In Case You Missed It
The BizBash team recently wrote about a multisensory, 12,000-square-foot Sleepy Hollow exhibition in New York. In a tech-friendly twist, guests were able to pick their perfect pumpkin in a picturesque patch—which was set underneath a sunset generated with the help of a tablet, an array of LED screens, and ChatGPT. Attendees could use the tech to draw their dream clouds on a tablet, which were then projected onto screens above.
We also took a deep dive into the Worlds Away music festival, which aimed to make tech more than just a tool for festivalgoers to use—but rather a companion. Think: immersive experiences like an AR scavenger hunt, a digital graffiti wall, and even virtual merchandise try-ons.
More Event Technology We're Excited About This Month
To help measure your event's success
RainFocus has launched the Event Benchmark Assessment, a new tool that lets organizations see how their events compare to others of similar size and format. Using data from thousands of events, the self-guided assessment allows event professionals to measure their metrics against industry benchmarks. Divided into three tiers based on event size, the benchmarks cover key data points from registration through post-event feedback, helping planners identify areas for improvement and showcase ROI to stakeholders.
"Events are an extremely valuable resource for zero- and first-party data critical to the success of sales and marketing teams post-event," said Brian Gates, senior vice president of industry strategy at RainFocus. "Working on best-in-class event programs for some of the world's leading and most innovative organizations, including Adobe, Cisco, and Oracle, has created vast amounts of data. We've leveraged that data to create a resource for event professionals and leaders who want to understand how their events stack up against industry standards, what event success looks like, and how to iterate and improve on their events in the future."
For real-time insights into attendees' state of mind
Bishop-McCann has launched the Joy Index, an AI-powered tool that provides real-time insights into attendee engagement during events. Using facial analytics and wearable technology, the Joy Index measures participants' emotional responses and energy levels, allowing event planners to understand what resonates most with their audience. By tracking engagement moment by moment, the Joy Index moves beyond traditional post-event surveys to offer instant, data-driven feedback, helping planners create more impactful and joyful experiences and enabling predictive personalization for future events. The platform was created by renowned neuroscientist Dr. Paul Zak.
"With the Joy Index, we're moving beyond vanity metrics like five-star ratings. Our approach lets us track real-time engagement, moment by moment, to see exactly how attendees are reacting,” said Rob Adams, CEO and owner of Bishop-McCann. “It's not passive feedback; it's authentic data capturing how people truly feel. This allows us to dissect every session and make adjustments on the fly to ensure our events resonate deeply and effectively with the audience."
To promote sustainable travel options
BeCause, a Danish sustainability data platform, has partnered with the Global Destination Sustainability Movement (GDS-Movement) to give tourism organizations instant access to eco-certification data for hotels, restaurants, and attractions. This partnership enables destination management organizations to easily monitor and verify sustainable practices across their region, allowing for data-driven decisions and improved strategies against greenwashing. By connecting with over 70 eco-certification bodies, BeCause streamlines data for destinations like VisitEngland, empowering them to meet the rising demand for sustainable travel options with reliable, real-time insights.
"In today's always-on and information-hungry world, VisitEngland recognizes the need to ensure our destinations have access to data that is both trustworthy and accurate. VisitEngland is working with BeCause to ensure access to their platform can help England's tourism industry meet the growing demands of visitors seeking environmentally responsible experiences, from which attraction to check out and which destination to discover to where best to stay to suit their needs," said Andrew Stokes, director of VisitEngland, the first destination to pilot the BeCause-powered data hub.
To streamline meeting and event bookings
Meetingselect, a global meeting and event management platform, has partnered with hospitality tech company Shiji Group. This integration enables Meetingselect’s Meeting Booking Widget, which allows venues to receive and manage instant booking requests directly on their websites. Through Shiji’s Property Management System (PMS) integration, venues benefit from real-time availability, dynamic pricing, and enhanced visibility to a broad client base. This partnership empowers venues to improve booking efficiency, enhance revenue management, and customize their booking experience, offering a seamless, branded, and automated solution for managing meetings and events.
“At Meetingselect, our goal is to provide venues with the tools they need to succeed in an increasingly digital world,” said Anne Beekman-de Ruiter, Meetingselect’s director of technology partnerships. “By integrating with Shiji PMS, we’re helping venues enhance their efficiency and visibility, making it easier for them to attract and manage bookings from our extensive client base.”
To turn venue seats into a digital canvas
PixMob has partnered with the LA Clippers and DreamSeat to launch the NOVA Armrest at LA's Intuit Dome, creating the first permanent LED-lit armrest installation that turns stadium seats into a digital canvas. Debuted on Oct. 23, the NOVA Armrest synchronizes with music, game moments, and on-court action, allowing fans to experience immersive light shows and become active participants. Each armrest also includes USB charging, NFC connectivity for event content, and interactive buttons for engaging with in-game entertainment, enhancing the fan experience and providing new sponsorship opportunities.
“Our goal at PixMob is to create a moment known as ‘Collective Joy,’” said J-O Dalphond, partner and chief commercial officer of PixMob. “That’s when the audience shares a unifying moments of awe when the venue lights up."
To improve your sales team's productivity
LinkedIn alumni Rush Shahani and Sriya Maram have launched Persana AI, an app designed to transform sales intelligence with advanced AI-powered automation and real-time data integration. With $2.3 million in seed funding from investors like Y Combinator and Race Capital, Persana AI helps go-to-market (GTM) teams streamline workflows by handling time-consuming tasks like lead qualification, personalization, and engagement prioritization. The platform’s autonomous agents draw insights from over 75 data sources, allowing users to boost efficiency, reduce sales cycles, and improve conversion rates.
“Our long-term vision is for Persana AI to become the central GTM platform for managing the entire customer journey, from prospecting through post-sale engagement. Agents are only as good as the data they access, and we at Persana are working to build the best agents powered by our expansive data foundation,” said co-founder and CEO Sriya Maram. “By advancing our AI and ML infrastructure, we enable GTM teams to scale effortlessly, shifting their focus to strategic customer relationships and growth.”
The Latest Updates, Promotions, Funding, and Merger News
Tripleseat has integrated with Amaze Insights to offer hotels a streamlined way to consolidate and analyze sales and catering data from multiple platforms in one place. This integration allows Tripleseat customers to access key metrics like booking trends and revenue pacing through a single dashboard, helping hotel professionals make faster, data-driven decisions to improve occupancy and profitability.Analytics and ad-tech platform Datafy has added three key members to its growing team of tourism and retail industry experts: Anna Blount as vice president of industry research, Chris Christmas as senior director of business development, and Keri Hanson as business development director of retail. Blount, Christmas, and Hanson bring decades of experience in the tourism and retail industries and will play a pivotal role as Datafy continues its trajectory of rapid growth and technological expansion.
RainFocus has acquired WebEvents Global, a data-driven event technology firm, to strengthen its position in event marketing and leverage WebEvents Global’s expertise and client relationships with top enterprise technology organizations. According to RainFocus, the acquisition aligns with their shared vision of integrating sales and marketing teams across event programs to enhance experiences and drive revenue.
AI startup Vieu has raised $11 million to expand its platform, the Vieu Sales Graph, which transforms B2B sales by focusing on trust and relationship-building instead of traditional cold outreach methods. By leveraging billions of relationship data points and using AI-powered insights, Vieu helps enterprise sales teams identify key stakeholders, save time, and secure meetings with potential clients faster, making it easier to build meaningful connections and streamline the sales process in a challenging B2B landscape.
