Smart venues
The more advanced the tech becomes,
the more invisible it should become
And from the supplier side?
We’ve seen some examples of
cutting-edge technology on the venue
side, but for every international
conference centre there are hundreds,
if not thousands, of event tech
companies vying for attention. So how
does a tech supplier go about trying to
court big venue business, which has the
potential to launch a company to
widespread success?
Zoi Meet is an emerging event tech
company which provides real-time,
multilingual subtitling and
transcription for international
conferences. The company was set up
in 2018 by Kevin Oranje and Nick Yap.
When asked how the company goes
about courting international venues,
Head of PR Magda Misiorny says: “We
provide the service as a free trial with
a simple set up, to demonstrate how we
can solve the basic problem of
understanding and allow many more
attendees to make the most out of
every interaction during a particular
event.”
“We have suggested to venues
providing it as an upsell service to VIP
attendees, allowing them to create an
extra stream of income.”
The company is also a part of
Techstars, a start-up accelerator which
provides funding, contacts and more to
help boost visibility. This can be a key
pathway to get on to the radar of
large-scale event venues.
It is not the only route, however, as
Misiorny points out: “Our solution is
unique enough for a lot of international
venues and trade shows (MICE) to
organically find us through internal or
external content we put out on our
website or social media.”
Survival of the…smartest
Technology within the conference industry is not just
about providing a ‘wow’ factor to attendees, or giving
event planners a shiny new toy – though there are plenty
of those around.
Real, lasting innovations within the sector are those
that have a tangible and practical impact on our working
lives. Those which strip away the admin, logistics and
rough edges to provide a smoother experience for
delegates.
Whether that means facial recognition to speed along
registration, AI chatbots to provide quick and efficient
customer service, or live translation for international
events, the goal is the same. Conferences are becoming
more connected - breaking down barriers between the
physical and virtual, as well as between different
cultures and languages.
But perhaps we should be looking to the innovations
in Gothenburg if we really want to talk about ‘lasting’.
The march of technological progress often comes at the
expense of our fragile environment, but Svenska Massan
shows us that doesn’t need to be the case.
And if, as Darwin said, it is not the smartest but the
most adaptable that survive, perhaps our international
conference venues should be taking note.
ISSUE 100
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CONFERENCE & MEETINGS WORLD
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47