The marketing function has evolved significantly over the years, so much so that it is difficult to pinpoint the moving target that is its focus during any point in time. However, as company brands shift towards new consumers and markets, and outward messaging is delivered by fresh and exciting means, the ultimate goal of marketing will never truly be altered: drive more business and drive more individuals towards the enterprise’s products and services.
The world of meetings and events management, like its “showrunner” in marketing, has also experienced dramatic changes over the past few years. From a procurement angle, execs in this function are actively trying to think strategically about events spending and push the envelope of collaboration into a new realm; more and more Chief Procurement Officers realize the value in having their units walk across the hall to marketing and build a unified, strategic vision that bridges the gap between spend management and brand management.
The term “evolution” cannot be mentioned within the events management industry without giving much credit to the role of technology within that progression. For the marketing teams that agonize over the best means to attract attendees and deliver an engaging experience, there are several solutions and strategies that are actively contributing to this ultimate goal. And, one evolving technology has proven to be a viable measure in boosting the attendee experience: mobile applications.
The age-old strategy of aligning speakers and content with themes that may resonate with attendees is not only improved with the advancements made in the mobile arena, they’re also significantly enhanced. For event management professionals and marketing execs, supplementing meetings with attendee access to mobile applications (either native apps or portals) can:
- Provide attendees with direct access to fellow attendees and event staff.
- Support agenda-building for attendees and one-on-one appointments with speakers, sales staff, product experts, etc.
- Interactive event-mapping (designed for those events that are planned on a larger scale).
- Provide real-time data and intelligence to event management planners / professionals (on-site or post-event)
- Further drive new revenue streams by offering sponsors to underwrite event-specific mobile apps.
Events management is a veritable playground of evolution: as the years tick by, newfangled strategies such as Big Data (i.e., analytics) and collaboration (procurement and marketing), are finding their way into this industry, especially as the focus for event planners, enhancing the attendee experience, continues to be the top goal for any meetings or events management team.
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