At the 2019 Meetings Industry Council of Colorado Educational Conference and Trade Show, Denver-based Image Audiovisuals led a Solution Circle focused on “New Technology for Next-Generation Audiences, but I’m on a Budget!” New this year, Solution Circles were collaboration hubs in the Exhibit Hall, allowing attendees to discover and devise new solutions with industry experts who facilitated.
I had the opportunity to field questions from destination management companies, hotel event managers and corporate meeting planners regarding attendee engagement.
Discussions included app-based attendee registration and engagement tools, adding low-cost scenic elements to sets, and contract negotiations to keep A/V options open.
The main focus was on using apps to increase attendee engagement through live polling and surveys during conferences. Polling and Q&A apps like Vevox and POPin allow meeting planners access to meeting intelligence and data that was much more expensive just a few years ago. Fully featured event management platforms like EventWaves streamline the entire event life cycle, allowing every aspect of an event to be effortlessly managed.
Recording and livestreaming every session of a conference and then creating on-demand webcasts of those sessions is the next big event strategy. Content adds value and longevity to every event and companies like e-Attend make it user- and budget-friendly! Always keep your A/V partners in the loop so they can integrate any apps into your audio-video presentations.
Another focus of our Solution Circle was on Modular Backdrops and how incorporating a scenic element to a stage that isn’t the usual pipe and drape adds an affordable and modern look. There are so many new and exciting scenic options that can be created by providers from coast-to-coast. Dynamic, scenic elements attract attention and focus, look great with video or lighting, and add freshness and energy to any event, from corporate and social to everything in between.
A very hot topic discussed was how to navigate the pitfalls of hotel contracts containing restrictive clauses concerning the use of outside A/V production companies. Some of these costs have doubled or quadrupled in the last two years. We see both sides and feel the best way meeting planners can tackle these issues is to maintain a freedom of choice. No one should be forced to do something they don’t want to when the success of a meeting is at stake. Read and negotiate every contract—it could literally save you thousands of dollars.
With 35 years of live event experience, Dave Mueller has developed Image Audiovisuals into an event industry leader as founder and president.
