Want an assistant who works 24/7, speaks every language and provides responses in seconds?

MCI Group, a global engagement and marketing agency, launched its new AI Assistant, Jade, to provide automation tools for registration, housing and leads. At the International Association of Exhibitions and Events’ Expo! Expo! In December, MCI introduced six new AI products to help trade show organizers, corporate event planners and exhibitors save time, money and manpower, as well as offer insight into real-time analytics based on deep and vast data sets.

“We're anticipating that north of 85% of call center inquiries are going to be able to be handled by Jade,” said MCI USA Senior Vice President, Registration and Housing Chris Williams. “It’s such a game changer. It never goes to sleep. It works in real time, and it just gets smarter and smarter about the event.”

With more than 1,200 clients across 31 countries, MCI offers its One System platform, which uses Cvent's core registration and housing products and builds its own software on top. 

“What we've done is identified what features and functionality in their registration and housing platform are missing for the large complex shows in the market,” said Williams. “Our developer team focuses on building out what we would call the gaps that bring value to our customers that you can't get in the core platform.”

We sat down with Williams to get the scoop on how these AI tools work. Will they deliver on their promise? 

Watch our full interview with Williams here, or read our list of curated quotes and a run-down of the products and their features:

How it works with contact center operations: “All registration and housing companies get chats, emails and phone calls from people who want to do something with their registration or with their housing reservation. Jade allows you to send an email to a normal event inbox, and Jade can read the email and go into the database and make the updates. Then it sends an email back, letting the registrant know what it's done,” Williams explained.

How it works with lead scoring: “It matches up all the exhibiting companies with all the attendees, and it provides a score from one to 10. It analyzes the data, and it provides a score of how valuable any one attendee would be to any one exhibitor. So it's done the math to calculate a lead score when you walk in and then your behavior throughout the show. If you take more sessions that are related to what that exhibitor sells, your lead score would go up for that particular exhibitor. Or if your lead was scanned by competitors of that exhibiting company, you become more valuable to that particular exhibitor. 

What we're trying to do — and all of our competitors are trying to do — is to bring more value to the exhibitor and help them turn a lead into a sale. We've tried to improve the lead capture process by adding the scoring in to use more behavioral data about the attendee. It's trying to take some of the homework that a salesperson needs to do, cut to the chase and help them make the sale faster.”

Predictions and challenges: “I think what you're going to see is a heavy adoption of AI both inside and outside of our industry. Who knows what's going to be released by Open AI with functionality, but it's going to bring efficiencies to the process. It's going to speed everything up and automate everything. So the challenge is just getting our messaging out to our own clients and to the marketplace in general. Then coming up with the business model that allows everybody to use the products and hopefully improve the event experience for themselves, exhibitors, attendees, speakers — everybody involved.”

What’s next: “We are working on ways to summarize what the attendee and exhibitor experience was at the show, then use AI to summarize and provide it back to them in their portal. That's what AI does great – it can consume mass quantities of data, make heads or tails out of it and provide the summary very quickly in real time. Sometimes seconds, sometimes minutes. That's the next step…using AI to summarize their journey.”

Need to Know: 6 New AI Tools For Events

Jade for Contact Center

Available 24 hours per day, 365 days per year, Jade works in real-time and is multilingual. Jade performs contact center actions for registration, housing and lead retrieval, answers questions and updates records. Jade updates contact information, registration categories, sessions and reservations. Registrants can communicate with Jade via email and chat, and soon they will be able to communicate with Jade via SMS and voice. 

Jade for Lead Scoring

When an exhibitor captures a sales lead, Jade scores the lead using information collected in the registration process, behavioral information collected throughout the event and information collected via the Internet. Jade updates the lead score in real time throughout the event as the registrant acts at the show. A lead score increases when the registrant's behavior indicates they are more apt to purchase one of the exhibitor’s products or services. Each score is unique to the exhibiting company collecting the sales lead.

Jade for Analytics

Jade provides deep, data scientist-level analytics. The analytics can be performed on data MCI already has about the event, such as registration, session, housing or lead data, or MCI can add data collected by various vendors to enhance the data set and glean deeper, more insightful analytics. Jade performs the analytics quickly and sees trends that cannot be found with traditional reporting. 

Jade determines the personas of attendees and tells the organizer who the most valuable and engaged buyers are on the show floor. Jade can be used throughout the show cycle to provide guidance on how to strategically market the event, grow attendance and increase booth and sponsorship sales. Jade can also present the results in a report format with charts or a PowerPoint presentation.  

Jade for Recommendations

Jade makes real-time session recommendations during the registration process, based on information provided by the registrant and choices they make while registering.   Jade makes sure registrants never miss an opportunity to improve their experience at the event. Jade also recommends a list of exhibitors to visit while at the show based on the product interests of the registrant.  

Jade for Writing

Jade assists users in writing content for the event. For example, Jade can assist with writing session descriptions, confirmations or welcome emails. Jade speeds up the event setup process.

Jade for Event Set Up

Coming in 2024: Jade will assist users with various pieces of the event registration setup process. Jade will use event business rules provided by the client to automatically set up the online registration sites. This will decrease the set up time, increase accuracy and decrease the time it takes to perform the quality assurance testing.  

Image captions: The first (Image 1) is the user interface for Jade’s AI Analytics application.  The second (Image 2) is a sample of charts that Jade produced when asked a question.  The third (Image 3) is the interface and a sample response for Jade’s Contact Center application after asking it to act

Exhibiting companies now have a new way to tap into the increasing popularity of blended travel while elevating their in-person events with Jampack, a new bundling platform that curates unique and memorable host-city experiences for exhibitors.

Using the Jampack platform, exhibitors can explore and purchase exclusive destination experiences, such as networking-focused dining events, excursions or golf outings, before, during and after trade shows and conferences — setting the stage for elevated networking and group bonding via fun and unique experiences. 

Launched as a beta version in June 2021 as Fuse Ignited (rebranded as Jampack in September), Jampack partners with event producers across music festivals, sporting events, trade shows and conferences to curate in-event experiences only available within the Jampack platform. 

By leveraging proprietary technology and partner integrations, the platform bundles exclusive destination experiences at the best rates available while empowering event organizers to generate new incremental revenue by bundling the ticket purchase, hotel room and add-on fan experiences into a single seamless package, according to Jackpack officials. 

How it works

Leveraging its extensive network of venue contacts and resort property partnerships, Jampack offers a diverse schedule of add-on experiences that attendees and exhibitors can explore and take advantage of in the host city around an event’s existing schedule.

Using a show-branded, user-friendly interface that works as an extension to event registration and in real-time during the event, attendees and exhibitors can access the platform via the web and customized, mobile-based user sites to access QR codes, activity details and maps 24/7.

For example, organizers can elevate event networking by including official “AFTER DARK” nightlife events and show-branded “meet-up” spots around the host city on nights with no officially scheduled parties. 

Listed in the show schedule on the event website and mobile app, these official event packages can be browsed and purchased as part of an event participant’s event registration or via Jampack’s show-branded web-based platform. Attendees then receive a confirmation email with a QR code that serves as their All Access Pass to the nightly events or experiences. 

Event participants can also use Jampack to book private experiences, such as group dining, branded offsite events and group experiences with colleagues and clients. Event groups simply submit nightlife and hospitality requests to Jampack via its show-branded web-based platform, after which a Private Group Services team member provides white glove concierge services, including the ideation and contracting of the venues and vendors needed to plan their events or experiences. 

What users are saying 

According to Einzig, Jampack has already worked with SHOT Show and The Car Wash Show to deliver highly popular AFTER DARK networking and nightlife events at some of the most sought-after venues in Las Vegas. 

According to Jeff Pressman, president and CEO of ConvExx, the company collaborated with Jampack to facilitate unique after-hours networking community events for SHOT Show – a partnership that turned out to be more impactful and rewarding than anticipated.

“Not only were their concepts innovative but also they created programs that were specifically designed for our unique audience,” Pressman said. “Their operations team was just as impressive onsite, ensuring that all those that participated were treated like VIPs and the events ran smoothly.”

Kim Vinciguerra, chief experience officer for the International Carwash Association, said that partnering with Jampack gave her organization the resources and support it needed to enhance the attendee experience with minimal bandwidth required from her team. 

“The best part is that we are building a new revenue channel at the same time,” she said. “My only regret is that we didn’t find Jampack sooner!” 

Exhibiting companies have also been using the platform to streamline their event planning. Case in point: Catherine Craft, trade show manager for DRB, who worked with Jampack Private Group Services to source the venue and entertainment for its client cocktail reception. 

“We are so grateful, as they were super helpful, flexible and reliable, and the event was perfect,” Craft said.

If you attended Connect Marketplace in August in Minneapolis or the Events Industry Council (EIC) Global Awards Celebration at IMEX America in October, you may have received photos in real-time via SpotMyPhotos, an AI-powered, automated private photo sharing technology that goes beyond facial recognition to let people’s photos find them. 

Attendees and exhibitors who opt-in to experience this next-gen photo delivery platform at events can enjoy the convenience of having all photographs taken of them instantly delivered to their smartphones, eliminating the need to scroll through hundreds or even thousands of event photos to find their pictures. 

Offering the benefits of a roaming photographer and photo booth in one, SpotMyPhotos enables attendees and exhibitors to instantly download their images, share them on social media and/or print them onsite via private galleries that can be uniquely customized to showcase event branding.

Since the company launched 11 years ago, event organizers, professional photographers and marketing agencies have used SpotMyPhotos to spot hundreds of thousands of people at thousands of events of all types across North America, according to Ryan Jacobs, SpotMyPhotos CEO and founder. In addition to Connect Marketplace and EIC, the technology has been used at the Super Bowl, Grammy Awards and the Academy Awards — to name a few.

“There is a time value of photos,” Jacobs said. “Images depreciate rapidly in value, and organizers want to put their photos to work right away. With SpotMyPhotos, the marketing teams for conference organizers are receiving instant photo stream access ­– [long gone are] the days where photos were held hostage for days, or in some cases, weeks.”

He continued, “In addition to the need for an event organizer to tell their story, attendees too, are publishers in their own right, eager to share novel, custom-branded photos with others. Rather than having to search for their photos, their photos find them. It is the coolest thing ever, the first time one experiences getting ‘spotted,’ and the novelty of that service doesn’t wear off.”

ENN caught up with Jacobs to find out how the technology works and why more event planners might consider implementing this innovative instant photo delivery system at their meetings, conferences, corporate events, booths and trade shows. 

Next-Gen Technology

With a background in event production and photography, Jacobs said he created SpotMyPhotos with the objective of empowering professional event photographers to rapidly and seamlessly deliver high-quality photos to attendees in seconds while at the same time prioritizing privacy via robust safeguards. 

“Camera companies were serving many different photography markets, but for my world — event photography — they were missing major opportunities for facilitating the delivery of photos to those photographed,” Jacobs explained. “Wireless transfer technologies — plus pattern recognition technologies and cloud infrastructure — provided the ingredients for more frictionless photo sharing possibilities.”

Initially turned off by the idea of using facial recognition to power the platform, Jacobs and his team set out to devise ways to deliver photos to those photographed using everything except for facial recognition. 

“For small events, it worked great, but for larger sample sets, people would receive the wrong photos, particularly if their clothing looked similar,” Jacobs continued. “By marrying pattern recognition and logic with opt-in facial recognition, our platform proved to be very effective. And interestingly enough, as facial recognition stumbled from use of masks during the pandemic, our platform remained effective.” 

How it works

After obtaining a license to use the software, which is available to event organizers or photographers as a subscription SaaS product, photographers or photo booth operators then use a SpotMyPhotos WiFi SD card to make their cameras cloud-enabled using the SpotMyPhotos iOS App. 

Set up is easy and can take place the same day, if necessary. However, getting familiarized with the platform and setting up workflows in advance of an event is advised, Jacobs said.

The process is simple. First, an attendee smiles for the camera and has their picture taken by a professional photographer. Next, the attendee registers with the photographer one time, providing the phone number or email address where they want to receive their photos. The software “spots” the attendee’s photos and instantly shares a link to their own private gallery, which is continuously updated with each photo they appear in during the course of the event. 

Additionally, SpotMyPhoto’s software grants photographers and photo booths control over how, when and with whom event photos are shared, and galleries can be shared instantly or scheduled for sharing later, allowing time for photo editing.  

With live access to the event’s photo stream, event organizers and marketers can also instantly access and use event photos immediately for social media and marketing purposes, as well as have access to the platform’s photo reach analytics. 

To help elevate an event’s ROI potential, the platform provides planners with the ability to customize photo galleries to showcase brand identity, so as attendees share their images on social media and beyond, custom branding helps generate event buzz and excitement.

To learn more about the benefits of SpotMyPhotos for event organizers, watch this video.

Next-Level Upgrade
In 2019, SpotMyPhotos upped the ante by becoming the first company to integrate Canon U.S.A.’s Camera Control Application Program Interface (CCAPI) software into its products in the U.S. This move not only leveraged a direct-to-camera connection mode within an instant photo-sharing capability to enable a more frictionless photo-sharing experience but also increased the company’s visibility and scale, Jacobs explained. 

“In working with Canon engineers on the direct integration, we [provided] another avenue by which photographers could stream to the SpotMyPhotos platform,” Jacobs said. “Our integration landed us a booth at CES with Canon, and the opportunity to partner on activations together at conferences such as PPA’s Imaging USA. SpotMyPhotos quickly became known in the industry as the instant private photo sharing platform.”

He added, “Connecting our platform directly to the operating system of a camera [was] a major step; bringing us closer to a frictionless, photo-sharing future, where digital photos fly seamlessly to the smartphones of those being photographed.”

What’s next

The engineers at SpotMyPhotos stay busy with bimonthly upgrades and developing new features, according to Jacobs. New products catering to additional privacy safeguards include a creative GDPR compliant product for European partners, and Embargo, which allows teams supporting VIPs such as politicians and celebrities to review and approve their photos prior to anyone else receiving them. In line with the current popularity of professional headshot studios at conferences and events, the platform has also upgraded its professional headshot workflows.

SpotMyPhotos is a federally registered trademark of and assumed name of CloudSpotter Technologies Inc.

The Vendry, an online event venues and vendor search platform for corporate event planners, has made searching for venues and vendors even faster, easier and more efficient with the launch of a new search engine that enables planners to discover venues and vendors in one centralized place.

Powered by The Vendry’s database, the new search experience brings more than 1 million data points on global venues and vendors together with live insights from The Vendry’s community of corporate event professionals to display the most relevant and comprehensive set of results, according to The Vendry officials. 

“We wanted to reimagine a search experience that could bring every high-quality source of information together into a single, comprehensive set of results that’s easy for planners to digest,” said The Vendry CEO Daphne Hoppenot. 

Related: Tech Giants: Daphne Hoppenot, CEO And Founder, The Vendry

She continued, “Up until now, searching for venues and vendors has been a mess. For example, when a planner needs a venue, they’ll search on Google, sift through websites hunting for capacity charts, dig through press articles to see if the location is trendy and on-brand, and message teammates and industry peers in hope of getting a recommendation.” 

Now, when a planner searches on The Vendry, they can easily deep dive into the relevant options from a variety of perspectives, including: 
 

• Business Directory to browse information on more than 130,000 spaces and services in 87 cities around the world  
• Community Discussions to read previous conversations that mention pertinent venues or vendors, with the ability to jump in and ask follow up questions  
• Team Knowledgebase to access private lists, notes and files shared by others in their organization 
• News to read recent, applicable press from more than 500 publishers, powered by The Vendry’s IndustryIQ technology 
• Lists to browse curated collections of businesses created by top publications and industry members
• Galleries to see more than 92,000 photos of real events those businesses helped bring to life  

According to company officials, The Vendry engineered its refreshed platform to quickly aggregate information about event businesses from the highest-quality sources across the web. These data points allow an event professional to not only see which hotels match their requirements for neighborhood and capacity, or which ones were just featured in leading media outlets, for example, but also which venues hosted successful events with photos to prove it.  

Paired with personal venue and vendor recommendations and valuable insights from thousands of vetted corporate planners and producers in The Vendry community, this fast-growing community and venue and vendor marketplace platform supports more than 190,000 event planners each month as they plan their events. 

From browsing inspiration to searching for venues and vendors, The Vendry plays an influential role in the planning process for event planners at organizations like Bloomberg, NBC, Salesforce, AmexGBT and hundreds more each month, according to The Vendry officials.

The Vendry’s search engine is available and free to use for any vetted corporate event planner. To learn more about gaining access, go here. 

Combining more than 75 years of trade show and conference industry experience, Wayne Crawford and Jim Forlenza have formed Cobalt Event Studios, a new company that serves not-for-profit associations, independent organizers, corporate events and exhibiting companies. The company provides strategic insight and consulting to optimize event sales, efficiencies and planning.

Crawford and Forlenza have integrated their expertise and knowledge in sales maximization, business development, strategic planning, event technology platforms, event creation, international event management, M&A and event logistics to assist organizers looking for a more strategic examination of their event activities.

“We are excited to create a truly unique strategic consulting salon,” said Crawford, Cobalt co-founder who has gained experience working on the organizer and supplier side at organizations like Grip, Core-Apps, A2Z, Clarion Events and National Association of Broadcasters. 

He continued, “By combining our talents and unique experiences, Cobalt Event Studios will provide vital strategic services in data science, sales technology, optimization and analysis that will help organizations grow revenue.”

Forlenza, Cobalt co-founder who has also worked on the organizer and supplier side at organizations like MCI USA, SAE International and E.J. Krause & Associates, said, “In working closely with event organizers of all types, two distinct focal points stand-out as their biggest concerns – sales methodologies/optimization and reimagining event experiences. 

He added, “Our distinctive backgrounds in both these crucial areas will benefit any organizer looking to transform their event.”

We caught up with Forlenza to find out more about the company’s launch, potential clients and services they offer.

Will Cobalt be working with all kinds of events, including trade shows and corporate events?

With our deep backgrounds in both sectors, Cobalt Event Studios will focus on not only helping organizers of trade shows and corporate events but also helping corporate exhibiting companies. Although different in scope, many of the same needs — sales enablement, event strategy, and a stronger understanding of event data and technology platforms — are in great demand for organizations looking to grow their business and their revenue.

Is Cobalt a full-service event company or a consultancy?

Actually, we are a little of both. The depth of our experience and our wide breadth of industry networks allows us to manage and organize events of any size. However, we believe the nexus of Cobalt Event Studios is the strategic analysis we offer organizations that are looking to improve their event performances, efficiencies and bottom line.

When and why did you and Wayne decide to launch this venture and how will Cobalt set itself apart from the competition? 

Earlier this summer, we decided to create Cobalt Event Studios. Both Wayne and I have been in the industry for a long time and have sort of done it all. We had numerous talks about the events industry — what has changed over the years and how events and organizations need to be better prepared going forward. We wanted to create a company that spoke to that vision and offered truly tangible solutions to the challenges that exist. 

In speaking with numerous associations, organizers, exhibitors and clients over the years, we felt there were some strategic components missing from event planning. Most groups are great at running their events, but few truly understand how to best structure and scale their teams, leverage their CRM and utilize the data they are collecting to maximum revenue and create unique experiences. We created Cobalt Event Studios to help organizations thoroughly understand their event data, event platforms and sales competencies to help transform their events or business units that will create more actionable outcomes that drive business growth.

How will you be securing clients and have you secured any as of yet?

We are currently in discussion with a handful of groups who have expressed a keen interest in what Cobalt Event Studios offers. Certainly, we will rely on our industry contacts and networking to continue to grow our pipeline and build a portfolio of clients that are looking to truly examine their teams, systems and performances so they may ‘event’ differently.

Reach out to Wayne Crawford or Jim Forlenza.

Corporate event planners and trade show organizers now have a new service that can assist them in their quest to achieve net zero carbon events: Reduce 2, Saving the Planet by Degree, an independent third-party sustainability assurance practice.

Founded and launched in August by Glenn Hansen, who served as president and CEO of auditing organization BPA Worldwide for more than 40 years, Reduce 2 focuses on standards writing, carbon footprint calculating, certifying companies and events to industry and international standards (such as ISO 20121, 14001 and 14064), as well as assuring companies’ environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting. 

Hansen, who serves as Reduce 2’s CEO, said the service will collaborate closely with companies from a variety of industries — ranging from manufacturing and agriculture to technology and finance.

“Sustainable business practices are paramount for long-term success and the preservation of the environment,” Hansen said. “In my time certifying companies and events, I have seen that sustainability certification enhances brand reputation and demonstrates credibility to investors, partners, clients and employees. The time is now for companies to get on board the reduction train as the world rides to net zero.”  

How it works 

Designed to assess an organization or event’s operations, supply chains and overall sustainability strategies to determine compliance with international standards and best practices, Reduce 2 evaluates a wide range of criteria, including energy efficiency, waste management, water conservation, carbon footprint, labor conditions, community engagement and ethical sourcing. 

Using a certification process involving audits, data analysis and stakeholder consultations to ensure accurate and reliable assessments, Reduce 2 produces a report with recommendations for continuous improvement toward achieving net zero carbon emissions within a desired timeframe.  

Big picture

According to Hansen, Reduce 2 is currently under contract with two industry associations to create sustainable guidelines and best practices for their respective memberships and is actively engaging in conversations with sporting facilities, venues, service contractors and hotels about ISO certifications. Up next will be creating opportunities to help exhibitors understand how they can exhibit in a sustainable manner.

Leading organizations and companies already using Reduce 2 to reduce the carbon footprint of their events include Destinations International, MasterCard and Maritz Global Events, he added. 

“Sustainability is ever-present in the lexicon of the events industry [and] not a day goes by that there isn’t a discussion about reducing the footprint of events and being more sustainable,” Hansen said. “People need help on their sustainability journey, particularly with getting certified to a standard. Consultants help with the planning and implementation.” 

He continued, “My role, as an independent third party, is to review what has been done and how well it is documented, as well as identify gaps and provide analysis that can be cycled through operations for continuous improvement and certify what has been done complies with an industry standard. In this way, the C-suite has a mechanism to assure their company is progressing on the path to net zero.”

Back story 

The name Reduce 2 stems from The Paris Agreement on climate change, adopted on Dec. 12, 2015, at COP21, with the overarching goal of limiting the global average temperature increase to 1.5°C (2.7°F) above pre-industrial levels, Hansen added.  

Hansen, who retired from BPA Worldwide on June 30, sits on the UFI Sustainability and Audit Committees and serves on task forces to refresh ISO standards for sustainability and event measurement. He also wrote the Waste Management Agreement for Enterprise Singapore, assisted in writing the sustainability standards for Dubai’s hospitality industry and sat with the working group to reduce the carbon footprint of events as part of the Net Zero Carbon Events initiative. 

Exhibiting companies now have a new way to scan badges and generate leads at trade shows thanks to Utah-based mobile software startup Mobly, a mobile-first SaaS platform that captures leads and instantly integrates them into customer relationship management (CRM) and marketing automation platform (MAP) systems for immediate follow-up. 

Using the Mobly app on a smartphone or tablet, booth staff can search contacts by name and company or snap a picture of a badge or business card. Mobly then enriches the lead information and automatically syncs the data in CRMs or MAPs, reducing the time to follow up with a qualified lead – a process that can take companies days or weeks and can now be done in seconds, according to Mobly officials. 

“Sales acceleration falls apart when a laptop isn’t handy – Mobly changes that with a mobile-first platform for field and sales teams on the go,” said Zach Barney, Mobly co-founder and CEO. “Organizations can confidently maintain an accurate pipeline, automatically trigger next steps to keep the sales cycle moving and finally show measurable ROI from their field strategies.”  

He continued, “The chances of closing a deal are eight times higher when replying to a lead within five minutes. While mobile is intertwined in today’s business environment, most sales acceleration technologies are purpose-built for a desktop experience, making the process of capturing leads and entering them into a database highly manual and different for every event. This slows response times from sales and marketing and creates longer sales cycles, cold opportunities and missed revenue.” 

Additionally, Mobly is event-agnostic, eliminating the need for an event API or registration database to function. 

After receiving angel funding to kickstart the company and develop its mobile app earlier this year, Mobly has since signed more than 10 early adopter companies with more than 200 users so far, according to company officials.

What early adopters say

“All our leads, conversations and steps kick off within Mobly and seamlessly integrate into our CRM system,” said Paige Bennett, senior event marketing manager at Awardco, an early adopter of Mobly. “Now our sales squad dedicates less effort to recording tasks and can keep their eyes on nurturing those valuable customer connections.” 

She continued, “Mobly speeds up the lead collection process and streamlines getting solid data to the sales team for their follow-up. Gone are the days of relying on and shelling out for expensive event-exclusive scanners. This not only keeps our budget in check but also establishes a uniform approach for every single event.” 

Tom Parbs, vice president of sales at Haas Alert, recently used Mobly at several transportation industry events.  

“Our experience with Mobly has been great,” Parbs said. “We now have a consistent lead capture process across our entire team for every event, with lead information enriched in real-time. And we’re working to get it integrated with our CRM system so our sales teams can take immediate action.”

The Mobly app is now available for Apple iOS and Google Android users, and advanced insights and analytics will be available for desktops later this year, according to Mobly officials.

To learn more about and download Mobly for a free trial, go here.

XS Worldwide, a global experiential marketing agency with facilities in India, Europe, the Middle East and the U.S., has partnered with Pavek Marketing, a marketing company founded by former Exhibitor Media Group Chief Client Officer John Pavek, to expand its North American Partnership Program, which provides exhibit designers and producers with a platform to collaborate and execute exhibit programs and immersive experiential projects anywhere in the world.  

“I’m thrilled to work with the team at XS Worldwide,” said Pavek, managing director of Pavek Marketing. “Their expertise in global markets brings about an opportunity for exhibit houses in North America to revolutionize brand experiences for their customers and facilitate better reach, engagement and value.”

With more than 1,000 clients around the globe, XS Worldwide provides services for exhibit programs, strategy and creativity, fabrication and logistics, analytics and measurement, as well as a full array of experiential marketing services. XS Worldwide  works with clients in a number of industries, including defense and aerospace, pharmaceuticals, food and packaging, travel and tourism, and energy, wire and tube

“XS Worldwide is here to stay in North America,” said Pavek. “They're now members of the EDPA (Experiential Designers and Producers Association), and we'll be growing their footprint and looking for partners and collaborators for efficiencies in the marketplace."

We caught up with Pavek to find out how the deal came about and why it matters. He also shared more about the company he launched after leaving Exhibitor Media Group in January after 30 years. For more information, email Pavek here.

Got five minutes? Watch or listen to our conversation with Pavek about the deal. 

Don’t miss any exhibitor-related news: Sign up for ENN’s weekly e-newsletter HERE, listen to our latest podcast HERE and engage with us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn!

Google has introduced sensory event kits for its own corporate events, and the company is making them available for purchase to other events through the Google Merch Shop.

“As we rolled these out internally in a series of other efforts, we wanted to make them accessible to other event professionals who want to be more inclusive for more than 20% of attendees who are neurodivergent or experience sensory sensitivities,” said Megan Henshall, global events strategic solutions lead for Google.

Henshall is the force behind Neu Project, a community that began at Google, working to inspire safe, reflective events and environments that allow all people to thrive.

She added, “This first batch of kits is at a significant discount because the Google Xi team felt it was more important to get these out into the world than cover costs.”

We caught up with Henshall to find out more about the kits and how and why they were developed.

Would you give us some background on why you developed these sensory kits?

MH: Not all environments are friendly to those who are neurodivergent or have sensory sensitivities, and attending events can be really challenging for a large number of people. A staggering statistic that we learned through our partnership with EventWell is that 85% of neurodivergent attendees have opted out of attending an event due to fear of becoming overwhelmed, triggered or unwell. We've also heard this story from a lot of our neurodivergent consultants. 

This is our loss, and it's a shame. This kit was created to provide assistive tools that can make events, the office and public/common spaces more tolerable and combat some of the most common triggers in those environments.

Are you sending them to attendees at your events? 

MH: We have shipped them to our event centers, which are some of the most high-traffic and complex venues. They will be available there for any Googlers or guests who want them, at no cost to them. We've also made the kits available for event hosts and sponsors (inside and outside of Google) to purchase for specific events via our Google Merch Shop.

Which events? 

MH: These kits can be useful at all events!

How did you select what goes into the kit? 

MH: We looked at the research on common sensory triggers and sourced assistive tools that could support, but most importantly we listened to neurodivergent Googlers and consultants. We asked what tools they use and need. This kit will absolutely evolve – there are new tools and tech emerging every day, and we're collecting feedback with this initial kit so that future versions are even more helpful and effective. 

Anything else you think event organizers should know?

MH: Statistically, 20%+ of your attendees are neurodivergent. Things like sensory kits and resilience spaces (quiet/wellbeing rooms) can not only reduce the pre-event fear and the likelihood of sensory overwhelm during the event, but can also cultivate a sense of safety and belonging for those attendees.

Need to know

The Google kits include:

• Tangle - A popular puzzle toy that twists and turns to transform into endless shapes, made with ABS plastic.
• Coloring Pencils - Natural paper tube with a clear lid and pencil sharpener included. Pencil colors Include black, blue, brown, dark green, light blue, light green, maroon, orange, pink, purple, red and yellow.
• Loop Earplugs - Made to protect ears and hearing, they take the edge off with up to 16 dB of filtered noise reduction. Comes with four interchangeable ear tip sizes. Reusable and easy to clean!
• Spiky Massage Finger Ring - Helps reduce anxiety, relieve stress and promote the finger's blood circulation. The finger roller massager is elastic and suitable for fingers of most sizes.
• Sticker Sheet - Ultra-removable stickers on a sheet with white backing.
• Sunglasses - Made from recycled material and contain FL-41 tinting to help with light sensitivity.
• Enamel Pin - Soft enamel pin made with base iron and zinc alloy material.
• Journal - Made with brown kraft semi-flexible cardstock. Contains 28 sheets (56 pages) of blank kraft paper.
• Recycled Box - Made from up to 60% FSC-certified recycled materials. Printed with non-toxic, water-based inks, these custom boxes for shipping can be recycled curb-side after use.
• Recycled Box Sticker - Made from 100% FSC-certified recycled paper and printed with water-based inks. Breaks down fully in home compost within 180 days, and 90 days in commercial compost.

Event technology solutions are evolving at warp speed again, giving event professionals even more tools to streamline the experience for them and attendees. Check out a few of the latest offerings to hit the market.  

Cvent

Cvent, a meetings, events and hospitality technology provider, unveiled its new Cvent Events+ solution, which is designed to deliver an always-on branded event hub to promote future events and webinars and showcase video content from past events.

"Many of today’s event organizers and marketers are hosting more events — across more formats — than ever before, which can make it challenging to capitalize on all the incredible content and leverage it to increase brand awareness and drive attendees to their upcoming events,” said Cvent Chief Marketing Officer Patrick Smith. “Events+ acts as a digital extension of an organization’s event program, where attendees will go to binge on curated ‘best of’ on-demand event video content and easily find and register for upcoming events.”

Announced at the recent Cvent CONNECT in Las Vegas, Events+ enables year-round engagement with event audiences and empowers users to extend the life of their events, maximize attendance for their event and webinar programs, and capitalize on the power of video to facilitate a more effective marketing strategy.

The new offering is built to leverage existing event content in a fully branded, on-demand video library and works seamlessly with Cvent Registration, the Cvent Attendee Hub, and Cvent Webinar. Additionally, its robust cross-promotion tools help increase visibility, registrations and attendance across an entire event program, and it also includes an innovative feature allowing logged in guests to see who from their prior event connections are planning to attend upcoming events.

CORT and Allseated

Event furnishings provider CORT partnered with event lifecycle platform Allseated to offer a virtual planning experience of its latest collection, which features natural environments and warm and neutral tones, allowing planners to design spaces that brings the outdoors inside.

"Collaborating with Allseated gets our new furnishings into the hands of designers quickly and provides a best-in-class space planning experience for all event sizes and types," said Kevin Dana, executive director of marketing and merchandising at CORT Events.

Integrating the CORT Events catalog into the Allseated platform enables meeting and event planners to see the full roster of up-to-date product listings, request quotes and make purchases with a realistic 2D and 3D view of their venue. Clients also have access to account executives trained to assist with the design process, help maximize their space, design with purpose and keep building safety codes and walkway spacing in mind.

“We’re delighted to offer CORT Events’ clients a centralized experience equipped with the newest collections and capabilities today’s event planners need,” said Erin Rooney, chief marketing officer at Allseated. “Our passion lies in helping event professionals everywhere reimagine what’s possible in space design and experience activation, and we’re excited to continue bringing this to life with CORT Events.”

GlossAi

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) services provider GlossAi unveiled an advanced video AI (V-AI) solution that aims to reshape how event promotions are delivered. Creating rapidly edited video using AI, the technology produces dozens of highlight reels for each event speaker quickly following their presentations, which can be used as highlight and teaser reels designed for various marketing channels, including social media, email and websites.

“Using V-AI, each speaker will receive personalized highlight reels and edited videos that boost brand perceptions and turn speakers into targeted promoters,” said Ofer Familier, co-founder and CEO of GlossAI. “Organizers are seeing the benefits of the AI revolution, turning what was once a costly and cumbersome promotional video into dozens of modern clips that are then shared across networks.”

Within minutes after speakers walk off stage, the software utilizes the video recording of the presentation to create clips of the most important moments or key statements, which are specifically designed for various marketing channels. The rapid turnaround allows event marketing teams and speakers to boost their online presence, create real-time engagement and increase the number of new audience members, potential attendees and more—all without the need for a full-time video editing team.

Beyond videos, the software can produce other AI-generated content, such as ebooks, white papers and more, all from a single speaking engagement.

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