BLE : New experiences for events

This article written by Corbin Ball summarises the Meetings Technologies Trends for 2015. We chose to focus on one of these trends: BLE (Bluetooth low energy) and iBeacon. These technologies enable to transmit information through Bluetooth at a 50 meters distance and at a low cost. It can be very useful for events because it widens the range of experiences event planners can offer to participants and today, many app developers are trying to include it in their apps.

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGSOf1tHSSo

This new technology is more and more used for events because it enables event planners to diversify the range of experiences they offer to the attendees. Indeed, BLE technology can be used for many aspects of events.

The first one is about access; thanks to iBeacon, the participants of a congress for example will not have to print any ticket to get in and they will not have to queue up for a hostess to check their tickets. Thanks to an app on their smartphone, they will not have anything to do because the smartphone will transmit all the information concerning their registration while they enter.

source: Google image

For congress apps, this technology can be included and it is very useful. For instance, it can be used for navigation assistance to help the participant find his way in the congress centre or to help him find the congress centre itself.

The second aspect is the use in team buildings for scavenger hunts or other games. It changes from the regular and traditional scavenger hunt with a paper roadmap. Thanks to an application on a tablet or a smartphone, it is possible to offer participants a more participative experience with several activities.

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zezxONAqZkk

On this video, we can see how the technology is used for an egg

hunt for Easter. The participant downloads an app on his smartphone and thanks to the indication of the app he can find the different eggs. The app makes sure the participant has really been where the egg was.

Moreover, from the event planners’ point of view, it is also a good way to collect information about the attendees of an event. It is possible to know at which session each participant attended or how long he stayed at a specific stand in an exhibition for example. It is also a good way to personalize welcome. As soon as the participant enters the congress centre for instance, he receives a message welcoming him to the event.

Source: zdnet.com

However, this new technology may have some limits. First, even if almost everyone has a smartphone today, there are still some people who do not and there are also many people who are still not comfortable with it. So the app developers should make the app as easy to use as possible but also explain the users how it works. Another issue is that some participant may see this technology as a violation of privacy because information will be collected without them to know it. So the app developers should also be careful and inform the users about which information will be collected and they should also not spam them by sending messages all the time.

Ombeline REBILLAT & Cyrielle DOLL

Source: http://www.corbinball.com/articles_future/index.cfm?fuseaction=cor_av&artID=9207