Helping you keep up on the latest industry trends.

Seedlip, a London-based non-alcoholic spirit brand, aims to make zero-proof craft cocktails cool.

By Amanda Scriver

Who hasn’t indulged in a strong cocktail or two over the years when at an event? And while craft cocktails remain an event-industry mainstay, non-alcoholic cocktails for guests who want to stay sober but still enjoy a sophisticated drink are becoming a growing trend.

Seedlip, a clear, alcohol-free spirit brand, has positioned itself as a pioneer in serving zero-proof cocktails to event guests. The brand, which launched in London in 2015, is giving event planners the chance to work alongside mixologists to make and create memorable drinks that contain no alcohol.

“It was the perfect opportunity to rid the world of poor, fruity, and sweet mocktails and solve the dilemma of what to drink when you’re not drinking,” said Ben Branson, founder of Seedlip.

The brand was inspired by Branson’s farming heritage and 17th-century apothecaries, which distilled both alcoholic and non-alcoholic herbal remedies.

After researching ancient remedies and techniques, Branson set up his own copper distillery, developing the world’s first distilled non-alcoholic spirit. In its first three weeks of bottling, Branson recalls selling more than 1,000 bottles. Now, Diageo has made its first investment in the brand.

Seedlip uses the same processes, equipment, and methods as its alcoholic counterparts; the brand sources herbs, spices, peels, and barks for a six-week process that involves maceration, copper pot distillation, blending, and filtration for each individual ingredient. The company currently producing two flavors: Spice 94 (with all spice, cardamom, oak, lemon, grapefruit, and cascarilla) and Garden 108 (with peas, hay, spearmint, rosemary, and thyme). The herbal mixers then serve as replacements for the usual spirits. For example, Seedlip Garden replaces gin in a gin and tonic.

This has enticed some of the most prominent bars and restaurants across North America to start carrying the brand. The brand has also made appearances at recent high-profile events, including the Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery’s Power Ball in Toronto.

Chicago bartender Julia Momose, who hated using the term mocktail, coined the term “spirit free” and has developed an entire menu of alcohol-free drinks at the restaurant Oriole and its soon-to-open cocktail bar Kumiko. And in New York, co-working space the Assemblage has a wellness-focused, fully-stocked non-alcoholic bar.

“People are increasingly mindful of what they put in their bodies and where their food and drink comes from,” Branson said. “These are all societal shifts that impact whether we want to drink alcohol or not, but with that there has been a more concerted health and wellness focus, which in turn is forcing a recalibration of our relationship with alcohol.”

To celebrate this new movement, Seedlip is launching No & Low Cocktail Bar (dubbed Nolo), a global cocktail bar pop-up concept. On July 24 and 25, the activations will come to bars in 15 cities across the world, including Pretty Ugly in Toronto, Trick Dog in San Francisco, and the Walker Inn at Hotel Normandie in Los Angeles. The pop-ups will serve cocktails focusing on the flavor and ingredients rather than the alcohol content.

“It’s an opportunity to demonstrate what’s possible when inclusivity is the goal and taste-led cocktails are created for both those drinking alcohol and not,” Branson said of the pop-up.

By Cvent

1. The Event Technology of the Moment – Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence is proving to be a game-changing solution in the event industry. AI will be taking delegate engagement to the next level by delivering a personalized experience to attendees and exhibitors.

Automated customer service

Chatbots promise to be better than their human alternative as they can assist both attendees and event organizers. They provide instant gratification to delegates by answering queries quickly, while helping staff work more efficiently.

Personalized recommendations

Artificial Intelligence also allows for personalized recommendations on a much wider scale. Recommendation engines are very powerful personalization tools that help attendees ‘discover’ sessions, products, and people. They improve your attendees’ experience by offering relevant items at the right time and on the right page.

2. Biometric Authentication (especially Facial Recognition) for Events

Facial recognition technology at events makes the check-in process faster and assures higher security. This is one event technology trend that is expected to advance rapidly in the upcoming year.

Extend your reach

You must have noticed that when you upload a group picture on Facebook, it automatically provides tag suggestions. That’s because Facebook uses facial recognition software. When your attendees tag their friends in your event posts, they will appear in feeds of like-minded people, or people who might be interested in attending your event.

So always ask your attendees to tag themselves and their friends when you upload your official event album on Facebook. This powerful technology can help you reach a broader audience.

Reflexive feedback, faster check-in, and improved security

Although face recognition has yet to receive far-flung acceptance, in the coming years it’s predicted to replace the traditional event feedback form. Data captured by cameras placed in the event venue will help event managers know their attendees better and understand how they feel about the event.

Facial recognition software will also help event organizers give attendees a smoother check-in experience, one that’s not only fast but also ensures higher security at the event.

3. Smart Event Apps

A seamlessly integrated mobile event app can turn even a passive attendee into an active event participant. While event apps used to be a “nice-to-have,” they have become truly indispensable. Attendees expect a mobile event app as it helps them connect and interact with the right content, people, and sessions. Plus, it benefits sponsors by giving them additional exposure and providing the data and ROI they need.

Some smart conference apps come with features to track and suggest speakers and networking opportunities and also help delegates create custom line-ups and bookmark locations.

4. RFID Tags

This wireless event technology has already become a standard across popular music festivals around the world. Event organizers have been using RFID to replace event tickets and onsite payments. In the coming year, this technology will be used to enhance sponsorship experiences. Using RFID, sponsors can engage attendees through an interactive experience like raffles, polls, or any other competition. This will enable sponsors to gather attendee data without intruding on the event experience.

5. Social Media Walls

This event tech trend turns your attendees into photographers and event promoters. Social media walls are huge screens that project your attendees’ social posts and photos tagged with your event hashtag. They tell your event’s story in an interactive, visual way, grabbing the attention of your attendees and keeping them entertained.

6. Live Streaming

Live streaming is overwhelmingly popular. It seems like everyone is using it now, from news channels and sports networks to beauty bloggers and your next-door neighbor. It isn’t just Facebook and Instagram that have rolled out live streaming tools though, YouTube has YouTube Live, Twitter has Periscope, Snapchat (arguably a live streaming platform in and of itself) recently released CrowdSurf. Even LinkedIn is toying with the idea of live streaming. Given the prevalence of live streaming and the ease with which anyone can access and view those videos, there is no question of how it can benefit your events.

Share your live stream far and wide

Live streaming enables you to expand your audience beyond event capacity. Encourage your delegates and staff to share your event’s live stream on social media and other platforms. You could also send it to invitees who couldn’t attend your event and ask them to support from afar by sharing your stream.

‘Crowd’stream

The latest trend in live streaming is crowdsourcing. Technology platforms like Instagram and Facebook Live help delegates broadcast their personal experiences easily. Encourage attendees to broadcast their event experience and post it under a common hashtag so you can measure the results.

By Julius Solaris – Event MB

1. Bolster Guest Management and Experience with Facial Recognition
Home tech is influencing event tech. Just as in the case of voice search, we’re likely to see facial recognition from devices like Apple spill over into the event industry. The ramifications of this are extraordinary but the processing time is still being fine-tuned. Still, it’s something we all should be watching. Ultimately, we’ll learn how to… Increase efficiency with facial recognition:
• Check-in and registration become much quicker with this tech. Some theme parks are already using this technology. It’s also more secure.
• Ensure greater safety by using facial recognition to spot people on known security lists.
• Improve your social media reach by using facial recognition in tagging people in photos from your event.

2. Play Up Group Tech Experiences
Another hot trend is using tech to create social experiences out of what was previously alone time. Friends are watching movies together from thousands of miles away. They’re competing with one another on video games across continents. This has some fantastic implications for your event attendees and those who are following the excitement at home. They no longer have to be mere voyeurs but can join in. Link up people online for stronger connections:
• Use live 360-degree video (what many refer to as VR) to connect remote audiences. Give them the opportunity to attend an event together in order to bolster buying online-only tickets.
• Create content for sharing. YouTubers make a living out of commentary on videos. Their commentary becomes additional content and a way to enjoy a video or event. You can use industry influencers for play-by-play commentary on your events, creating a secondary event (and additional content) in the process.
• Develop tracks for niche interests at your event. With a virtual ticket and a paired up “host,” guests could experience inside tracks in a way much different than in prior events. They could attend meetups and the hallway track by being able to select from in-person led experiences not just watching sessions.

3. Employ Voice for Greater Engagement
AI is increasingly becoming the norm behind attendee experience. Even if you haven’t started using it at your events, your attendees are using it at home and work. In fact, according to Google, in 2016 20% of searches were voice searches. Use voice to drive engagement:
• Look into ways for your voice tech to perform actions. People are moving away from asking questions to asking voice assistants to perform commands, from “where is my next session” to “sign me up for the session on X.”
• Create “if, then” scenarios that are helpful to attendees. Be proactive in your voice assistance. For example, if someone asks where vendor X is on the exhibit floor, the assistant could then ask if they’d like to schedule some one-on-one time with that vendor.
• Link the ability to read badges with your chatbot or voice assistant so it has all the information about the attendee it needs to be helpful.

4. Build the Data from the Ground Up with Clever Floor
Clever flooring is creating some exciting opportunities for events. It’s making data collection and analysis easier than ever and something that happens (nearly) organically. Slay data collection by:
• Using smart mats and other unobtrusive technologies to collect data from critical areas.
• Employing smart mats to increase sponsorships with known traffic numbers and accurate, real-time data. No more talk about generic “great exposure” with potential sponsors. You can show them real numbers.
• Collecting floor traffic data and correlating it on the spot so that you can sell sponsorships for next year before sponsors leave your event. You can use fear of missing out and scarcity to sell out sponsorships in key locations while your current event is still going on.

5. Connect with a Greater Number of People Through App Interpreters
Electronic translators aren’t new for 2018 but the technology has undergone some much-needed maturation. These apps are now reliable enough to offer a positive experience for event attendees and help bridge some of the previously-existing communication gaps. Traverse the communication gap:
• Use remote translation services. Finding local translators isn’t always easy. With this type of technology, translators could be available remotely or through an app giving your attendees a good communication experience regardless of time and where they are at your event.
• Save money using remote translation services. Apps don’t have to be paid hourly, for travel, or incidentals.
• Use subject matter experts regardless of their knowledge of the language that most of your attendees speak. This frees up the selection process to find the person who knows the most without sacrificing attendee experience or understanding.

6. Putting Chatbots to Work
It’s estimated that by Q3 of 2017, Amazon alone had sold over 20-million Alexa units, not factoring in non-Echo smart speakers with Alexa built in. Why do you care? If your attendees are using voice assistants at home, you can bet it’s become their new normal. That means you want to be covered at your next event. Harness the power of chat for better response:
• Design a system to answer questions with chat. It’s faster for attendees and won’t tie up your staff with the same old “where is the restroom” type question.
• Use chatbots for exit surveys. They are much more adept at matching questions with answers and using “if, then” pathways for more meaningful information gathering. Plus they’re fun for your audience.
• Employ chatbots to assist attendees on next steps. Voice assistants have become wildly popular because they’re easy and enjoyable to use and they act as our own personal attendant. They can remind us of engagements as well as tasks. Use chatbots to tell attendees if their silent auction bid was trumped or what their next session is and where it’s located.

7. Improving Attendee Experience Through Personalization Tech
Personalization has been tops on most trends lists for a few years now but with event tech, it’s becoming even more actionable. According to Statista, the average email open rate for a personalized message was 18.8% versus 13.1% for one that was not personalized at all. But personalization is about more than just adding someone’s name to an email. Personalize your approach to make an impression:
• Use activity history for personalization such as removing those who have registered already from the “reminder to register” email list.
• Analyze attendees’ preferences by keeping track of their click-throughs and noting which URLs drive clicks. Present content based on those interests.
• Alert attendees when they are in close proximity to their contacts or “want to meet” list. The dating apps do it and many event networking apps have those abilities as well.

8. Gain More Sponsorships Through Augmented Reality
Online marketing has pushed the need for accountability, tangibility, and return on every dollar of investment. Events are starting to feel the hit of not being able to obtain satisfactory sponsorships. However, augmented reality can help. Harness creative opportunities in augmented reality:
• Animate static objects to gain more attention. Think of it as 2018’s version of neon.
• Use customized filters like Snapchat does. Even Facebook is making profile frames easier than ever to use.
• Tell the sponsor’s story with augmented reality. Cruise ships are already using this tech to educate cruisers about the artwork on board as they pass it.

9. Win Over New Attendees and Larger Audiences with Influence Marketing Tech
There are a lot of marketers doing influencer marketing wrong. They understand the importance of it and how suggestions from a tribe have greater conversions but they fail to understand the importance of the approach. Propositioning a complete stranger and asking for a favor will undoubtedly yield horrendous results. But how do you develop those relationships over time? How do you scale for it and make it worth your while? Is there an efficient way to approach it. There is with tech. Build valuable relationships with influencers:
• Look past numbers. The number of followers means very little if the said influencer can’t motivate their tribe into action. Look for a high interaction ratio, not just audience numbers.
• Approach the midrange of influencers. Most marketers look at the same A-listers as someone to target for their marketing efforts. While these names are well-known, they are often more difficult to approach and win over. Midrange influencers still have adequate-sized followings and you won’t have to hurdle their gatekeepers to get their attention.
• Look at influencers who are already among your supporters. Those are much easier sells.

10. Roll Out the Red Carpet and Create VIP Experiences
No one wants to be a number and this preference is becoming more pronounced with tech. Voice assistants make us feel like royalty. Few people are ready to give up the personalization we’ve gotten used to in our everyday lives at an event. But are you using personalization to impress and retain without sacrificing the needs of the larger group? Create meaningful VIP experiences:
• Personalize based on type. Vendors, sponsors, attendees, and the like should all get their own set of communications and drip marketing. Tech is making this much easier by correlating data and sorting before sending.
• Offer specials to “frequent flyers.” Reward loyal attendees by creating automatic communications and available discounts for those who have attended in the past. Ensure your communications have a familiar feel so recipients feel like you’re sending them to a friend, not a stranger.
• Offer exclusive VIP experiences for those who qualify. Analyze data to track what makes someone a successful attendee. What have they been a part of? Reward those who perform those activities and find ways to encourage those who haven’t through drip marketing and “if, then” scenarios.

By EventMB Online Editorial Team

More and more artists are locking down on cellphone use at their events with a soft ‘phone prison’. As creatures of habit, can event planners learn to do the same?

Imagine attending a conference where mobile devices are banned. You are not allowed to look at your phone, your tablet or even your smartwatch. What would usually be seen as standard event tech devices and embraced in the event industry, could in the future, be removed from the event scene altogether.

Artists including Alicia Keys, Guns N’ Roses, Adele and comedian Dave Chapelle are doing just this, by insisting on deploying strategies to eliminate electronic distractions at their shows (such as texts, calls and anything performed on a cellphone).

Comedian Chris Rock has made headlines recently by requiring all fans to keep their phones and other electronic devices stored away during his comedy sets. Mobile phones will not be allowed at his events – this also goes for technology including smartwatches, cameras and all other recording devices. Ironic, seeing as the title of his tour is called Total Blackout.

When the former Saturday Night Live comedian says blackout, he means blackout, as those who are caught using their cellphone or recording device, run the risk of being immediately escorted out of the venue without a refund. Instead, audience members are being asked to place their phones in protectable cases.

Events with zero tolerance on phones are now hyped as a way to cut down on illegal filming, ensuring that new or classified material doesn’t end up on YouTube, non-stop selfies and other distractions that can take away from the event itself.

Is the start of phone-free events of the future? At a festival, will you now be able to see the stage, without the hundreds of hands in the air holding mobiles? Will speakers at conferences walk on stage more relaxed, knowing that their audience will be fixated on them, rather than their mobile screens?

One could argue that the lack of a cellphone would mean no social media activity at an event. This could potentially mean two unfavorable outcomes. People may be put off attending your event completely. And secondly, as an event organizer you might lose out on important positive social media marketing your audience could be sharing.

How To Ensure Total Blackout? 

Chris Rock’s tour team has joined a roster of artists and companies who are partnering with technology startups that help create phone-free events and spaces for artists, organizations and individuals, with tools and products like lockable pouches or bags for devices.

Universities and schools in the US have also started looking at using such services to decrease distractions in the classroom, as have wedding parties where the bride and groom prefer their professional photographer to capture their big day, before guests stream the event on social media.

Technology services are also being deployed in restaurants, at movie studios for pre-screening events, and live theater performances and sporting events.

How Does an Event Device-Free Zone Work? 

1. Cases. As people enter the venue, their phones will be placed in cases.
2. Once they enter the phone-free zone, the cases will lock. Attendees maintain possession of their phones and are now free to enjoy the experience without distraction.
3. If at any point attendees need to use their phones, they simply step outside of the phone-free zone to unlock the case.

Flexible device pouches such as these which, once sealed can only be unlocked at the provider’s designated area at the venue, are important in serving the psychological function of still being able to feel your phone in your pocket or bag, even if it is functionally inaccessible. 

In Conclusion 

It is sad to think that someone’s art has to suffer at the hands of a mobile device. A device, that a lot of us rely so heavily on, to enable enhanced daily functioning, particularly with 24-hour access to our emails, calendars, social media and the need to be contactable, etc.

A venue or organizer can always insist that cellphone use is not permitted and trust visitors to comply, but you can never be sure.  As event planners, we encourage mobile use, whether it’s in the form of event apps, sharing content on social media, taking part in live polls or purely being constantly contactable onsite. So, would this technology benefit our industry? It’s hard to tell, but with any piece of technology, we at EventMB are eager to find out more.

Major corporate and trade events may be the new mission statement.

By David Adler, CEO and Founder of BizBash – February 16, 2018

The Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business Summit took place February 13 and 14 in Washington, D.C.

As it gets harder to control marketing environments, the strategy of deploying events is becoming popular with brands and companies. The race is on to build up what I call “convening power.” Flexing those event-organizing muscles has become the new way to build loyalty and purpose as well as better control of a messaging ecosystem. Convening power and purpose are turning these gathering into movements that actually engage stakeholders.

This week’s Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business Summit—celebrated with a full-page ad in the Washington Post—is just one example. Events like Salesforce’s Dreamforce in San Francisco, with more than 180,000 participants, and the world-famous C.E.S. in Las Vegas are other examples.

So I see a new trend in the event industry to put power behind an event so it becomes a way to market a company’s ethos. Advertisements and press coverage are pushing the convening power of an organization to broader audiences.  It’s not just about attendee marketing anymore. Big statement events by large companies are influencer strategies in themselves, defining a company for new audiences.

The powerful connection between face-to-face and social media technology has put the event industry on steroids through amplification of messages and the FOMO it creates for the next event. When people meet in person and actually talk to each other in an atmosphere of exploration, we get the phenomenon of “personal disruption” that creates an explosion of creativity. Minds open and collaborative ideas spread.

These events are proof that the biggest players in the world recognize that people gathering together is their real strength.