“ If you want to look at it from a diversity , inclusion or sustainability point of view , [ the cost of ] travel is going up , everything ’ s going up , then having this digital overlay just means you can have a wider global target addressable market that can also be involved . And maybe one day they will come in person .”
Growth Ahmed sees tech as a less risky way to launch or clone an event .
“ If I wanted to launch a show tomorrow in Australia , or to geo-adapt or geo-clone an event , we used to just go and do it , which was quite high risk . But now through technology , we can actually do a mini soft launch in new areas to understand what ’ s going on , to see that we can get the traction , we can get the feedback , and then when we know we ’ ve got it , then we can go and launch .”
Event apps Apps are now an essential component for events , she says , not least because they improve sustainability by reducing the need for paper show guides .
“ We were all toying with event apps pre-pandemic . But now it ’ s almost mad not to have an app .
“ The thing with our platform , whether you ’ re using it as a one-off virtual event , whether you ’ re doing hybrid , or whether you ’ re doing it as a community , we build each of our event environments from scratch .”
They have created the Hubilo Wall – which Ahmed describes as “ like a mini LinkedIn or Facebook feed that ’ s purely for your community and purely for your market .”
Virtual events While the benefits of using tech to enhance live events are clear , Ahmed agrees the demand for fully virtual options may have peaked .
“ It was never going to be like that forever . I did think at the time ‘ this isn ’ t going to last ’, but it accelerated the change . And I think there are parts of that that will stay forever . Interestingly ,
“ It was never going to be like that forever . I did think at the time ‘ this isn ’ t going to last ’, but it accelerated the change . And there are parts of that that will stay forever .”
I also think it depends on what type of event it is and what industry sector ? Because pharmaceutical , for example , they love virtual events .”
Inclusivity Where event tech can really push change is in terms of inclusivity , Ahmed says .
“ There are a lot of people who can go to virtual events , and they couldn ’ t really go to events before ,” she says .
Also within the live exhibition environment technology can improve the experience and make it more accessible . Hubilo , for example , has sign language and closed captioning .
Shareability Tech is also crucial for shareability and widening the market for any exhibition , Ahmed says , with growing interest in ondemand content .
“ I remember years ago , when InGo and
GleanIn and Snöball first came out , and I loved it as an event organiser , because my audience went up 22 %, because of this shareability , and the network effect was leveraged . So for the platforms now the shareability function is so important .”
Analytics Most significant though is the measurable insights digital platforms can provide .
“ What I like most about digitising events , is the analytics ,” she says . “ Now I can see what sessions people were engaging with , how long they were in that session , how many meetings they did or what type and how long the meetings took place . And all of this lovely analytics I ’ m going to pull through , and I ’ m going to find out what really happened rather than before , you would just rely on 10 %, filling in the feedback . Now I ’ m getting a 100 % snapshot .”
Future Despite being determinedly digital , Ahmed is still totally committed to the future of live events .
“ Technology is just there to enable the event , whatever it is , if you want it to be purely virtual , you can , if you want it to be a bit of both you can or if you want to be in-person you can , but have tech to enhance it . I don ’ t think it ’ s either or .
“ It ’ s just something that helps you make your event better .” EN
September — 25