By Jonathan Read, commercial director at Tobacco Dock
Conferences are changing. Gone are the stuffy, suited events featuring endless cups of coffee and Power Point presentations. Instead they’re becoming exciting and creatively curated hubs of opportunity and innovation. There is, of course, still quite a lot of coffee.
2017 saw 72 conferences take place at Tobacco Dock, a 30% increase from the previous year. Each event proved that the B2B events market is on a rapid journey of growth and success.
Brands such as Google, Tableau, AlteryX and WIRED made exceptional use of our historic venue, transforming our large spaces into interactive and eye-catching areas for keynote speeches and networking. Our smaller rooms were used as breakout areas acting as quieter spaces for delegates to hold meetings and workshops.
However, what stood out the most was the increasing use of technology at conferences of all sizes. I’m not talking about free WiFi and a tailored Twitter hashtag (nowadays, these are a given) but technology that provides organisers with extraordinary insights or makes for an enhanced, memorable experience for delegates.
In 2018, there will be plenty of technological aspects that will wow audiences at conferences across all sectors. However, here are the top tech trends that I am most looking forward to as we creep into a new year of events:
- Augmented reality
Substantial advancements in this area of technology will soon mean that delegates will be able to use AR to interact with and easily navigate larger event spaces. Have you ever felt a pang of frustration when trying to find a specific stand at a trade exhibition? AR will be able to provide you with step-by-step navigation to reach your chosen destination, meaning that you will be able to use your time more effectively. The rise of AR technology will also allow for gamification options, which could be used to direct users to specific parts of an event or provide them with appealing special offers. - Live event streaming
As certain conferences become larger and more popular due to the rich content they provide, it will be integral that events are able to engage with wider audiences. By live streaming those enlightening keynote speeches, panel discussions and workshops to national or even international audiences, brands will be able to further establish themselves as a leaders and innovators in their given sectors and will be able to communicate key messages and insights to everyone in their industry. - Engagement platforms
There are so many new platforms emerging that allow delegates to interact and engage with an event’s content. On the flip side, this technology also helps organisers to track individual interactions and gather valuable insight into the effectiveness of an event’s engagement strategies. By making full use of these analytical tools, planners will be able to track what content is proving to be the most popular and, thus, strengthen their content strategies for future events. - Artificial Intelligence
Earlier this year, Cisco launched a new AI-powered digital assistant that is able to control meeting room hardware. It’s incredibly exciting to think that, with the persistent rise of Artificial Intelligence, conferencing technology could become so much easier to set up and control. With a mere voice command we will soon be able to adjust volumes, dim lighting or invite members to video conferences. Who knows, eventually event professionals may be able to make use of AI to provide concierge services! - Security
Hacking is a threat to all businesses and this is no different for events and venues. We are all having to take steps to ensure that events are held in a secure digital environment through protection and authentication services, in order to safeguard any information on attendees. The upcoming introduction of General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will also contribute to the reduction of these threats. Event organisers will need to work closely with their technology providers to comply with the new privacy regulations that are set to sweep across Europe in 2018.
