For the second in our case study series we spoke to event organiser Janette Beedell from TPM Events. Janette managed the Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) annual conference in 2015. Although the Association had used a CrowdComms’ mobile event app before they were utilising a number of new features, including live polling. Janette needed to make sure the AFA was completely comfortable with the change. Q. Hi Janette. We understand the AFA were comfortable with the event app but were using some new app features for this conference. Did they have any concerns?
Yes! Although the AFA in general has used the mobile event app, the CEO was initially resistant to engaging with the app and the live polling. His initial thoughts were it was, “too hard”.
Q. If the CEO was struggling to engage with the app that must have raised issues about how well the attendees would engage. What did you do?
CrowdComms suggested that we utilise one of their on-site technical experts (an App Concierge) to help with the uptake of the app. The concierge would introduce attendees to the event app’s features and provide support for the live polling. Having an onsite expert took some of the pressure from me – it was great to have a technical contact point for any questions.
Q. We know you did a fantastic job marketing the app before the event too. Were you pleased with attendees’ response?
I was delighted at how well the app was received. It was the first time the AFA had collected CPD points through the interactive event app. I pushed this feature as a major benefit given how onerous it can be to acquire CPD points and how valuable they are. I was nervous because my reputation was really on the line but there was no need to worry, it worked brilliantly!
Q. That’s great to hear. Were there any other benefits from having the on ground support?
With someone on hand to help with event app downloads we doubled our app uptake rates. The app is so easy to use. The vast majority of attendees (from a diverse range of backgrounds) had no issues. Only 6-8 older members needed some assistance and after a bit of support they found it easy to get going.
Q. Aside from attendee engagement, did the event app help in other ways?
Previously the AFA had collated speaker feedback via paper surveys. This time they used the app and the response was fantastic. The feature allowed people to give true and immediate feedback about how they felt the speaker performed. It gave us a more accurate representation as paper can be filled out hours later after multiple sessions and recollections can get hazy.
Q.What about the event sponsors? Did they like the app?
The event sponsors were delighted with how people engaged with their brand. They were thrilled that their sponsor page received over 45,500 views!
Q. Finally, what about the AFA CEO, did you manage to convince him of the app’s benefits?
We did! After we showed him the event app’s capabilities and he could see how easy and effective it was he became very enthusiastic about participating in the live polling on the final day.
The association ended up running three to four polls, one of which was of considerable importance. The CEO asked the audience what question they wanted him to pose the next day at his scheduled attendance in parliament. He received immediate data that meant he had a clear and unequivocal response. He was delighted.
