15 Ways to See the Future of Event Technology

Author: Michelle Russell       

Future of Tech

The Future of Face2Face space is buzzing during PCMA’s Convening Leaders. (Jacob Slaton photo)

What’s the future of event technology? We asked participating tech companies in PCMA’s Convening Leaders Future of Face2Face open-space learning area at Nashville’s Music City Center to answer that question, with a catch: They had to capture their thoughts in one word, phrase, or sentence. This idea came to us from Dahlia El Gazzar, DES, founder of DAHLIA+, who helped organize the Future of Face2Face initiative for PCMA.

We distributed a low-tech tool — index cards — to the vendors to gather their responses. During the event, I asked Corbin Ball, event-tech speaker and writer, to also share his thoughts. He hesitated for only a moment before saying, “Continued integration and improvement” — a theme echoed by three Future of Face2Face participants, all of whom see much potential ahead. Here’s what they had to say:

“The future of event apps is bright!” — Ray Baum, senior manager, national sales, Core-apps, who created an ambigram-like way to augment his message.

Ray Baum’s take.

“Exciting, exhilarating, unpredictable.” — Bill McGlade, senior director, emerging markets, a2z Inc., who added, “Technology is meant to enhance f2f meetings and as it develops and becomes more personalized, it will change our perception and definition of f2f.”

“Disruptively transparent.” — John Sparico, CMP, vice president, business development, ShowScore

“Focused on the deliverables of personalization, collaboration, and instant gratification.”  David Dvorak, senior vice president, brand and enterprise sales, Cendyn

“Any time. Any place. Anywhere. Any device.” — Jeff Heisler, senior account executive, INXPO, said this sums up the company’s vision for “every person in every organization having access to view, or present at, any event from anywhere.”

“Focused and promising.” — Scott Cohen, chief revenue officer, Conferences i/o

“Integration!” — Tom Williams, content marketing specialist, Hubb, said it’s “all about working together. For tech companies, being able to work with anybody and everybody will be vital. And for event professionals, the ability to work with the best tech for your specific needs, no matter who builds it, will allow for better events with less work and stress.”

“Engaging video and live-streaming of events.” — Becky Bachman, event marketing manager, Mediasite

“Content! Your content is more valuable today than ever before!” — James Parker, president, Digitell Inc.

“Integrated technologies that enable attendee personalization.” — Kate Dodd, vice president, marketing, Expo Logic. She explained: “Facial-recognition technology which integrates with your registration platform gives attendees the opportunity to be recognized instantly by your organization and presented with their badge and relevant offerings based on their unique interests and demographics.”

“Limitless possibilities.” — Julie Green Davis, senior sales director, etouches

“Interfacing engagement.” — Sameer Menon, Multitaction tech, ON Services, a GES company

“Integration.” — Jason Daigler, director of information technology, Attendee Interactive, said that “collaborative sharing of data between technology stakeholders will allow convention managers to offer higher-quality experiences for all participants (attendees, speakers, exhibitors, vendors, suppliers, and the convention management team).”

“Customized and seamless.” — Elizabeth Glau, CMP, product marketing manager, Sciensio

“Personalization.” — Joshua Butler, product manager, OnlineEvent, Freeman, said that “Future ‘Smart Events’ will deliver automated and personalized experiences, making every moment relevant for attendees.”

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