EventsAir wows IMEX America with global hybrid demonstration
Act, don’t talk. Show, don’t say. Prove, don’t promise.
EventsAir found itself the talk of the town at the in-person IMEX America exhibition in Las Vegas in November for the simple reason it walked the talk with its new Hybrid Event Solution Suite.
ACT
It’s one thing to talk about a technology solution. It’s another to seamlessly demonstrate it.
And that’s exactly what the team at EventsAir did at the first in-person IMEX America exhibition held in Las Vegas in more than two years.
With U.S. travel restrictions having eased in October, IMEX America saw over 3300 national and international buyers attend the event from November 9 to 11, 2021 with everyone happy to be back face-to-face.
But after 18 months of challenges for the business event sector it went without saying that the future in the short to medium term for meetings will be a mix of in-person and virtual, with the latest version of EventsAir all neatly packaged into the OnAIR virtual and hybrid platform, the answer.
IMEX America gave EventsAir the opportunity to demonstrate its Hybrid Event Solution Suite and, as CEO Trevor Gardiner explains, they were the “talk of the town”.
“We were the only company there who had a working hybrid solution,” he said.
“At one stage we had a hybrid session happening on our stand to demonstrate the simplicity of OnAIR.
“We set up a little studio where we had two people on our stand at IMEX including CEO of the International Association of Professional Congress Organisers, Martin Boyle, and they were talking to our Executive Director in London, Paul Martin. Our support team in Brisbane were filming the session remotely and then sharing it online.
“The reaction we received from delegates was incredible. People could sit down and they could see how it all worked and they were just amazed. You could see a lightbulb turning on in their heads with them thinking how they could use OnAIR at their event and understanding that they don’t need to spend $10,000 a room on AV.”
SHOW
Trevor said EventsAir Hybrid Event Solution Suite follows a year of development in which the company has been providing virtual solutions to clients which now sees them involved in over 1000 events a month.
Feedback during the pandemic has been that virtual meetings have some advantages over in-person events including the potential to attract more delegates, and saving time and resources, particularly in relation to travel.
“Our customers are now telling us that they want to retain some of these virtual components as they transition back to in-person, which makes our Hybrid Event Solution Suite a really cost-effective option.
“We’re finding in the U.S. market particularly that corporates are planning hub and spoke meetings where they’re using hybrid technology as a bridge between multiple venues. Previously they would have had their teams all together in one location but now, because of travel restrictions and costs, what they’re doing is bringing them into a number of cities and then coming together virtually from different locations.
“With OnAIR we set up PTZ cameras in each room which we control remotely to capture speakers and share the content across multiple venues for a fraction of the cost in terms of AV. Attendees across multiple venues can talk to each other and ask questions in real time.
“This is what we did at IMEX America and I don’t think we’ve ever had so much interest at this show before.”
PROVE
Trevor said hybrid has the ability to future-proof events from sudden lockdowns or changes in travel restrictions but he offers a word of warning to planners.
“There are so many suppliers who have come into the industry over the past 12 months as virtual providers and they don’t understand the requirements and intricacies around running an in-person event which makes it hard for them to understand how a hybrid event has to work.
“We’ve done both which places us in the best position to help our clients run their hybrid meetings affordably and effectively.”
IMEX America in 2022 will be held from October 11-13 at the Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas.
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