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The State of
Event Apps
All the information you need on mobile app adoption at
events. Research conducted in partnership with Meeting
Professionals International, presented by DoubleDutch.
Research conducted by
Report written by
Table of Contents
Executive Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Breakdown of
Survey Respondents
Meeting Management
Professional - Planner 38% Corporate Meeting
33% Professional
3% Association/Not
26% For Profit Meeting
Government Meeting Professional
Professional
Events make up
nearly 20% of the B2B
marketers budget.
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Executive Summary
Organizers were able to track what happened at the Flash forward to today: attendees now carry around
registration table (who attended and who did not), mini-computers called smartphones in the palm
but had little insight into what happened after an of their hands (or more recently, strapped around
attendee walked through the venue doors. Of course, their wrists). These new, powerful devices enable
innovations like lead retrieval, audience response organizers to better measure what happens after an
systems, and session attendance tracking devices attendee crosses the venue threshold: which sessions
helped shed some light here, but these disparate theyve attended, which speaker was their favorite,
systems left many questions unanswered. how they prepared for the event, and more.
These smart devices are quickly becoming an extension Because of this shift in our mentality, meeting
of who we are. Naturally, this has both positive and professionals must be able to give attendees the
negative implications on events. The digital era is one same experience at their own events. Event apps give
where marketers can track virtually any online action, attendees easy access to upcoming session details,
enabling them to measure activity taking place on speaker bios and more to meet the need for immediate
the show floor. But its also having an impact on our information.
attention spans and patience. We can get answers to
the most mundane questions within seconds by doing Today, 63% of meeting professionals use mobile
a quick Google search on our phones. apps to organize and run their events. According to
the research, the primary reason these planners
choose to use an event application is to provide more
convenience to attendees, highlighting the apps easy
access to session details and streamlined schedule-
building capabilities.
Research shows that in the near future, meeting The future for mobile event applications appears
professionals will expect more features from mobile to be one characterized by high growth. In the next
apps that focus on improving various elements of 612 months, it is expected that we will see an 85%
event engagement, such as live audience response, or greater mobile app adoption rate among event
surveys, and polling. They also plan to integrate mobile professionals in a variety of industries. As indicated by
applications more deeply into the event strategy by this increased adoption rate, mobile applications will
using it for data-generation, attendee retention, lead be viewed not only as a more convenient alternative
retrieval for exhibitors, and event-performance analysis. to the paper guide, but also an integral component of
the overall event strategy and experience, impacting
As the research indicates, selecting a mobile app vendor key initiatives such as stakeholder retention, revenue
typically falls under the responsibilities of the Events outcomes, and data collection.
General Manager, but may require input from other
leadership positions such as the CEO or CMO. These
roles also influence the budget these companies have
for purchasing and implementing a mobile application.
The primary reason that these meeting professionals
chose to useand thus budget fora mobile event
app is they have been proven to enhance the attendee
experience, which largely determines attendee
retention and event success. In short, if a mobile app
can demonstrate impact on the event experience, it is
more likely to find a spot in the budget.
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Yes No
Yes No
Meeting Management
Professional - Planner 58% (50) 42% (36)
Corporate Meeting
Professional
61% (43) 39% (28)
Government Meeting
Professional 50% (2) 50% (2)
40%
No, not in the
foreseeable future
Yes No
Financial / Insurance /
Legal / RealEstate
68% (21) 32% (10)
Convention Centers /
Convention Bureaus 40% (2) 60% (3)
IT / Telecommunications
/ Communications 40% (2) 60% (3)
Lower adoption rates for corporate meeting Low event app adoption rates across pharmaceutical
professionals could be due to the wide range of companies, government organizations, and nonprofits
meeting types in this field. For example, small could be due to the highly regulatory nature of these
executive meetings may not have budgeted for a industries, making it more difficult to procure a
mobile application due to the brevity and size of the budget for this type of technology. As mobile event
meeting, while larger corporate user conferences applications become more ubiquitous and continue to
could more readily secure budget for a mobile app. prove themselves to be secure and enterprise ready,
its likely that mobile apps will become more highly
adopted in these industries.
In-app sponsorship
opportunities are huge
revenue drivers for
trade show organizers.
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Association Meetings
Event applications give associations and member-
based organizations the ability to engage members
in a year-round experience that lasts beyond their
annual event.
Internal Meetings
By providing training content, research materials,
surveys and polls to reinforce continuing education
and SalesKickoffs
and member feedback, the application continues to During internal meetings, important company-wide
act as a resource for members before, during, and information and initiatives are often shared. Organizers
after the event. want attendees to have a discussion forum and
ideation platform during these types of events, while
maintaining the privacy of confidential information.
Employees and leaders can be social, collaborative
and publicly expressive around the event, within the
privacy and security of the branded mobile application.
Other purposes 2%
We do not understand
the value of apps 13%
Marketing Operations 8%
Chief Technology Officer
8%
or equivalent
Event Marketer 4%
Procurement department 2%
Through mobile
engagement comes
powerful data which can
be used to demonstrate
event success.
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As app implementation
processes become more
streamlined... its expected that
mobile adoption will continue
to increase among planners.
Sponsorship Opportunities 8%
Surveys 7%
Search 6%
Live Polling 3%
Emergency Notifications 3%
Gamification 2%
Other 4%
Live Polling
Speaker Profiles Speakers can run live polls during their
Attendees can access speaker bios sessions to engage audience members
that include session details, social and display results in real time via the
networking information, and videos, app or on the big screen.
among other features.
Emergency Notifications
Attendee Networking Planners can send push notifications to
Attendees have the ability to filter attendees regarding schedule changes,
other attendees by interest, follow their or other emergency alerts as needed.
updates, and send private messages to
them during and after the event.
Gamification
The application has a customizable
Expo Floor Maps gamification solution to increase
Attendees can view a full conference attendee engagement and impact
map and get directions to and from particular event goals.
various locations.
Other
Sponsorship Opportunities Mobile applications continue to innovate
The application offers a variety of and meet the needs of organizers,
sponsorship opportunities such as creating features they didnt even know
promoted posts, push notifications, and they needed.
sponsored app sections.
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What Does the Future Hold for Event Applications?
Streaming content 9%
After Polling, its difficult to determine what planners In September 2014, Apple introduced the Apple Watch,
will prioritize based on their unique event needs. wearable technology that pairs with your mobile
device for improved tech-assisted experiences. It is
I think as more of the general population gets smart yet to be revealed what developers will do in the live
phones, apps will become an expected part of the event space to take advantage of this new technology,
conference and event experience for all sizes of but its clear that mobile is becoming an extension of
events, not just large ones. Survey Participant our being.
In a 2014 report by Tracey Stokes titled Create The modern event, conference, and meeting planner
Mobile Moments That Boost The Brand Experience, is living and thriving in this mobile moment. Brands
Forrester Research, Inc. forecasts that by 2017, 84% that create, anticipate, or answer to their consumers in
of the US online adult population and 90% of the EU-5 personalized, contextual ways through mobile device
online population will own a smartphone, up from 75% will grow to understand their customers more deeply
and 78%, respectively, today. Forrester believes that
6
and thereby experience greater event success.
consumers are witnessing a mobile mind shift the
expectation that I can get what I want in my immediate The future of event applications is full of promise,
context and moments of need. They believe that as many planners are already beginning to integrate
mobile is now central to experiences, and that mobile technologies into their strategic vision.
applies to live events more than anywhere. 7
With mobile applications, attendees are able to In short, the time for mobile isnow.
easily access the information they want, when they
want it. Recent advancements in technology like
Apples iBeacon or Bluetooth LE, and NFC are
already enabling organizers to engage attendees with
contextual experiences based on time and proximity.
A. Yes
B. No
<6 POINTS
Its hard to tell the impact a mobile
application can have on your events.
Appendix
1. A Survey of Meeting and Event Planning Professionals and Hotel Operators, Frost & Sullivan, 2013
2. B2B Marketing Budgets Set to Rise 6% in 2014: Forrester, AdAge, 2014
3. Introducing The Outernet: Free, Worldwide Wi-Fi Access Beamed From Space, International Business Times, 2014
4. Smartphone Milestone: Half of Mobile Subscribers Ages 55+ Own Smartphones, Nielsen, 2014
5. The Smartphone Generation Gap: Over 55? Theres No App for That, Deloitte, 2014
6. Create Mobile Moments That Boost The Brand Experience, Forrester Research, Inc., July 29, 2014
7. Create Mobile Moments That Boost The Brand Experience, Forrester Research, Inc., July 29, 2014
Photography Credits
p. 6: Waag Society
p. 14: innovate360
p. 16: Yuri Samoilov
p. 26: Jesse Knish Photography for GDC Online
p. 31: Jeffrey Zeldman
p. 33: Waag Society
p. 37: Jesse Knish Photography for GDC Online
p. 38: Yuri Samoilov