As in most business transactions and development, analytics play a key role in the events industry. Using data allows the event planner to craft an event that better caters to the intended audience, while also making the event more accessible, secure, and able to measurably boost ROI. Modern events have a significant digital presence for the majority of the interactions and transactions, all of which provide data points that the event planner can then analyze and use to implement changes and updates to the current or future event.
Partnering with an AV vendor who is executing your event can provide a wealth of data points that would have previously been difficult to collect and collate. Through the integration of several technologies in event registration, execution and engagement tracking, the AV partner is able to collect several data points, and provide raw data or with some analytics to the event planner. Some of these methods include in-session engagement scores without the use of a survey, interaction with wayfinding modules, packaging of virtual event hub data and live-streaming statistics.
We can outline an approach to use AV technologies to gather data for these analytics. This data can be collected and presented anonymously, or specific details can be collected using explicit informed consent. With all methodologies for collecting data, transparency is key in order to make sure the audience understands that they are willing participants in the collection of data. The AV partner is able to distribute such notices of data collection during various stages of the event, while also providing a direct opt-out/data deletion request method that is compliant with the local laws and regulations of the event location.
Here are some ways data can be collected and used through AV technologies:
In-Session Engagement Scores
While some traditional methods of in-session interactivity can make it hard to gather data about how engaging a session is, modern tools can provide such data through an analysis of how active a participant is in a session by whether they choose to interact in audience response segments, question-and-answer (Q+A) portions, and session feedback requests. Interactive tools such as Slido, Mentimeter, PollEverywhere and Crowd Mics can present this data for each session, which can be compared against session attendance to draw meaningful conclusions.
Wayfinding Interactions
Navigating a large-scale modern event can involve using tools apart from the traditional map, such as kiosks that display session information and directional signage, smartphone-based apps, and tradeshow booth check-in reporting. All of these data points can be anonymously gathered to understand the flow of the audience through the event, and further filtered by factors such as time of day, starting location and more. This data can be used to understand the effectiveness of signage, provide a heat map for popular areas within the conference floor, and help analyze whether the event floor is too small, too large or just right based on the attendee count. It can also help drive where to place specific advertising, and drive sponsorship spend when presented as a report for future conferences.
Livestream Statistics
Events that are hybrid or virtual can have one or more live-streamed sessions. These sessions can report data, either anonymously or with user data (after explicit content). Data collected can include start time, view duration, coarse view location, disconnect-reconnect cycles, and number of viewers throughout the session. This information can help the meeting planner understand details such as audience interest, stream quality based on location, and session popularity. When coupled with audience response tools such as Slido, the information collected can provide more data points for analysis.
Packaging Virtual Event Hub Data
When a virtual event hub is used to administer the conference and is managed (or co-managed) by the AV vendor, the vendor can provide ongoing data to the client or meeting planner, as well as package all the data collected throughout the event, for deeper analysis. Some of these data points include event registration dates, interactive segment engagement (such as in-app polling and gamification), map and agenda access, attendee-to-attendee communication, sponsor booth engagement, and several more. This data can then be used to determine optimal registration opening before the conference start, popularity/incentive-based in-app engagement, frequented locations on the map, and many more points. Several well-optimized event hubs also have comprehensive dashboards that show this data in real-time.
By taking a data-centric approach to event design, the AV vendor and meeting planner can determine what works best for an event of a particular type, and improve on it for following sessions. A long-term partnership between the AV vendor and the event planning team can help ensure the consistent development of the conference through this data. AV-CANADA is well-experienced at data packaging and providing such analytics to our planner partners, and have seen the direct impact year-over-year when data has been used in this manner.