Next week, Topi plans to unveil a new networking tool that takes inspiration from the popular dating app Tinder. “People have nicknamed Topi the ‘Tinder for conferences.’ We liked it, and we now are launching a new feature that allows attendees to signal interests in connecting with others,” says David Aubespin, Topi C.E.O. As a user scans the profiles of other attendees, he or she can swipe across the app to indicate an interest in meeting that person. Once the recipient accepts the request, the app instantly creates a chat room where the two can communicate. Aubespin says the company developed the tool after data showed that attendees often check the profiles of other guests yet do not initiate contact. “This makes the whole experience a lot more fun and less awkward,” he says. In December, Topi added an option for planners to create customizable websites for events powered by the same data they upload for the mobile app. There's also an optional registration system.
On Monday, Pathable plans to unveil a new feature that will make it easier for one person to manage the attendance of multiple people from a company at a conference or event. “The company can designate an administrative assistant, and that person gets total control over everybody from the company that’s attending,” says Jordan Schwartz, C.E.O. of Pathable. "They can schedule meetings for them, manage their profiles, figure out which educational sessions they’ll attend, [or] manage a company-sponsored suite." Additional updates released in the past few months include integration with Salesforce, enhanced interactive mapping tools that can be used for education sessions and private meeting rooms, and the creation of a document management system integrated with ScholarOne. In December, Pathable also unveiled a free self-serve version for events of as many as 100 people.
On February 18, event app system Bizzabo launched its Event Success Platform, a management system that centralizes several tools for planners. The system includes an event website, ticketing, a mobile app, email marketing, networking functions, contact management, and on-site check-in. It also offers real-time analytics on each feature to track an event’s progress. “We wanted to free the industry from a reliance on multiple siloed tech solutions that increase an event organizer’s workload, and minimize their ability to measure success and limit productivity,” says C.E.O. Eran Ben-Shushan.
In mid-February, DoubleDutch unveiled “Event Performance,” a new analytics platform that allows planners to monitor content and engagement in real time using data from the company’s mobile app. “Most analytics reports generated by app engagement can provide post-event data. We seek to also provide visibility into event performance on the day of the event, so organizers are not in the dark,” says Lucian Beebe, the company's vice president of product. For example, organizers can track which content is being accessed the most and send push messages to promote less popular sessions. The system also shows the most popular conversations taking place in the app so planners can see what matters to attendees. The system has a built-in sentiment analysis tool and an Engagement Score that indicates how many attendees are interacting with the app throughout the event.
Conferize, which began as an event discovery and recommendation system, is now offering custom websites that are tied into the existing social platform. Using the new Conferize Organizer, planners can create a website with their own URL and custom welcome messages and subpages. The sites are tied to the Conferize social networking and content-sharing community, so users can follow the event for free. “It gives event organizers the chance to convert a ‘maybe’ visitor to a ‘definitely’ attendee,” says company C.E.O. Martin Ferro-Thomsen. The website features are a complimentary add-on to the existing Conferize plans, which are free for events of as many as 100 people and for events that are free, with additional pricing plans from there. The new feature was released February 12.
On February 17, Goombal released a new Customer Experience Marketing Platform. The system is intended to enable chief marketing officers to “deliver the perfect customer experience across all events for their corporate and product brands,” according to a press release. The platform includes “Ad-Hoc Event Collaboration Rooms,” which keep all related conversations and documents in a Pinterest-like tool. The system also offers real-time check-in and lead capture that integrates with customer relationship management apps. New real-time reporting and dashboards analyze performance across multiple events and can be used to create reports for distribution.
QuickMobile Enterprise 2.0, which launched in January, is the latest generation of the company’s enterprise mobile app and analytics platform for meetings and events. The cloud-based system provides a mobile solution that links data from a company’s internal and external meetings and events with other business data. For example, when a customer attends a user conference, the system’s analytics would capture that person’s survey results, content accessed, and education sessions attended so the sales team knows what to address during future client visits. “The focus is now the R.O.I. for the event, about contributing to the bottom line and about providing valuable meeting data to help organizations build better relationships with key audiences. And with mobile technology, all this is now possible,” says C.E.O. Craig Brennan.
EventMobi, which began as a Web-based app, now gives planners the option of launching a native app to four app stores—Apple, Android, Blackberry, and Windows—with just one click. This means attendees can access the app from any type of device and through a Web browser, even if they are offline. EventMobi has also updated its integrated registration system to handle payment processing and ticketing. It also added an audience response system that includes pre- and post-event surveys, live polling, and real-time anonymous question submission to speakers.
Chicago catering firm Blue Plate is serving the inventive Into the Woods cocktail this season. The drink combines Reposado tequila and lemon with unusual ingredients including pecan-spiced maple syrup, port reduction, and 2010 Vintage Caramel Dream Pur-Eh tea. The garnish is fresh thyme.
Chicago-area restaurant House 406 serves a Box Lunch cocktail inspired by the school days. Made with dark chocolate, Licor 43, Galliano Ristretto, Thai coffee, and cream, the drink is served in a glass vessel that recalls a paper milk carton. Guests sip it through a striped straw.
The restaurant also serves a bright cocktail called the New York Delhi. The potent drink contains gin, pineapple juice, curried nectar, and—perhaps its most exotic ingredient of all—barbecue mist.
The St. Regis Aspen Resort serves ripe-for-the-season Marshmallow Cocktails. Flavors include candy apple with German apple liqueur; candy cane with peppermint schnapps; dipped strawberry with Godiva chocolate liqueur; and hot toddy with butterscotch schnapps and rum. The drinks are served in miniature martini glasses and presented in quartets.
Looking for a workday-friendly drink? Chicago restaurant Ruxbin serves house-made dry sodas in seasonal flavors such as Tamarind Apricot and Cranberry Ginger. Dry sodas are less sweet than more traditional sodas and are made with fresh ingredients and simple syrup.
The recently launched pilsner, which will be served at select Chicago-area restaurants including RPM Steak, has a unique brewing process during which Australian truffles are hand-shaved and incorporated into the mixture.
Dallas restaurant Oak has a whimsical drink called the State Fair. The cocktail, which combines pomegranate and lemon liqueurs with champagne, is topped with a stick of lime cotton candy that's made at the bar.
Toronto special events and catering firm Eatertainment adds an unusual—and visually appealing—garnish to its "Rolling Storm" martini. Made with Ramazzotti Black sambuca and Absolut Elyx vodka, the drink is topped with floating star anise.
There's also a unique garnish on the tropical-style "Toronto Sunset" cocktail. Containing grenadine, vodka, Malibu rum, and cranberry and pineapple juices, the festive drink is topped with a pineapple wheel and toasted coconut.
Highball & Harvest, the new restaurant at the Ritz Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes, serves an inventive cocktail called the Last Wish. The drink—served with an ice sphere holding a frozen orange peel—contains whiskey, spiced cola syrup, Old Havana tobacco bitters, and orange essence.
In Chicago, Rockit Burger Bar serves an unusually meaty drink. Combining spiced whiskey with Strongbow cider, Moose Drool brown ale, and Vermont maple syrup, the drink is garnished with a slice of bacon.
Miami catering and event firm Barton G. serves ceviche cocktails. Inspired by the Latin dish, the cocktail blends raw seafood with citrus and a dash of spirits. Guests sip the drink, which is typically paired with seafood-based appetizers.
Barton G. also serves Pop Shots, which are one-bite jello shots in mojito and kamikaze flavors.
Chicago's Entertaining Company has served its champagne intermezzo as a second course on an all-beverage menu. The treat contains coconut sorbetto with a champagne splash and is served over berry compote and fresh coconut moon chips.
Though it looks like a standard flavored martini, the Lychee Luxury Drop from Chicago restaurant Sunda has a spicy twist: a touch of wasabi. The drink also contains Absolut vodka, St. Germain liqueur, lemon juice, and lychee syrup.
