Clients and audiences are welcoming an increasing degree of personalisation when interacting with brands. Photo Credit: Adobe Stock/epitavi
In the wake of Covid and the proliferation of virtual events, clients
and audiences are welcoming an increasing degree of personalisation when
interacting with brands. The metaverse is also making its mark, with
brands looking to explore how it can be integrated within hybrid events.
When
applying technology into events, it’s important to ensure the tech
doesn’t act as a standalone element for audiences, but as a catalyst to
brand storytelling that will excite and build brand loyalty for users.
Get up close and personal
Event technology will focus more on personalisation and engagement,
believes Tay Ling, vice president at Pico Japan. “Post-Covid, clients
and audiences want to interact and digitalisation in general is making
this kind of tailoring not only possible, but more and more effective.”
Tay Ling says that one recent example of tech used in new ways for
engagement is the HP Malaysia ‘Create Without Limitation’ event launch,
which used a crowdsource mechanism that worked when attendees pressed
various buttons on their keyboards. When all the keys on their keyboard
lit up, the event launched.
“At
another HP Malaysia Virtual Partner Event [staged by Pico], we
introduced personalised invitations with AR technology which included a
personalised video for each invitee,” he says. “This level of
personalisation goes beyond just listing off attendees’ names on a
screen.”
Using NFTs to build community
Colin Blake, chief
innovation officer at Invnt Group says NFTs (non-fungible tokens) are an
impactful way to build brand loyalty and community. “More than ever,
brands need to engage consumers with authentic messages, purpose, and
storytelling - programmes and experiences that are meticulously tailored
to their targeted audiences,” he says.
“This is where we’re going to be seeing a shift in the traditional
model of ticketing transactions, where NFT programmes can replace normal
traditional ticketing and give ticket holders exclusive access,
rewards, perks, utilities, and content.”
NFTs are also great for data capture as brands can record the participation and history of each user connected to the event.
‘Metaverse’ or supplementary Web3 immersive experiences
For
large events with a global or multinational appeal, Invnt says these
Web3 elements such as the metaverse can add to the on-ground experience
for actual attendees and elevate traditional broadcast content.
Examples from the agency include virtual access to the Melbourne
Cup’s most exclusive marquees, parties around a Formula 1 race, or an
opportunity to be in a corporate box, virtually, at the Superbowl.
Eventually, adds Invnt, these immersive components of an event
strategy could be as mandatory as TV broadcast or online streaming and
they will be delivered via any connected device.