In Part One, the Pico Chairman’s latest Headline Finance column, he explained why data is the foundation of any successful event or marketing strategy. In the column’s concluding segment, the Chairman goes on to describe the role of technology in data collection and analysis.
Apps which offer Q&A and live polling functions are a useful example of the above. These apps make it more convenient for event professionals to collect a diverse range of data, even down to audience members’ colour preferences for the venue. Not only does this enrich the data picture, but it also deepens attendee engagement and enhances the sales process. After it is analysed, the collected data may also point the way to key refinements to the next event’s planning.
As well as making the process smoother for attendees, an app’s registration function can yield its own data prize in the form of accurate attendance numbers. At conferences, this can also give the organiser a useful preview of attendance for the breakout session and reveal what types of sessions are more popular, potentially enabling a better balance of participants to be achieved for each one.
Another technology, iBeacon, is finding more and more applications among business activities. Its ability to precisely track movements and actions can help planners to create push messages that are specially tailored for relevance to each recipient – an element of the personalised event experience and a ‘thoughtful’ event.
The Chairman concludes with a reminder for event planners to use creative and unique content to bring an element of surprise to the audience. Hard data may help planners understand what will elicit an audience’s predictable response – but it’s the creative element that makes a marketing strategy truly thought – and action-provoking.
*The above is a summary of the original Chinese article. In case of dispute, the Chinese version shall be regarded as definitive.
