Leverage Tech To Enhance Experience Suggest Industry Leaders @ AVX Summit @ #wowAsia2016

by EVENTFAQS Bureau Business Events | June 29, 2016 | Feature

Technology is changing the face of business, and events are using it to turbocharge customer experiences like never before. As conscious innovators in the ecosystem of event experiences, the WOW Awards and Convention Asia, had a segment dedicated to this pressing trend with the top brains of Asia sharing insights and learnings on the evolution of the audio-visual story across borders.

In his keynote address to the fraternity Lee Charteris Vice President of Operations Flash Entertainment and President of Middle East Chapter International Live Events Association (ILEA), spoke of development triggers and evolution in event production in developing nations.

The session challenged some deep-rooted beliefs. To begin with, India, UAE and other nations in the continent are often referred to by the west as developing economies. Charteris was quick to point out that his global experiences had taught him that in the field of technology, every nation was developing – at some stage of the other, so the way to move ahead was to shake of labels that are becoming increasingly irrelevant in a flattening global scenario.

He suggested that the world’s eyes are focused on Asian nations, the money is here, the consumer base is here, every conceivable technology is here or eyeing an entry; then why think of ourselves as emerging nations? However, developed as our event industry may be, there are some drawbacks in the region that need attention if the industry is to keep pace with the rest of the world. There is a significant dearth of venues in which to conduct events, making it necessary for event companies to construct venues to accommodate ideas and scale – this makes events time-consuming and expensive.

Charteris said, “A solution to this might go a long way in attracting top entertainers who are eager to come to Asia, and particularly India, to perform. When it comes to technology and digital focus, a lot of companies think exclusively of data mining as the biggest advantage. However, you’re not likely to get quality data from an event whose production level leaves audiences underwhelmed.”

The other important aspect of the changing face of events with technology, is the use of newer technologies for pro-experience creation. A panel comprising Vijay Sablok- Technical Director and Proprietor, Event Resource, Abhishek Mehta- CEO, Scoop Holdings, Avik Prabhu-Managing Director, Showtime Events, Manish Mavani- Director, SNL Pro and Soham Sarkar-Co Founder, Transhuman Collective discussed how technology both wows audiences as well as makes the event experience convenient and intuitive.

Audience tracking in real time and apps for Q&A, feedback and polling, are just some event experiences enabled by technology. The other important contribution of technology is that it made it possible to measure event effectiveness both qualitative and quantitative, thereby demonstrating ROI to brands. Measurement has been a sore point with live experiences for long, and technology promises to remedy that Achilles Heel. While everyone is consumed in the novelty that technologies offer, an important word of caution as far as the events industry goes is that a technology innovation is only as good as the experience it delivers.

The latest technology may leave the audience unimpressed if not applied in the narrative of the experience. A first step to the effective adoption of technology that can deliver bespoke experiences is to understand what works in every individual instance. In live events the key is how sensory a technology experience can be made; some carefully planned experiences have used not just audio and video, but smell and motion sense stimulation as well. As far as tech-enabled experiences are concerned, your imagination in application is your ticket to success.

In India, the most successful technology experiences have been seen in large scale events, where organizers have had the time and budgets to create exemplary experiences that have left a lasting impact. A panel moderated by Sukrit Singh- CEO of the Encompass-Geometry Global Network and including tech innovators Neale Murray- Co-Founder & COO, Fountainhead MKTG, Shubhra Bharadwaj-Founder & Director, Ferriswheel Entertainment and Warren D’souza-Director, SOUND.com discussed instances where technology delivered outstanding experiences and loopholes to look out for. To truly make a practice of breakthrough tech-thinking, event companies handling large scale events should probably have an in-house knowledge and innovations team with the imagination and know-how to be able to devise custom experiences.

The biggest gap to adopting innovative technology in events, identified by the expert panel, was the understanding of what exactly can be accomplished and in how much time. The IPL ceremonies over the last few years have been ideal grounds for experimentation as well as learning with the vagaries of weather playing the spoilsport. Large scale events are often driven outdoors for want of permanent venues of the necessary scale. This makes contingencies, backups and precautions essential to safeguard equipment and ensure delivery of the experience.

In a global scenario where new technology solutions are mushrooming faster than anyone can foresee, collaboration stand out as the single most important mantra for success. Technology is specialized and equipment necessary – making it impossible for even large incumbents to ‘own’ everything. The route to success is the balance between innovation, knowledge and imagination.