How to Best Leverage Your Event Technology Provider for Success

November 5, 2019

Show organizers are always looking for new ways to grow their events and generate new revenue. Whether they’re innovating on their on-site experience, expanding their show digitally or tackling new verticals, it’s a revolving cycle of expansion. But, one of the most important and underused resources is your event technology provider. Not only your vendor, your event tech provider holds deep insight into your show and more importantly, the ability to help you improve it.  

Here are a few different ways your event technology provider can help you optimize your show and expand your potential revenue.

Expanded Analytics

Reporting capabilities are baked into most event technology programs, but working directly with your event technology provider can provide access to a deeper level of data. For instance, with Personify A2Z Events, event professionals can run strategic reports to pull in and contextualize year-over-year, multi-event data from multiple sources. This allows access to deeper acquisition and retention data, in addition to region-specific information about different show locations. Show organizers can use this knowledge to make decisions about your future locations, potential target audiences and specific attendee attractions presented by different venues.  

Revenue Generation

Turn your event technology into an investment for your show. You can optimize and grow traditional revenue streams like sponsorships and exhibit sales through the use of event technology and identify new revenue opportunities. Use your event technology providers’ knowledge to further improve these streams by implementing enhancements, such as new sponsorship conversion points at key locations throughout your online portals. 

You can also unlock new revenue streams, such as offering the option for sponsors to create premium profiles on your event websites with a wealth of content and graphics to boost traffic on-site. Your event technology should help you to develop new ways to both add value for your exhibitors, attendees and sponsors while increasing your bottom-line revenue. 

Industry Insight

Event technology providers have a pulse on the trade show industry and know how your partners and competitors are optimizing processes to scale their events. With a wealth of experience across various verticals, one of your most knowledgeable resources for implementing event ideas is your event tech provider. They also bring the technological expertise to help you create new strategies to drive attendee experiences by using the tools baked into your solution. And, as event technology experts, your provider should know how to help you achieve your goals within their system and how to automate reporting to share your success with your clients.

Ultimately, the most important thing show organizers can do is share their goals with their event technology provider. With insight into your show goals, event technology providers can provide insight into the implementation, operation and optimization strategy that will help you create an exceptional experience for your sponsors, exhibitors and attendees. They can work with you to create a configured solution that works to drive the most important parts of your event strategy, while continuing to grow your revenue.

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Partner Voices
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.