#EventTech is one of the fastest moving industries around. This year’s cutting edge device could be out of date and gathering dust in six months time. But if you know what to look for, you can see some trends coming and start to prepare ahead of time, making sure you’re always offering your clients the most interesting products and solutions.
At Noodle Live, we spend a lot of time researching and coming up with new ideas for event tech. We like to think that our packages are some of the most innovative out there, so we asked our team to tell us what they’re expecting in 2017.
All Change Please
“Being innovative is key. People have such tiny attention spans these days,” says Clemi Hardie, Founder and Head of Pencils at Noodle Live. “Including me. If something doesn’t interest me then I move on to something else.”
We’re all quite used to being ‘amazed’ by cool new tech and innovations, so we’re all looking for the next big thing. That’s fine. #EventProfs shouldn’t be afraid to use fun, gimmicky tech products and to keep looking out for ‘new’ and exciting things, but don’t confuse that with good, solid event tech. Good event tech should help you do your job and ideally, do it better than any human being could. It should help you meet your targets, make life easier for your delegates and give you really useful data about what happened during the event. Don’t confuse entertainment tech with true event tech, and don’t be afraid to use both.
Real Time Intelligence
Why wait for data when you can get the information you need instantly, while it’s still relevant? In 2017 instant data is going to hit new saturation levels.
“At Noodle Live we’ve always built instant reports into our tech packages because we know it helps #EventProfs be better at their job” says Clemi. “Our RFID and NFC tech allows you to gather data instantly and view it on a real-time dashboard with loads of useful stats and metrics including number of guests in the building, how long they’re staying, what sessions they’re attending and how they rate the event.”
Gesture Control
This is the tech that 80s movies predicted alongside the Hover Board, except this one seems to be ready to work without blowing itself up. Gesture control is basically the ability to control technology through your own movement.
“We’ve seen it before in the form of Xbox Kinect, but so far, events haven’t integrated the tech” says Clemi. “I think that could change quite rapidly as a lot of people in the industry, including Team Noodle are increasingly looking at ways to let guests control their environment.” It could mean more engaging exhibition stands, presentations and sales demos.
Apple Will Finally Open NFC on iPhones
About time! This one is now long overdue. There was a collective sigh of disappointment at Noodle Towers in September when Apple’s big tech announcement overlooked NFC for third parties – again.
“If Apple allowed third parties to use the iPhones built-in NFC capabilities it would open up so many possibilities for events. People could use their phones to register, check their coats, sign up for sessions and more. It could all be controlled directly from their EventApp rather than requiring a separate badge or wristband with an embedded chip. Come on Apple!”
3-D Printing Will Become More Mainstream
3-D printing certainly isn’t new, but it is getting more affordable and more compact, which means it’s getting to the point where it could be great for #EventProfs. You could use 3-D printing as both entertainment tech, allowing people to draw and print objects whilst at the event, or as part of your company tech package, allowing clients to request bespoke objects that you can then print in-house.
The Online Event Market Will Grow
In 2016 we saw the first virtual music venue open. The Boiler Room will broadcast live events around the world and the venue has been built specifically to accommodate cameras and sound equipment to ensure home-viewers get the best views. 2017 will see this trend grow even more. Live streaming is likely to stop playing second best to in-person attendance and become a huge industry in its own right. This also means that the importance of your event’s online reputation will be bigger than ever. But your event doesn’t have to be entirely online, live streaming IRL events will also be a growing market. Facebook Live is making live video streaming much more accessible and cost-effective.
#EventTech Will Help Create a Business Case For Events
Rather than being a nice addition, there’s an increasing amount of pressure on #EventProfs to prove that there’s a business case for events.
“#EventTech can help you gather loads of great data from your events to prove their worth to your clients,” says Clemi. “Make sure you gather data around attendance, time spent at the event, level of engagement with sponsors and exhibitors and post-event feedback including satisfaction levels. If you do that well, you will leave no room for doubt.” Data integration and collection will be one of the fastest growing trends for 2017. If you want to find out more about using event tech to gather data, ask us about a free workshop.
Robots
In 2016 there were loads of exciting announcements about robots that could help around the home, work in airports and even walk on four legs. Amazon also launched Echo, which is basically Siri for your home. It’s a static AI robot that sits on your countertop and is ready at any moment to answer your questions. Ask it for cinema times, directions or the days weather.
“With all areas of robot technology growing and developing, 2017 could be the year that we start to see AI working around events too,” says Clemi.
Virtual Reality
“This tech was hyped for 2016, but that was a little premature,” says Clemi. 2017 will see real-life uses of VR becoming more common. The initial gloss has worn off, so #EventProfs will now be able to use VR only when it seems really relevant and useful to their goals.
“Personally, I’m not a huge fan of VR. It’s yet to prove itself as a really useful piece of equipment, but I think it’s got enough legs to see it through another year or two of experimentation and I think it will continue to be on trend for a little while longer.”
Interested in learning more about the latest event tech and innovations? Take a look at the Noodle Live blog. Or to talk to use about ways that you could start using event tech get in touch. We’d love to sit down for a tea and a chat!