Five technology companies vied for top honors August 3 in the Event Innovation Battlefield, a competition organized by SISO, the Society of Independent Show Organizers. Now in its fifth year, the competition takes place during SISO’s Leadership Conference, which this year was held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia. The conference is an annual gathering for executives that own, produce, or manage for-profit trade and consumer shows and conferences.
“The Event Battlefield is an important motivational hub for innovation, ideas, talent, and products,” said David Audrain, the society's executive director. “It gives our members the ability to see what’s on the drawing boards now that will drive our industry in the future. We can also help incubate, develop, and assist in the delivery of products and services to the market.”
The organization’s nominating committee selected the five entrants from a field of 50 companies. At the Battlefield event, each of the five contestants gave a five-minute presentation on their product, then the attendees voted and selected Concierge EventBot as the winner. Here’s a look at each of the five entrants:
Sciensio's Concierge EventBot
Powered by artificial intelligence, Concierge EventBot is a text-based messaging system that provides on-demand information and assistance to event attendees. Users communicate with the bot through SMS text messaging, Facebook Messenger, or other apps to get answers to questions such as “What time does the keynote begin?” or “Where is parking available?” The bot can be updated in real-time to address questions as they arise. It can also be used for push notifications to attendees. BizBash used Concierge EventBots at its BizBash Live events this year.
Aromachology
Based on the concept that scent is a powerful and effective way for brands to connect with consumers, Aromachology creates custom-designed scent solution packages for events. Examples range from the use of Aromachology’s in-house scent library to create a scented booth at a trade show, to developing a signature scent that a brand could use at a product launch. The company can develop solutions that evoke specific emotions and behaviors to address the client’s messaging and business goals.
Buster
Buster is intended to streamline the process of booking transportation such as buses, vans, and limos for events. Planners enter their trip details, including origin, destination, number of passengers, and whether it is round-trip or one-way, and then the system generates instant quotes. Buster works with transportation companies nationwide, and all are vetted by the company before being added to the system.
Eventuosity
This is a cloud-based event management platform for planners and exhibitors. The system includes templates to quickly create an event and tools for collaboration with team members, allowing for real-time communication and tracking of assignments. It also integrates with Cvent, Salesforce, Dropbox, Concur, and more, and works on desktop, mobile browsers, and the Eventuosity app.
Interactio
Interactio is a mobile interpretation solution that allows attendees to listen to presentations in their own language through their own phones. The system fully replaces interpretation hardware for live events. Interactio provides interpreters either on site or from a remote location, and there is no limit to the number of listeners or the number of languages offered. The company also provides audio recordings of events, as well as analytics and multiple streaming options.
BizBash C.E.O. David Adler is a member of SISO and was co-chairman of the Event Innovation Battlefield program. Adler co-hosted the event with BizBash executive vice president Nicole Peck.
