Podcast: Rob Murdoch discusses his upcoming Event Tech Live talk on data effectiveness

On this week’s episode of the Event Industry News podcast, Exposure Analytics’ commercial director, Rob Murdoch, joined us to offer a preview of his forthcoming talk at Event Tech Live on Wednesday 6^th November. Here, Rob will engage in a panel discussion on the correlation between design effectiveness and data effectiveness.

Returning to the podcast for the third time, Rob explained the role Exposure Analytics plays in live events: “We help brands and agencies determine how effective their events are through the use of data and footfall analytics.”

Data, as Rob explained, is only effective when people know how to use it. The data that is presented from experiential analytics companies can accurately demonstrate where footfall was heaviest, the number of entries, the flow of visitors and dwell time, among other things.

“What our clients are interested in is the truth. Whether it’s a good number or a bad one; they want to know because then they can act on it,” Rob stated, explaining that receiving high statistics is not as useful as receiving high-quality statistics.

In terms of using facial recognition (FR) to capture data, GDPR poses several obstacles. “[With FR], we’re picking up personal data. Your face is your personal data.” However, some of Exposure Analytics’ devices can pick up an individual’s mood, expression, facial features and gender. This allows his clients to identify any trends within their audiences: whether the majority were male or female, for example.

At Event Tech Live this year, Rob will share a panel with 2LK’s Andy Sexton, VenuIQ’s Oliver Rowe and Crystal Interactive’s Rob Curtis. You can find the full list of Event Tech Live’s educational sessions here.

If you would like to feature on an upcoming podcast, please email molly@eventindustrynews.com.

Podcast: Hellen Beveridge discusses GDPR

Hellen Beveridge, the data privacy lead from Data Oversight, joined our podcast host, James Dickson, to discuss GDPR within the event industry.

Having given a presentation on the subject at the Event Tech Live Exhibitor Masterclass in September, Hellen was invited on our podcast to elaborate.

Data protection is not a new concept with the previous data protection act being enforced in 1998. However, within the last 20 years, technology has changed in such a way that laws were struggling to keep up. Particularly within the event industry, professionals use various databases in their day-to-day jobs and handle copious amounts of data.

Cautioning event companies that buy data, Hellen said: “Be really careful when buying data. Because buying data is like putting a drop of oil in your water source; the minute you buy dirty data, your entire database is dirty.”

She described data as a person’s most important asset, so businesses need to take care when collecting it and ensure they only collect the data that is necessary for the business.

Hellen finished by explaining the ICO – the Information Commissioner’s Office – is the statutory authority for the UK and it regulates the data protection within Britain. The law requires that organisations or sole traders who process personal information to register with the ICO.

James is registered with the ICO and he described the process as easy and worthwhile.

Registration is simple, quick and can cost as little as £35 per year. Find out more on www.ico.org.uk. 

If you would like to feature one of our weekly podcasts, please email molly@eventindustrynews.com.

Podcast: Universal Live & Capita Travel and Events

Recording from Universal Live’s base in Bradford, Yorkshire, was commercial director, Neil Clappison. Alongside him was Jason Cardy, the event director at Capita Travel and Events. Universal Live is a technical event production company while Capita Travel and Events is a travel management company. Together, the two professionals were able to use their combined experience to discuss the client-supplier relationship in the event industry.

Reviewing the long-standing partnership that Universal Live and Capita Travel and Events have had, the two event professionals explore the supplier chain when planning events.

“It’s a ‘one-team-approach’ all the way,” Jason said, describing his opinion on how clients and suppliers should plan the events. He stated that both clients and suppliers alike should be open with each other when discussing the pitch.

Agreeing with this, Neil said one company won’t be experts in every facet of planning events: some may be proficient in event management, another in production. It is, therefore, important to recognise this and bring in different partners to help create the event that the client wants.

Listen to the podcast to learn how Capita Travel and Events and Universal Live approach clients’ pitches, budgets and negotiations. 

If you would like to feature on one of our weekly podcasts, please email editor@eventindustrynews.com.

Podcast: Cvent discusses the power of podcasts for events

On this week’s podcast, we discussed how podcasts can benefit live events. Offering their expertise on the subject was Cvent’s marketing manager, Brooke Gracey, and team lead, Cody Liskh from their offices in Portland, Oregon.

As hosts of the How Great Events Happen podcasts, Brooke and Cody were able to offer our podcast host, James Dickson, invaluable advice on how to use podcasts for events.

Podcasts are useful for event professionals to broaden their scope of expertise and knowledge. They are also convenient, accessible and not restricted by time or location – they can be listened to anytime, anywhere!

Technological advancements have been such that digital content can be created easily and inexpensively. Easily produced, Podcasts are beneficial for creating or expanding the topics of conversation out in the industry, offering professionals otherwise inaccessible information/education.

Additionally, podcasts are an added platform to market events: professionals can easily use them to “tease” content out of plug their events. Post-event, podcasts can keep the momentum of engagement going, offering guests a platform to express their comments, keep updated with event information and find content from the event itself.

Offering her advice to professionals who may seem hesitant to launching a podcast, Brooke said, “Go for it. See what the audience likes and use those learnings for when you do your next season.”

Cody agreed: “It’s really interesting to analyse what we think our audience wants to listen to and what our audience actually wants to listen to.” 

If you would like to feature on one of our weekly podcasts, please email editor@eventindustrynews.com.

Podcast: Kevin Waters from Event Resources Group on how to enter the event industry

Joining James on our weekly podcast was Event Resources Group’s director, Kevin Waters. Kevin entered the event industry in 1992 when he started his own agency and has since been a board member for the International Live Events Association (ILEA). He is now the director of event consultancy firm, Event Resources Group.

Here, he discussed the various training and qualifications we can now receive within the event industry.

“Never dry”, the event industry is constantly evolving, with new techniques, practices and technologies being introduced all the time. Various training courses within the industry may help professionals from being left behind.

However, is there such a thing as ‘over-education’? Should those hoping to gain entry into the event industry focus on work-based education rather than classroom-based?

The event industry is no longer focused on hosting a repetition of conferences or parties; it endeavours to move audiences’ emotions to create memorable experiences. Professionals hosting the same, tired events each year fail to understand the value of “spectacular” events and will, therefore, be overshadowed by “specialists”.

Kevin believes that event professionals, especially those just starting out, should “cherry-pick” courses and training sessions and follow a specific line of education to give themselves an edge over their colleagues. Broad-scale event training courses may produce a conveyer belt of generic event professionals with no distinctive knowledge, experience or ability.

If you would like to feature on one of our weekly podcasts, please email editor@eventindustrynews.com.

Podcast: Louise Findlay-Wilson from Energy PR

Joining James on this week’s podcast was first-time guest, Louise Findlay-Wilson, MD of Energy PR. Louise boasts a career that spans over 20 years, in which time she has worked with the likes of the BBC, TSB, Schwartz and NatWest. Today, she talked to us about her experiences working with event professionals.

Louise believes that working with many sectors, not just events, gives her a unique edge to her work as she is open to new ideas, sees various perspectives and discovers trends in multiple industries.

During the podcast, Louise took us back to the beginning of her career where technology and restrictions confined her to doing things very differently. Nowadays, technology allows us to communicate, track data and create work instantly, infinitely changing the disciplines of every industry.

PR has become more reactive to people due to the instantaneous nature of today’s technology. Social media posts and digital content has added another layer to work responsibilities in PR and other sectors.

“There’s a lot of scope to be incredibly engaged with your audience which I think is fantastic for show organisers.”

She also describes the difference between working on a B2B and B2C show regarding press coverage and interview opportunities. “With B2B, you’ve got a more focus niche of media that’s going to be interested.

“With B2B, there’s still a really solid incentive for businesses to attend shows.”

Listen on to hear Louise discuss different aspects of working with event organisers, covering topics regarding creating ideas, negotiations and show coverage.

To feature on one of our weekly podcasts, please email editor@eventindustrynews.com.

Podcast: Are industry associations doing enough?

On this week’s podcast, Event Industry News was joined by not one, but two guests to discuss whether trade associations are doing enough for the industry.

Granting us time out of their days to talk to our journalist, James Dickson, was Nick Dugdale Moor, the regional manager for Europe at UFI, and Lou Kiwanuka, the MD at EventShaper.

UFI is a global association for the exhibition industry with nearly 800 members that consists of international exhibition organisers, venues, national/regional associations and service providers. EventShaper is an operational management company that manages B2B and B2C events.

Associations are needed to help raise the standards of the industry as a collective, as opposed to one company advancing over others and not communicating its successes to other organisations.

Nick compared being part of an association as having a gym membership: “Just because you paid the money and got the card, that doesn’t get you fit. You actually have to take advantage of it.”

He continued to state that the more engagement and effort an organisation puts into an association, the more it gets from it. Lou agreed, explaining that being a member of an association allows organisations to effect positive changes.

The pair continued to discuss the benefits, as well as the disadvantages, of being part of a trade association, drawing upon their experience working in the industry.

If you would like to feature on one of our weekly podcasts, please email editor@eventindustrynews.com.

Podcast: Joe Davy from Banzai discusses marketing for events

Talking to Event Industry News on our weekly podcast was Banzai co-founder and chairman, Joe Davy. 

Banzai, an event marketing automation platform, was created when Joe discovered a recurring pattern demonstrated by marketers when creating events. 

The “lifecycle” of most event marketers typically lasts a month. This involves designing a new registration website, setting up email templates and having the relevant coding put in place among all the other tasks faced by marketers.

After the event has passed, all that work is “blown away” and marketers have to start all over again for the next event.

Calling this a “waste of time”, Joe wanted to eradicate some of this unnecessary workload. Banzai, therefore, provides solutions for event registration, reminders, outreach and attendance to help organisations grow their events.

Additionally, Joe described marketers as “overloaded” and so wanted to create a platform onto which marketers could delegate some of their duties.

“If we can build a great product, and we can design a great product, people will buy a lot of it,” Joe stated, simply.

Currently, Joe is working towards building Banzai, questioning himself on what other services the company could provide.

Though Banzai does not yet support every country, it is used internationally, which is something the team had worked towards from year one.

To feature on one of our weekly podcasts, please email editor@eventindustrynews.com. 

Podcast: Universal Live’s Neil Clappison discusses “growing trend” of interactive content

On today’s episode of Event Industry News’ weekly podcast, our journalist, James Dickson, spoke to Universal Live’s Neil Clappison. Neil is the commercial manager for the live event production company and used this time to discuss what he described as the “growing trend” of interactive content.

Running since 1990, Universal Live knows a thing or two about producing a successful live event. However, Neil admits the team was “slightly behind the curve” when it realised there was an increasing requirement for interactive content 18 months ago. Traditionally, it was seen as an expensive add-on.

Neil described interactivity as a great method for drawing people in as it is novel, often new to a lot of people, and can look great.

Neil described the production process for events that require this type of interactivity, stating that there was little difference in way of planning an event with or without interactive content.

Interactivity is not a ‘one-size-fits-all’ – it can be easily scaled down or up depending on the size of an event. Neil stated that interactive projections can be projected onto the floor if there is not a suitable wall available, showing that production is not confined to rigid rules.

Though he described the benefits of having a “digital bolt-on” at an event, he said there is little point in having it for the sake of it. It is much more advantageous to have interactive content that coincides with or delivers a message to make it much more relevant and engaging. 

If you would like to feature on one of our weekly podcasts, please email editor@eventindustrynews.com.

Podcast: Martijn Timmermans reviews storyboarding for planning events

This week, Event Industry News’ journalist, James Dickson, welcomed first-time guest, Martijn Timmermans, to join our weekly podcast. Martijn is the co-founder and creative director at the Amsterdam-based, event experience design agency, The Red Line Project.

Martijn described his process of creating events as “storyboarding” – just as with creating films, he can use this technique to create a sequence of events that follow a timeline. Each ‘scene’ in his storyboard can be designed to create a mood/experience for the audience.

This process also allows organisers to easily understand and participate in the design and creation of the events. This “co-creating” process is vital for designing an event that is creative and effective for the overall outcome.

Proved effective across many industries, storyboarding allows designs and plans to be laid out in a visual manner, allowing different people to see and remark on them.

Commenting on the benefits of this, Martijn stated: “We need different minds because that is what change and innovation are all about, otherwise we stay on the same road, do the same things and we never question what we’re doing.”

Referring to a project he worked on for a bank that “held the same conference every year”, Martijn suggested involving, not just the marketing managers, but the interns and clients to help produce a completely different concept. This process, he believes, is the best way to create effective events.

Martijn finished by demonstrating his storyboarding toolkit, a reusable pack of wipeable cards that can be used to ease the process of creating a storyboard.

If you would like to feature on one of our weekly podcasts, please email editor@eventindustrynews.com.