GETTING APP-DATED
With the ability to bring convenience and accessibility into users' lives, mobile Apps have made their way into the trade show world with India being the most recent market embracing the trend.
Technology has revolutionised the travel industry by levels manifold making tasks so much easier and information readily available, all with just a click. While Apps have been in the market for a while now, several trade shows around the world have embraced the trend and built their own for the use of the participants.
The Global Panorama Showcase (GPS), set to commence from July 13, 2016, is one of the very first travel shows in India which has launched its own mobile App. Containing every information pertaining to the event, as well as contact details of exhibitors and registered participants, the App has already gone live and was welcomed by an impressive number of downloads, informs Harmandeep Singh Anand, Managing Director, Jagsons Travels (organisers of GPS).
BOOSTING THE TRADE SHOW EXPERIENCE
The use of the App goes beyond just event schedules and contact details of the participants–Anand aims to make it a marketplace for all participants. He elaborates, “Through this App, participants can showcase their products since Tier-II and TierIII cities require a lot of attention and exposure to the destinations and the products they have on offer. In addition, the GPS App will allow exhibitors to place banner ads.” It is available on iOS, Android, BlackBerry, and Windows platforms.
But with half of the industry still offline, will this trend pick up in the Indian market? According to Anil
Parashar, President & CEO, InterGlobe Technology Quotient, the ease of use is only going to drive it forward. “Such Apps are very handy especially during trade shows where everything is about time slots and schedules. It consolidates all the important functions in one space. As content improves and becomes readily available, the demand for Apps will subsequently increase. Moreover, the quality of data keeps getting higher every year so it’s only a matter of time that the trend catches up with shows.”
MULTI-TASK & MULTI-PURPOSE
An interesting aspect about Apps is the way they make themselves itself indispensable to the user. Take for example Phocuswright’s official attendee networking platform App – it has been built in such a manner that it becomes the user’s go-to planner during the course of the event. Handy tools allow access to the attendee list and individual profiles, instant messaging capabilities, company information for sponsors and companies competing in the Innovation Platform, meeting request capabilities with an easy-to-use agenda.
“We’ve made sure to include as many networking and informational tools as possible in our App,” shares Tony D’Astolfo, Managing Director, Phocuswright. “Another very important aspect of our App environment is the seamless transition between the App, mobile web and desktop web – it’s all one system that is optimised for every screen.” He adds that to drive more people to login into the App, the polling and voting feature for their awards was added. “We are constantly thinking of ways to make the App and digital environment all-encompassing and seamless to use. When that digital experience is seamless, it encourages more participation in our face to face events.” When it comes to adoption rate, D’Astolfo says that it has hovered around 70-80 per cent for the last four or five events. “The adoption depends on the market – we’ve seen more active attendees in Europe who make more use of the Apps and conduct actions such as sending messages, adding agenda items to personal calendars, etc.”
Event management technology company CVent recently extended its event management platform to help event professionals, marketers, and executives deliver exceptional events. Customers will now be able to increase attendance, deliver engaging experiences, and gain data-driven insights in order to understand the impact of their events from costs to improving ROI. With the comprehensive event management platform, organisations of all sizes will be able to execute even the most complex events says David Quattrone, Cofounder and Chief Technology Officer, Cvent. Detailing the development, he says, “We have invested heavily to extend our event management platform. We are now providing our customers with day-of-the-event solutions like OnArrival and LeadCapture, which have gained significant momentum and adoption in the marketplace because of their ease of use and their ability to reduce registration wait times and more easily capture attendee information on site.”
“Through this [GPS] App, participants can showcase their products since Tier-II and Tier-III cities require a lot of attention and exposure to the destinations and the products they have on offer.” HARMANDEEP SINGH ANAND Managing Director, Jagsons Travels “As content becomes readily available, the demand for Apps will subsequently increase. Moreover, the quality of data keeps getting higher every year so it’s only a matter of time that the trend catches up with shows.” ANIL PARASHAR President & CEO, InterGlobe Technology Quotient