Embracing the Mobile Event App

Embracing the

Mobile Event App

What is it about conferences?

Conferences create communities. They bring people together around highly focused themes or topics to educate, collaborate, and/or innovate. Sometimes these

communities live on, long after the conference doors have closed through email exchanges, social media, and more.

DEMO is a great example of this. A prominent event in the tech industry, DEMO brings together entrepreneurs, investors, and industry professionals with a passion for innovation in technology.

As the DEMO brand expands to meet demand, they have partnered with other leading companies like VentureBeat and DoubleDutch to create an engaging and impactful experience for event attendees.

This case study will cover how DEMO tackled the problem every

event organizer faces — engagement — by embracing mobile.

ABSTRACT

CASE STUDY:

Increase Engagement

By Going Mobile

Learn how a leader in emerging technology leveraged

the devices attendees were already bringing to their

events to increase engagement and drive ROI by

offering a simple and intuitive mobile application.

What are we trying to solve?

As the adoption of smartphones across America approaches 50% in 2012 (ComScore), event producers have noticed attendees glued to their devices during sessions and keynotes. It’s clear that this tech-savvy audience views their mobile device as a critical way to connect with the world.

Working with IDG Enterprise to produce the event, the DEMO Conference

sought to solve two primary problems:

1. Attendees want new ways to connect and discover new and emerging technology.

2. Demonstrators want more visibility and a seamless way to connect with attendees, press and investors.

In assessing these issues, we asked ourselves:

1. Mobile devices are here to stay. How can we better engage attendees and enhance their experience through mobile?

2. How can we elevate demonstrators at primary attendee touchpoints and connect them to the press and investors?

The app needed to address 3 key goals of the event:

1. Be a resource for emerging technology and trends.

2. Offer attendees an atmosphere in which they can experience the future of innovation.

3. Create and empower a community around the DEMO brand.

OBJECTIVE

The DoubleDutch event app is simple,

intuitive and mobile. Making it easy for me

to help demonstrators get the word out

about their products/services to attendees,

press and potential investors...

What was the plan?

In an attempt to solve this problem, the team set off to evaluate a series of mobile event applications that could engage attendees and deliver more information to sponsors.

Debra comments,

“We want attendees to pay attention and engage with

content and demonstrators. We know that they will use their phone regardless,

so why not give them a mobile app that helps them engage with the event?”

Becker evaluated customizable white label products (like DoubleDutch) and compared them to

standard, out‑of‑the‑box solutions. Ultimately her team chose DoubleDutch because it would elevate their brand and give attendees the most pleasant experience.

SOLUTION

Gamification

Game mechanics, such as badges and

leaderboards, encourage check-ins and

chatter amongst attendees; getting them

to share comments and photos during

panels, on the expo floor and more.

Replace Paper

The app replaced printed event

guides by offering a cohesive,

easy-to-update agenda that allows

attendees to personalize their own

event track and create an agenda

Networking

To facilitate networking

during DEMO events

the app utilizes People

Matching, where attendees

have the opportunity to

select interests and connect

with like-minded attendees

during the event.

Social + More

Other elements included complete

demonstrator info, bios of the

entrepreneurs heading them up, and

seamless social sharing to Twitter,

LinkedIn and Facebook.

Customization

To elevate the DEMO brand, the app

was customized to fit within the look

and feel of the DEMO brand from

How did we do it?

To encourage DEMO 2012 attendees to download and engage with the application, the app was promoted before, during and after the event. Accompanying official press releases for the event were download links and boiler plates about the application. Social media was largely put into action, using the event hashtag with app download links for both iTunes and Android devices before and during the event.

Event signage and on-site app support were utilized in the expo halls. The biggest source of app adoption was word-of-mouth, since the app was such an interactive tool. The buzz in the expo hall was “I’ll connect with you on the app!” Word-of-mouth was key to encouraging others to download and use the app.

IN PRACTICE

2 4 6 8 10 12 14 DEMO Average Check-ins Per User _3.72 4.17 Comments Per User _1.75 2.97

RESULTS

With nearly 2,000 check-ins over the 2-day conference to sessions, speakers, exhibitors and places the level of engagement seen at DEMO was incredible. Attendees utilized the app as a way to connect with each other, set up meetings and even

provide feedback by leaving over 1,500 comments and likes on other people’s check-ins. Earning badges became the new street cred as attendees unlocked everything from Newbie badges to Photo Buffs. Overall, it was one engaged conference.

Did we achieve what we set out to?

1. James F. 1272 2. Aaron M. 1090 3. Thomas K. 525 4. Petr P. 455 5. Karrie H. 450 6. Daniel T. 438 7. Bruce G. 398 8. Renato C. 397 9. Antonio M. 352 10. Lance H. 351

Leaderboard Standings

58% of

users were

“Power Users”,

returning to the

app 10+ times

5,845

app actions

TESTIMONIALS

At the end of the day, it’s about the attendees.

Here’s what they had to say about the event app.

“We’ve been having

incredible feedback and

exposure for Tikkera

here at DEMO 2012.

Learning a lot, gathering

a lot, and sharing great

ideas and information.”

Daniel Smales, CFO & CMO, Tikkera

[The app] has a lot of functionality... It’s been a nice way

to network. I really like the feature that you can look

at the speakers and have the speaker’s bio... It takes a

big headache out of what I normally have to do.

I love the feed…

Updating it constantly and

keeping it entertaining,

keeping us engaged.

How’d things pan out?

“It was amazing,”

said Debra Becker.

“With such an engaging mobile

event guide, we’ve been able to significantly reduce our dependency

on printed materials, ultimately saving us money in the long run,

and are giving attendees the best event experience possible.”

In-app game mechanics played a large part in encouraging attendees to check-in and share their experiences with the community. By capitalizing on people’s competitive nature, the DEMO team was able to gain true insights into what panels, keynotes and exhibitors attendees found most interesting or relevant to their experience. Enabling them to capitalize on this data for future event planning. Yet, more importantly was how the app improved the event experience for attendees. Giving people the opportunity to connect with like-minded folks and empowering them to make lifelong connections, the app played a huge part in naturally facilitating networking amongst attendees.

In the end, the DEMO team was able to give their attendees a mobile app that empowered them to take their conference experience into their own hands, leveraging the latest in event technology. Increasing attendee satisfaction and establishing the DEMO brand as a leader in emerging tech.

Fresh off the success of 2012 and looking forward, the DEMO team has partnered with DoubleDutch to deliver a mobile app for all upcoming events.

To see how a mobile app can enhance your next event, contact

DoubleDutch today.