TEDx Amsterdam and Mobile Event Apps of the Future
EVENT INDUSTRY, LIVE EVENTS, TIPS & TRICKS
Although first appearing on the scene only recently, event apps are quickly becoming a staple of large event management today. Given how cavernous some conference centers can seem, or the immense scale that industry events can take on, having a helping hand on a smartphone can help attendees integrate with the event and interact with each other in a more meaningful (and creative!) way.
Recent and super awesome example of this? The TEDx Amsterdam application designed by Frog Digital (kudos!). If you re planning on having an application developed for your event, we ve got a few ideas for you:
Keep it Simple!
All good apps are clean easy-to-use and don t overdo the features. Figure out the five most useful features your attendees may need, then hone that list down to three and build that.
Choose the Right Developer
You ve got an event to plan, and not a lot of extra time to devote to app production oversight and debugging. Getting an experienced application developer will set you on the right track from the get-go. (No idea where to start? Check out theymakeapps.com or call us.)
Provide Instructions
If you re going to make a mobile event application available, be sure to provide instructions on how it s intended to be used. You might do this via seminar or info packet.
Ideas: Personal Touches
Especially at larger events, the goals and agendas of each attendee will be vastly different. You might consider adding a scheduling function to your event app design to allow customized itineraries.
GPS Function
If your event is multi-locational or big, consider make your app GPS compatible as an alternative to you are here paper mapping. People will get lost in a closet, if you let them. So don t let them. GPS will only work in a big space, though as of today s technology, it s accurate to about 500 feet, so if you re working within a small space it won t do you much good. In that case, a get directions function could substitute.
Daily Alerts
Dedicated apps may be a nice alternative to SMS updates for attendees. Personally, we think SMS can get a bit annoying, as it s hard for the receiver to filter incoming messages by relevance. Business and political executives are already bombarded by texts and emails, they don t need an additional communications backlog. But if you build a messaging system into your app, event data can be accessed and processed in context, turning an annoying interruption into a relevant reminder.
Behind the Scenes Look at the Romney NASCAR Event
COMPANY NEWS, LIVE EVENTS
Just a few photos and a quick video of setup for the NASCAR Technical Institute event. It was awesome to get the opportunity to have the vehicles up on stage!
NASCAR from Decibel Management on Vimeo.
National Book Festival Load In
COMPANY NEWS, EVENT INDUSTRY, LIVE EVENTS, TIPS & TRICKS
Load in for the 2011 National Book Festival began today. Thankfully the weather held out and we were able to get a great start on the week. Some photos of the build are below
As mentioned above, here are some photos of our Monday progress. Got a number of tents up and began the decor install. Great work by Select Events, Legacy Scenic and Productions and EventEQ, and a big thanks to Fleishman-Hillard and the Library of Congress for the event. We are hoping to post more photos throughout the week as the event shapes up. Check back to check out our progress.
National Mall: Keep off the grass
EVENT INDUSTRY
This piece from Liz Farmer at the The Examiner came out yesterday and details some of the changes that we will be faced with in working on the National Mall.
While the NPS is planning on re-sodding and adding irrigation, they also plan to fence off the entire area to visitors and tourists between events. They are also reducing the size and number of total events on the grounds.
While this was a unanimous vote from the committee, I am very interested to see if it will warrant public outcry from visitors, locals and taxpayers. There is a big debate in the iconic National Parks about use and rights (snow machines in Yellowstone, etc), but this is first time I can remember a park being restricted from walkers, runners, sunbathers, and picnickers. It will be fascinating to watch this unfold.
By Liz Farmer
It may be America s front yard, but that s not stopping the National Park Service from fencing it off.
The Park Service wants to enclose the National Mall s grass squares that run down the center of the Mall between the Washington Monument and the Capitol to protect the annual beating the turf takes.
The enclosure is part of a new plan for the Mall that is designed to limit wear and tear on the high-traffic grounds as well as provide more public amenities for the more than 25 million people who visit every year.
NPS spokesman Bill Line said Thursday the fence would be taken down for protests and special events but otherwise would remain up year-round to allow the ground to recover.
That means residents and tourists must take their sunbathing, picnics and pickup games elsewhere. Line said there are other open spaces on the Mall like by the Washington Monument where people can do those activities. Also, the NPS supports softball fields, volleyball courts and a rugby pitch near the Mall.
There s a balance there, he said. That would be an area that would be fenced off, except for First Amendment events, so as to purposefully keep the area green as best as we can.
The plan for the Mall was approved unanimously by the National Capital Planning Commission on Thursday and also includes a plan to limit the space protest organizers and event planners will have to work with. To protect the row of elm trees standing between the pedestrian pathways and the museums, tents and other event equipment will be limited to the center grass area.
That means events like the July Smithsonian Folklife Festival, much of which is set up in the shaded section of the Mall near the Smithsonian Metro station entrance, will be moved to the unshaded center.
The plan also calls for pedestrian pathways to be paved and an irrigation system to be installed below the entire surface of the Mall. The center grass panels would be dug up and replaced with new soil and sod.
The majority of the Mall is so densely compacted with foot traffic it is more highly compacted than concrete, Line said. So hence, not a big surprise that it s difficult to grow grass.
The plan also calls for improved amenities for visitors such as more bathrooms and concessions stands. The Washington Monument also would be reopened in the evenings throughout the year.
Linking the Mall to different forms of transportation like the D.C. Circulator bus and the new Capital Bikeshare program are also in the plan.
*Photo by flickr user Yotut
Old School Has Class: Thoughts on the Relevance of Mobile Marketing Campaigns
BRAND ACTIVATIONS & MARKETING
With communications boundaries toppling around the world, there is a growing sense that in-person marketing techniques are going the way of the newspaper, a relic of an age where trade agreements weren t hammered out online. And while we re all about early and agile adoption of new techniques, on this point, we beg to disagree. Mobile media marketing could easily be seen as quaint and out-of-touch as 53-foot semi trailers trundle around the nation. But these road shows offer advantages that tap to the very heart of marketing success.
No matter how many ads we see on television or online about a product that tickles our fancy, a chance to try something out hands-on will never go out of style. Personal attention sells and a mobile road show can help create a valuable relationship with customers.
The Chrysler Road Show: Nothing beats hands-on. Image from Automotive Fleet
People don t often talk to each other about advertisements they see online and why should they? They re inundated with them every day. A food truck giving away free cookies, on the other hand, like the one we built for Ketchum and DoubleTree by Hilton, is not as forgettable. A mobile media road show isn t an advertisement, it s a happening a spontaneous mini-event, a break in monotony, a bright spot in someone s day. And when people participate in interesting events, they think about them and they talk about them. And in a world where most marketers are turning to the digiverse to the exclusion of all else, in-person interactions may actually have become more valuable for their rarity.
Last year, General Electric s Lighting Revolution Tour took to the road to give designers, distributors, architects, contractors, facility maintenance, and utility executives a first-hand experience of GE s latest innovations in lighting technology. Not the sexiest subject matter, perhaps, but at every one of 57 stops, its truck deployed a 600-foot-square awning covering all of the company s latest lighting solutions. You can t get that kind of customer interaction online.
What you could get online and this is where technology plays a critical role was mobile road tour tracking information and scheduling. A mobile road show s success does not just depend on rocking up in a pretty truck. Much of the pre-planning involved in event management still applies. E-mail campaigns, social media announcements going out 3-8 weeks in advance and online truck tracking via microblog are a must.
Decibel Management has concepted, designed and overseen more than a few mobile media campaigns. Give us a call: we ll handle the rest.
Romney Campaign Event- Mooresville, NC
COMPANY NEWS, LIVE EVENTS
We just wrapped up a great event at the NASCAR Technical Institute in Mooresville, NC. What we didn t know at the time was that we would get the opportunity to have the full ticket on stage.
Once Ryan was introduced the day of setup, we knew to expect a big crowd. After the fire marshall shut down the main event, we worked to get everyone into an overflow event area outside. The first photo below was the line to get into the overflow, and the following shows the candidates making remarks to the crowd
Custom Trade Show Booth Install
Custom Trade Show Booth Install
Just wrapped up a custom trade show booth install at Hilton Worldwide for the DoubleTree by Hilton brand team. Check out the photos below and in dB gallery for some behind the scenes looks at the build!
Thanks to the team at Gensler for the design and concepts, as well as DoubleTree for the creative space. We loved working on this project. Hope everyone enjoys the cookies!
Music Video: Shot on iPhone 4
EVERYTHING ELSE
Read a great article today that highlights the video capability of the iPhone 4. While I am still waiting for the iPhone to be released on Verizon, I can certainly enjoy these great music videos.
All shot entirely on the iPhone. The video above is Cascades by Flakjakt. It will also be in my iPod shortly. Head over to Mashable for the full article and additional videos.
Expect the best, prepare for the worst: bulletproofing your event
EVENT INDUSTRY
Every event organizer knows that feeling: You ve made the last phone call, you ve ticked off the last item on the checklist, you ve made sure that ambitious trade show booth will actually fit in a 10 10 square and you ve done it all while bringing your event in under budget. Now all that s left is to sit back and watch everything run itself.
Hah, just kidding.
In event management, despite the best planning, changes, mishaps, and the unavoidable sometimes happen, and they seem to invariably happen two minutes before showtime, and just as crew is donning their headsets. Maybe the hotel freezer broke and the desserts have melted, maybe the toilets back up, or an unintended power issue arises and the fuse blows right before the main networking session. You can t predict every problem, but we believe an event planner isn t just paid to create an event, we re paid to make the event as stress-free as possible for the client, and that includes becoming an expert in putting out fires. In an industry where excuses don t fly, we ve found these tips useful when bulletproofing our events.
Build it into the budget Set aside a chunk of your operating budget to give you some room to maneuver, and make sure that uh-oh money is sitting there until the event has wrapped. Happily, it s rare you ll need to use it, but when you do need to buy 800 mini chocolate pies at the last minute, it s a lifesaver.
Beef up your black book Have multiple suppliers ready to meet each of your needs. Most of us repeatedly work with a series of vendors we like and can trust to get the job done, but they have their uh-oh moments as well, and if you ve got good contacts or a backup on speed dial, it s that much more likely that you can save the day and work the magic your clients expect from you.
Know who does what Make sure you ve been introduced to all they key people. Who s the contact for the building maintenance crew? Who can you contact during the event in case you need sign-off on a decision?
Create swift lines of communication Make sure you can get in touch with every member of your staff quickly and efficiently so your team can respond to problems before they get out of hand.
Have a solid starting plan In live events, these situations happen. They happen on every event. Have the strongest plan you can for what you know. Having this in place allows you the time and ability to handle the new pieces that come your way.
Silver Anvil
COMPANY NEWS, EVENT INDUSTRY
The Cookie CAREavan tour for DoubleTree by Hilton was awarded the Silver Anvil Award from PRSA! Congrats to the incredible team that worked on the project.
As anyone who has worked with us knows, we love producing events and mobile media tours here at Decibel, and it is great to work with such an outstanding team. Ketchum Public Relations, Digital Royalty, Gensler, OMD, and all of the partners made it a great tour. We were thrilled to be along for the ride!
The Cookie CAREavan tour won the Silver Anvil Award from the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), in the category of Marketing Consumer Services Travel/Tourism. The tour also won a PRSA Award of Excellence in the category of Events and Observances, 7 days or more (business services). This is the third Silver Anvil for David Sonntag as a producer and the first for Decibel Management.
