Yesterday, that report was finally published by Echelon Design. The report highlights several case studies that reflect the possibilities for enhancing and enriching any event strategy. There are thoughts and insights from many people including:
> Kenny Lauer, Executive Director of Digital Experience at George P. Johnson Company
> Dennis Shiao, VP Product Marketing for InXpo
> Jeff Hurt, Director of Education and Engagement, Velvet Chain Consulting
> John Jainschigg, Director of Internet and Community at Ziff-Davis Enterprise
> Eric Lukazewski, Marketing Director and Social Media Strategist, Echelon Design

Talking about the report, Eric Lukazewski said, “we’ll continue to see an evolving event world with accelerated change and technology will forevermore be one of these primary factors.” This report helps all event professionals understand the new opportunities that social media brings to the table for marketing and expanding their own events.

Download the Free Report: Social Media in the New Event World.

The post Are You Ready for Social Media in the New Event World? appeared first on Interactive Meeting Technology.

If Chris Brogan and Stephen Nold had opened the event by saying “Wayne’s World. Wayne’s World. Party Time. Excellent.” – it would have set a perfect tone for the day. Maybe next time. Here are some of my notes from the event.

Three Parts to Your Social Media Strategy

Social media guru Chris Brogan pointed out that he advises clients to have at least three elements in their social media program: Listening, Connecting and Publishing. Chris advises clients to spend 30-60 minutes on all three elements each day.

I asked some attendees if they were following Chris’ advice – most responded that they are only publishers. How do you stack up?

Community Building the Old Fashioned Way

Mark Ragan of Ragan Communications told the audience how he creates and builds communities around compelling content THEN he creates events. He told us that he did it the old fashioned way – via email. Mark uses Social Media as a brand building tool. Also, he pointed out that you don’t have to create all of the content yourself. You can find great articles, write an interesting summary and share it with your community.

Are you using content to build a strong community all year long?

Mobile Apps Need to Be Open & Integrated

Event organizers that launched iphone apps in 2009 quickly realized that their mobile apps need to be able to work on all phone types. While the iphone is sexy, most corporate attendees are still using the Blackberry. Nokia and Android have sizable installed base, too.

Also, mobile apps need to be integrated with other data and systems that you are using for the event. Most event organizers were exasperated with tech vendors that were not “partnering” with other vendors to create integrated solutions. (Vendors take note!)

Geo-positioning & Wayfinding

While many show organizers cringed at the thought of looking at a venue map on a tiny mobile phone screen, most agreed that “you are here” and “wayfinding” should become part of mobile solutions for events in the future. Wayfinding is the name for giving people directions from point A to point B.

There was a lot of talk about social tools Foursquare and Gowalla and how these type of “checkin” services could be useful for traffic flow, navigating an event experience or encouraging people to visit event sites.

Where Were the Virtual & Hybrid Events?

Virtual & Hybrid events were like Claudia Schiffer on a date with Wayne and Garth – nowhere to be found. Yet, it was clear to most at the event that this technology is something to consider. Mark Ragan even pointed out that he is getting 15% of his event revenue from virtual events. When you are making money with virtual or hybrid events, I think that makes virtual events magically babelicious.

Bottom Line

Just like Wayne’s World, the MTO Summit was entertaining, engaging and full of amazing people and ideas. If I were smart, I would have summarized this entire post in one line: “MTO Summit. MTO Summit. Party Time. Excellent.”

What do you say?

The post MTO Summit Chicago: The Wayne’s World For Event Technology appeared first on Interactive Meeting Technology.

Here is how it works: First, you need Esquire magazine. Then, download some software from Esquire’s site. After, you point your magazine at your webcam the screen changes. As you move the magazine around the screen changes. OR Watch this video:

[vodpod id=ExternalVideo.895576&w=425&h=350&fv=%40videoPlayer%3D49407280001%26playerID%3D49408412001%26domain%3Dembed%26]

What Does This Mean For Events?

Truthfully – probably not much right now. However, that didn’t stop me from coming up with a few ideas!

The first thing that came to mind was combining this technology with brochures to create interactive experiences that would work at tradeshow kiosks, small events and on the prospect’s computer. It brings your brochure to life, your brand to life and creates a reason for people to keep your marketing materials.  Also, it gives you one digital marketing tool that can be used in several customer/prospect encounters.

Another possibility that I saw was in real time segmentation and lead qualification. Think about this:  a person picks up your brochure, goes to the interactive kiosk at your booth and holds up the pages with the features/benefits that are important to him.  Then, he sees some content that is relevant to his needs. When he is done, there is a place for him to answer a few questions, enter his contact information and take the next step in your marketing/sales process. If you do it right – he could end up with an email on his smart phone asking him to meet with a company representative later that day.

Bottom Line

This is a fun technology that we are going to see start popping up in more places. For now – it is probably just something cool. Expect the technology to become more sophisticated and cheaper as more people start to use it.

What do you think? Any other ideas?

The post What Esquire’s Augmented Reality Magazine Could Mean For Events appeared first on Interactive Meeting Technology.