Event Tech Podcast

As layoffs continue to make headlines across industries, the events industry is also bracing itself for an economic downturn. More and more companies in the events industry announce layoffs, downsizing, and consolidations each week. According to Brandt, the industry should have taken preventative action before reaching this point. 

Join Will and Brandt as they discuss how we got here and how to navigate layoffs and consolidation in the events industry. While they can’t predict the future of events (as we’ll find out), they have been discussing this topic for months and are ready to offer actionable advice and support.   

This year, a Marriott data breach has made headlines again. It’s 2022, and the world is no stranger to poor data protection. Every year, the events industry and event professionals handle data for millions of people. It’s our responsibility to ensure their data is secure and our systems are risk-free. 

That’s why today’s episode focuses on how you can increase data security and protection in your business. Will Curran and Brandt Krueger share first-hand what they’ve learned from working with valuable data. Together, they’ve come up with 6 data protection tips that will help you avoid making common data security mistakes.

Building an online community can take years of hard work. That’s why Endless Events’ very own Will Curran and Kyle Kosinski created the #EventProfs community. They’re on a mission to build and grow a community from the ground up so they can better understand what it takes to develop an event community. 

#Eventprofs is designed to put your knowledge on center stage. In Kyle's words, “Whether you're a festival producer or a lighting technician, you can teach the whole world of event professionals what you know and help make everyone's events better.” But in today's episode, Will and Kyle share their valuable insights as they learn how to build an event community.

Augmented reality (AR) has the potential to revolutionize how we live our lives, but are we there yet? Will and Brandt are excited to see just how revolutionary AR will be for events. 

In today’s episode, Will Curran and Brandt Krueger discuss AR for events. Together, they explore how AR for events can reshape how people interact with each other and their venues. Looking past flashy screen-based AR, Will and Brandt focus on what they hope to see, issues that may arise, and what might be around the corner in AR tech.

Event chatbots are becoming increasingly common in the event industry. While chatbots are helpful when engaging communities during events, they can also be an excellent tool if you want to implement the community model and engage your attendees all year.  

Today, Will, Brandt, and Kyle discuss event chatbots in 2022 and the community model with chatbot expert Chuck Elias. They update us on how chatbot technology has evolved in recent years and how you can use event chatbots to successfully engage a community year-round. 

Fresh off the plane, Brandt Krueger returns to us from the IMEX event in Frankfurt, Germany. Unfortunately, Will wasn't in attendance this year. That's why, in today's episode, Brandt gives him a full recap on this year's event. 

In a global industry that's still feeling the effects of the worldwide pandemic, Brandt focuses on the trends he saw at IMEX. The two discuss how new factors, like an uncertain economy, may also play a role in recent trends. But don't let that hold you back. Today's episode is full of helpful insights into the powerful ways the events industry is adapting to the ever-changing landscape of event tech. 

To wrap the episode up, Will tells us he's feeling some FOMO (fear of missing out). "We'd love to hear from you if you were at IMEX Frankfurt," he says. "What'd you think about it? Was there anything that caught your eye? Or, was there something we talked about that you'd like us to dive into deeper?" Reach out! We always love to hear from our listeners.

Like the software industry, the event management industry has tech stacks. Event tech stacks consist of all the technology that helps an event run efficiently. Event planners often forget to consider whether their tools are suitable for the job and their budget leading to overspending and inefficient processes. Re-evaluating your tech stack can help ensure your events improve and run optimally year after year. 

In today’s Event Tech Podcast episode, Brandt Krueger and Kyle Kocinski talk about the event tech stack and several tools that event planners might want to incorporate into their stack. They think event planners should re-evaluate their stacks regularly to make the most of their time and money.  

Brandt concludes by emphasizing the major takeaway from today’s podcast, “Take a moment to think about where you might be able to shave some time off your work and what tech might be able to help you do that.” He invites listeners to reach out with their responses to today’s conversation at eventtechpodcast@helloendless.com.

The event management industry lacks robust software designed for the unique needs of the event management industry. Many event planners rely on tools not made for the industry and attempt to find alternative solutions for the tasks they must accomplish. 

In today's episode, Will and Brant talk about the event management industry's unique client base and where event management software fails to meet client needs. Possible solutions to the lack of budgeting and profit margin projection tools include templates and building your own tool. Will and Brant explain how these options may work and how they have failed in the past. 

Pricing transparency in event technology companies is lacking, to say the least. Many event platforms offer no pricing structures at all while others only give ballpark estimates. As a recent Skift Meetings article points out, event planners often have no time or energy to sit through long demos and discuss pricing for weeks. But as Will and Brandt point out in this episode, transparency is not easy to achieve in the world of SaaS and event technology. Costs depend on the size of the event and the features planners want to implement.

Our dynamic duo has talked about transparency in the event industry before, but not about the event technology space specifically. But if you need a transparent comparison of top event platform providers, make sure to check out Endless' transparent 100 Top Event Platforms spreadsheet where you can compare companies based on pricing, features, and more. And now, without further ado, here is the Event Tech Podcast!

Today's episode of the Event Tech Podcast was inspired by a recent Event Leadership Institute summit where Brandt and Will did a fast rundown on ten event technology trends. For each of them, they had to quickly decide whether they truly were a trend or just hype. Most of the trends have gotten their own standalone Event Tech Podcast episode already. If you need a quick refresher on what Will and Brandt think about them, then this episode is perfect for you.

Here are the 10 event technology trends that Will and Brandt discuss in this unique and exciting episode:

1. NFTs,
2. blockchain,
3. metaverse,
4. drones,
5. smart glasses & AR,
6. community marketing,
7. privacy & security,
8. machine learning & AI,,
9. facial recognition,
10. attendee tracking.

Which ones will make it to the hot list and which ones are merely hype? Tune in and find out.

Read the episode's show notes here.