Tech News: Vault Health, 3e/EXPOCAD, EXHIBITORLIVE, Hall-Erickson, Questex and CrowdComms Unveilings

April 21, 2022

Technology is continuing to transform the events industry with some of the most innovative events, products and ideas. Take a look at the latest happenings!

Vault Health

Virtual healthcare platform Vault Health rebranded its subsidiary FSSolutions to fall under the Vault Health branding and logo. COVID-19 solutions, including testing and vaccine tracking for the events industry, is one of the company’s main product offerings.

“We serve thousands of clients … who have come to rely on our fast turnaround times, U.S.-based customer support, compliance-driven focus, rapid integration and real-time reporting in one place,” said Stacy Williams, chief operating officer of Vault Health Workforce Screening.

The company works with trade shows, conferences and meetings, both on site and virtually, and recently executed a contract with Event Farm to support testing for its clients at conferences.

Other initiatives have included vaccine tracking for the Black Enterprise Women of Power Summit 2022 and COVID-19 solutions for the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Conference and an Oscars-related event through Roc Nation.

3e/EXPOCAD, EXHIBITORLIVE and Hall-Erickson

3e/EXPOCAD, a leader in technology for the exhibition industry, partnered with Exhibitor Media Group and event management company Hall-Erickson to provide its VISUAL PLAN technology for the first time in the U.S. at EXHIBITORLIVE, the annual conference and exhibition for trade show and corporate event marketing. This year’s event is set for June 20-23 at Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas.

First introduced in Mexico at FAMEX with great success, 3e/EXPOCAD’s VISUAL PLAN connects exhibitors and attendees in 360-degree walk-through environments. Visitors using touch, mouse/glide or Oculus VR headsets can walk, view and gather information from the exhibitors at the in-person event from any device. VISUAL PLAN is designed to be a digital twin of the live event.

According to Rich Stone, CEO, 3e by EXPOCAD, the company has worked with EXHIBITORLIVE for many years and chose the event for its U.S. debut of VISUAL PLAN due to its reputation for innovation.

"The synergies fit perfectly into the tech format of the event,” Stone said. “The outcome is exciting."

Randy Acker, president and COO of Exhibitor Media Group, said the company is always looking for new solutions for trade shows and events and was impressed with VISUAL PLAN’s capabilities.

“This new technology solution exceeded our expectations, and we were happy to collaborate and demonstrate a new solution to the industry," Acker said. “Thankfully, the timing worked out that we could beta test VISUAL PLAN at EXHIBITORLIVE, alongside other products and services that were also launching via our New Product Showcase.”

VISUAL PLAN extends the buying and selling at events by providing exhibitors with an engaging digital record of their exhibit presentation, according to Pete Erickson, president of Hall-Erickson.

"It will help exhibitors maximize their ROI by presenting their marketing message and product information in an online experience that looks just like their actual exhibit presentation in the live event,” Erickson said. “We feel the new technology helps organizers, exhibitors and attendees to connect in multiple ways."

Questex

Questex recently unveiled Q Activate, a proprietary platform that combines event and content intelligence to deliver insight into what its audience of B2B decision makers are interested in on and off its websites. The new platform brings all Questex’s first-party audience data together into one database, allowing Questex to respond quickly to trends, intent and needs to fuel audience engagement.

“Our audience data is the lifeblood of our business,” said Kate Spellman, chief marketing officer of Questex. “With more data being generated than ever before, we’ve created a forward-thinking strategy that combines event and content intelligence with trends and demographics to deliver insight into our audience’s interests and buying intent.”

Q Activate allows Questex to gain a deep understanding of topic, audience and intent information in a single view from multiple data sources to identify the highest trends for each of its core markets. Questex can see what content is resonating and identify potential gaps to better serve audience needs, create more engaging marketing campaigns and advise clients on marketing solutions.

“All of our audience profiles and buyer intent data are now available through Q Activate, allowing us to support strategic business objectives and monetization opportunities,” Spellman said. “We can now grow, engage and retain audiences through a fully integrated multi-channel journey via our websites, newsletters, content marketing, virtual events, webinars and live events.”

Questex can now better collaborate with customers to activate audiences throughout the entire buyer’s journey as they move from discovering a problem to identifying features and functionality of a solution to selecting a provider and making a purchase.

Q Insight reports allows for more collaboration with clients on who is visiting Questex’s media and event sites and what content these audiences are engaging with on and off Questex’s sites. The reports give Questex customers more insight as to what their target audience is consuming. Questex can also work with customers to deliver more targeting and personalization based on the detailed audience information it can deliver.

CrowdComms

Event tech solutions company CrowdComms recently added a new video on-demand streaming service to its event platform. Designed to provide a high-quality experience for attendees when accessing video content before, during and after an event, the new feature promotes greater engagement in session and video content through the functionality and familiarity of consumer video streaming services.

Event organizers are able to choose from two distinct video library displays that allow specific video content to be organized and featured as required, depending on the size of the event, the amount of content available for attendees and how video content needs to be categorized. As attendees interact with the content through views and likes, this is reflected in video thumbnails, highlighting popularity and promoting discussion.

“This is a really exciting new addition to the CrowdComms platform," said Will Custard, product director at CrowdComms. "The enhanced video functionality will provide our clients with an elegant, responsive and highly organized way to display on-demand video content for their event attendees to access throughout the life of their event.

He added, “As organizers are increasingly thinking of new ways to engage and enhance the user experience, particularly for virtual events, this functionality will help events develop a long-lasting legacy.”

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Partner Voices

Women at the Helm: Lisa Messina, Chief Sales Officer, Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority

Less than six months ago, Lisa Messina joined the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) as the first-ever chief sales officer after leading the sales team at Caesars Entertainment. A 12-year Las Vegas resident, Messina is a graduate of Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration and serves on MPI International’s board of directors. TSNN had a chance to catch up with this dynamic leader and talk to her about her vision for the new role, current shifts in the trade show industry, creating more diversity and equity within the organization, and advice to future female leaders. Lisa Messina, Chief Sales Officer, LVCVA With Las Vegas becoming The Greatest Arena on EarthTM, what are some of the things you’re most excited about in your role? Our team was at The Big Game’s handoff ceremony earlier this month, and I couldn’t help but think, “We’re going to crush it next year!” These high-profile events and venues not only drive excitement, but also provide unmatched opportunities for event planners. Allegiant Stadium hosts events from 10 to 65,000 people and offers on-field experiences. Formula 1 Grand Prix will take place in Las Vegas in November, after the year-one F1 race, the four-story paddock building will be available for buyouts and will also offer daily ride-along experiences that will be available for groups. And, of course, the MSG Sphere officially announced that it will open in September, ahead of schedule, with a U2 residency. It’s going to be the most technologically advanced venue as far as lighting, sound, feel, and even scent, and it will be available for buyouts and next-level sponsorships inside and outside. There’s no ceiling to what you can do when you’re doing events in Las Vegas. Allegiant Stadium As the trade show and convention business returns to the pre-pandemic levels, what shifts are you noticing and how do you think they will impact the industry going forward? Our trade show organizers are very focused on driving customer experience. Most of our organizers are reporting stronger exhibitor numbers and increased numbers of new exhibitors, with trade shows proving to be almost or above 2019 levels. Now our organizers are really doubling down on driving attendance and focusing on the data to provide that individualized, customized experience to help attendees meet their goals and get the best value. Some companies continue to be cautiously optimistic with their organizational spend when it comes to sending attendees, but I think it will continue to improve. As the U.S. Travel Association makes more progress on the U.S. visa situation, we also expect a growing influx of international attendees. What are some innovative ways the LVCVA helps trade show and convention organizers deliver the most value for their events? We focus on customer experience in the same way that trade show organizers are thinking about it. We got rave reviews with the West Hall Expansion of the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC), so over the next two years, we will be renovating the North and the Central halls, which will include not just the same look and feel, but also the digital experiences that can be leveraged for branding and sponsorship opportunities. Vegas Loop, the underground transportation system designed by The Boring Company, is also a way we have enhanced the customer experience. Vegas Loop at the LVCC has transported more than 900,000 convention attendees across the campus since its 2021 launch. Last summer, Resorts World and The Boring Company opened the first resort stop at the Resorts World Las Vegas , with plans to expand throughout the resort corridor, including downtown Las Vegas, Allegiant Stadium and Harry Reid International Airport. The LVCVA also purchased the Las Vegas Monorail in 2020, the 3.9-mile-long elevated transportation system that connects eight resorts directly to the convention center campus. This is the only rail system in the world that integrates fares directly into show badges and registration. For trade show organizers, these transportation options mean saving time, money and effort when it comes to moving groups from the hotels to LVCC and around the city. Also, the more we can focus on building the infrastructure around the convention center, the more it supports the customer experience and ultimately supports our trade show organizers. Scheduled to debut in Q4, Fontainebleau Las Vegas will offer 3,700 hotel rooms and 550,000 square feet of meeting and convention space next to LVCC. What are some of the plans for advancing DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) within your organization? We’re currently partnering with instead of working with a leading consulting firm, to lay the foundation and create a solid DEI plan and be the leader when it comes to DEI initiatives. The heart of that journey with the consulting firm is also talking to our customers about their strategic approaches to DEI and driving innovation in this space. What are your favorite ways to recharge? My husband and I have an RV and we’re outdoorsy people. So, while we have over 150,000 world-class hotel rooms and renowned restaurants right outside our doorstep, one of my favorite things to do is get out to Red Rock Canyon, the Valley of Fire, and Lake Mead. Five of the top national parks are within a three-hour drive from Las Vegas, so there’s a lot you can do. We love balancing the energy of Las Vegas with nature, and we’re noticing that a lot of attendees add activities off the Strip when they come here. Valley of Fire What advice would you give to women following leadership paths in destination marketing? I think it’s about being laser-focused on what you want to accomplish; building a team around you that lifts you and helps you achieve your goals; and being humble and realizing that you do it as a group. No one gets this done alone. Thankfully, there are a lot of women in leadership in this organization, in our customers’ organizations, and in this city that we can be really proud of. We’re a formidable force that is making things happen. This interview has been edited and condensed. This article is exclusively sponsored by the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority. For more information, visit HERE.

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