding which organisations people choose to deal with in the future.

Follow George Sirius on Twitter: @georgesirius

Corbin Ball, Meetings Technology Speaker/Consultant/Writer, Corbin Ball Associates

GDPR is a sweeping set of privacy regulations that will affect any event with European attendees or members regardless of where the event takes place. Non-compliance penalties are stiff so it will be imperative that the planners work with their IT departments and technology providers to ensure that the new regulations are met.

Follow Corbin Ball on Twitter: @corbinball

Are your events ready for GDPR? Get your FREE eBook: ‘The Event Planner’s Guide to GDPR Compliance’, and learn what impact Europe’s new data protection regulation will have on event marketing, data management and event technology – as well as what steps event planners need to take now to get ready for the May 2018 deadline.