Biggest trends in event technology in 2018
GO BIG
The number one trend in events is to go big and stand out. Companies want buzz, buzz, buzz and they look toward technology to offer a unique, never been seen before solution. CES brought about a host of new displays and screens, as well as an even bigger presence in technologies like augmented reality and virtual reality. While screens and headsets are not new to 2018, companies will leverage these in new ways to create experiences that are fist of their kind. We can expect to see a lot more in drone shows, gesture recognition experiences, projection mapping, RFID and interactive games in 2018, all with the goal of generating buzz.
TRACK YOUR VISITORS
Showing a return on investment at events is heavily tied to number of visitors and the ability to retarget those visitors effectively. To accomplish this, companies will leverage tracking technology in 2018 in an even bigger way. RFID and smart wearables will continue to grow with technologies like FastBar and Kliq leading the way. Event pages created with software tools like Splash will grow the amount of customer data received before an event even starts.
Taking tracking to the next level with personalized experiences will start to define events. By linking smart wearables to personal information about the wearer, individual experiences throughout an event can be customized to that persons likes and interests. It won’t be long before we see all screens communicating one on one with individuals as they walk by, and programmatic LED lighting setting the mood based on your favorite color, time of day, or theme of the events.
GET REAL TIME INSIGHTS
Twitter was groundbreaking in its ability to communicate real time updates about events, and offered event hosts a way to track sentiment and engagement throughout an event. New software tools are allowing further direct conversations to take place with attendees. FXP I Touch by Freeman is a great example of technology reinventing how presentations are given by allowing presenters to ask questions during their presentation, and attendees to provide real time feedback. The more engaged you can get attendees to be, the more you can tailor the event to their preferences.
PHOTOS REIGN SUPREME
It doesn’t matter how advanced technology gets, the photo booth will always be a main attraction at events. Attendees want a memento that they can share with friends to show off their experiences. What has changed however, is the quality of the memento attendees now demand to make it worth sharing on their social media channels. 2017 saw an explosion of new age photo booths, and that trend will continue in 2018 with multi camera rigs like the FloatCam and smart mirror experiences like virtual fitting. Photo booths will get more and more advanced, making the image captured highly unique and demanded.
Events will continue to grow in importance for brands looking to connect with consumers and businesses looking to generate new leads. Technology is playing a major role in how both accomplish their agendas, and the pace of innovation is not going to slow down in 2018. It should be an exciting year.
