The events industry has always led the way when it comes to new customer-focused technology. As a group, event managers are constantly pushing the boundaries and trying and testing new things.
It was the event industry that introduced holographic performance to the mass market, for instance, with the Tupac show at Coachella.
And 2019 is set to be no different. To kick off the excitement about what is set to be a great year for the sector, we look at 4 new technology trends that are going to have a big impact on events.
1. Virtual/augmented reality
Virtual and augmented reality isn’t exactly new. In fact, both have experienced mass recognition with crazes such as Pokemon Go and Oculus Rift.
But the best uses of these technologies are still to be discovered. And that’s where the events industry comes in. AR and VR alter your perception of reality, which in many ways is exactly what an event is designed to do. For the short time you’re at a festival, exhibition, fun day etc, you forget that the rest of the world exists.
Use of VR and AR are set to further enhance the customers feeling that they’re in a world within a world when they’re at an event. Imagine a museum exhibition where customers could see an artefact in its original environment. Imagine a festival where you could see the act clearly, no matter how far you are from the stage.
2. Drones
Like AR and VR, drones have been around for quite a while now. But again, it’s how they’re used that could turn out to be revolutionary.
Drones give different perspectives of an event, some which have never been experienced before. If drones are used in conjunction with AR and VR, a customer could take in multiple aspects of an event all at once. They could also view an exhibition from every single angle.
3. Facial recognition
With ticket touting and re-sale values becoming such a damaging issue for the events industry, facial recognition could become huge. This piece of technology could stop bots from buying up lots of tickets only to sell them at extortionate values.
With airport-like scanners instead of staff checking tickets, facial recognition could save event organisers a lot of money.
4. Chatbots
For those of you who haven’t heard of a chatbot, don’t panic. The robot invasion hasn’t stared.
Yet.
Chatbots are in fact an automated response system used in Live Chat and Social Media. They take in the customer’s query and reply with an automated response. They’re not perfect, but they save on man hours and interact quicker than your average human.
But how would they aid an event, we hear you ask.
With automated responses to the most frequently asked questions, event goers would never again have to find a member of staff to ask where the toilets were, or how they could purchase merchandise.
These technology trends may or may not become a big factor in your events in 2019, but they’re definitely going to completely change the events sector in the coming years.
