Talking Tech and Trends at the BNC Show

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three men on stage talking to the audience
Broadsword Strategy Director, Matt Green, spoke at the Buyer’s Networking Show on a panel titled event tech = event opportunities’. So how do we grasp these opportunities and see results from our investment in technology? Read our key takeaways from the panel. 

Moving back to live events, we are all trying to create the wow factor at events and with buzzwords like Meta-verse, Chat GPT and Ai floating around it can all feel a little overwhelming and costly. 

New technology definitely has a place in creating memorable events and is here to stay but the key to successfully implementing technology into events is looking at what technology your audience can get the most out of. 

It is important to look at the size of your audience and your aims. For example, Matt explained that with a smaller audience and with a goal of engagement, a circular seating plan and a fire camp discussion will likely result in more participation than having the barrier of a stage and a large screen as the focus.

With this in mind, the most invaluable event tech can be data collection. When we think of event tech, our mind may go straight to screens, cameras and even VR, but tech is an integral part of every event from registration and event apps to post event feedback.

Dialling back to look at and put thought into these things can be integral to creating a positive experience for attendees. An event app can make a guest more engaged by shaping their own experience from choosing sessions and having a hub where a guest can easily access FAQS, timetables and vote on polls. Event technology like this is also key to tracking ROIs and collecting data and feedback from attendees.

The panel also discussed virtual events as an opportunity rather than being something to move away from. If you are planning an event with multiple one on one meetings, many attendees won’t want to travel for only one session or a short meeting. Virtual events provide the breadth to reach more people globally and create a longer life for your event with Matt suggesting content sessions before and after the main event and short breakdowns of the content. 

Again, looking at registration data and pre event communications can be great for these as a virtual attendee may only be interested in a certain session and this could mean you do not need to spend on recording or streaming the entire day of content. 

It was a great session that encouraged the audience to take the opportunity event tech offers to create bespoke experiences and utilise data. You can visit the BNC event show website to register for their next show and do get in touch with the Broadsword team to talk to our team about implementing technology into your event.