Tag: event management
ABCey Presents: Top 5 Event Planning Apps
Smart phone apps have become increasingly beneficial, especially in the event planning industry. There are many apps available now that can help event profs become more efficient in their day-to-day tasks. Here are ABCey’s Top 5 Event Planning Apps that are crucial for staying up to date on all the latest event trends!
1. Super Planner
This useful app is a great business application tool for the professional event planner, including calculators for venue capacity, staffing, catering, staging, projection and dance floor, as well as useful tips. ($9.99)
2. Boomset
Boomset focuses on event registration. Easily check attendees in with their QR scanner. Event organizers can also use this event app to print badges, or create wristbands. It also has integrations with other event management platforms so that event registration is as painless for organizers as possible. (FREE app)
3. myParties
“myParties” is simple and extremely easy-to-use event planner app. It lets you organize your party with utmost convenience. You can schedule times, make invitations and have the much-needed control of the bills. (FREE app)
4. Social Tables
Social Tables is a super efficient check-in tool. It provides a fast, professional and secure alternative to Excel or paper event guest lists. Their web-based app also makes 2D or 3D diagramming and seating charts easier. (FREE app, monthly service pricing)
5. Monefy
Monefy aims to remove all the clutter from tracking expenses. It allows you to view graphs, export data, and sync to Dropbox. The app makes it easy to manage all of your event expenses in one place. Event planning is an on-the-go job, having an app like this is a godsend. ($0.99)
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What event planning apps do you use? Have you tried any of these apps? Let us know in the comments below or on our Facebook & Twitter pages!
Sources: Social Tables, Bizzabo, iGeeksBlog, Ticketbud
Get Organized! 2 Helpful Event Planning Apps
Event management is no walk in the park. From vendors, to clients, to caterers, to conferences, to meetings… there’s so many components to planning! Sometimes it’s tough for event managers to stay organized. But with the development of event planning apps such as Wunderlist and Basecamp, there is no doubt an event can flow efficiently! ABCey encourages you to manage your events at the palm of your hands without worry of lost post-it notes or hand written to-do lists!
1. Wunderlist is an online tool and app that allows you to input tasks and to-do lists for yourself and other colleagues. We recently discovered Wunderlist and in our experience, it has shown to simplify the process of planning! It allows you to check mark what is done, know what needs to be done, and also make separate folders to keep everything organized! It’s a great way to jot tasks down while on the go or even help to overview components of an event.
2. BaseCamp is another essential tool for an event planner. Not only does it allow features like Wunderlist, but it also enables you to appoint tasks to fellow colleagues. Communication is made simple with messaging features so you can easily contact your people when important jobs or problems may arise while planning. Communicating with people across country? No problem! BaseCamp even allows the correct time zone to be correlated to fellow business partners. Deadlines will be met accordingly and less stress will dealt with.
The Wunderlist and BaseCamp apps can definitely simplify an event management job. These are just two of many great tools for event planning. Know any other helpful apps? Let us know with a comment or send us a message on Facebook or Twitter!
Tech Tuesday: getplanning, Event Management Software
Tech Tuesday highlights the best and brightest ideas in the tech world. ABCey would like to recognize these up and coming technologies for their innovative ideas and impact on the event world!
getplanning is a comprehensive digital planning and collaboration tool! It stores all of your event planning documents, such as schedules, contracts, and menus, for easy access so everyone involved with the event can be up-to-speed on what is going on from beginning (contracts) to end (billing).
getplanning allows for unlimited users and events so you can seamlessly plan for a variety of events. It also provides realtime communication and action so no one will be unreachable ever again! The best part: You can customize getplanning to match your company’s colors and branding requirements!
Why We Love getplanning: Not only is getplanning super easy to use, but it’s all stored in the Cloud, so it can be accessed anywhere, anytime, and by anyone! Furthermore, all documents uploaded to getplanning are encrypted for maximum security. We’re not the only ones who love using getplanning as Hilton Worldwide just announced in January that it would be incorporating the event management software into its system.
Would you use getplanning to help organize your next event? Let us know in the comments below on Facebook and Twitter!
Using Technology to Enhance Guest Experience
In an era of apps, event planners are not only utilizing technology on the back end, but are starting to incorporate wireless technology into the events themselves to enhance guest experience. For marketing professionals, it’s also interesting to think about how some of these new trends can be leveraged to further elevate your brand. Lets take a look at a few examples of this in action:
1. RFID Technology
Music festivals such as California’s Coachella Festival and Belgium’s Tomorrowland music festival use radio frequency identification technology, RFID, wristbands in lieu of admission tickets. This not only makes festival entrance a little more seamless, but as an added social benefit where daily attendees can check into stages and otherwise connect with one another.
Tennessee’s Bonnaroo music festival also allowed attendees to swipe their wrist bands at various photo booths around the festival and have the photos automatically upload to their Microsoft OneDrive cloud account.
2. Snapchat’s Our Story
We saw the power of the event hashtag with Instagram and Twitter, being able to remotely browse pictures and tweets from an event. Now, Snapchat’s Our Story features aggregates users ‘snaps’ happening at an event into one fun photo,video story. The implications of adding a new level local and remote awareness to your event could be huge.
3. 3D Selfies
With the increasing popularity of 3D printing, companies like Shapeways bring a whole new dimension to the selfie. Party goers interested strike a pose, hold still for about two minutes while a camera works its magic. Two weeks later, your mini-me arrives on your door stop. The ultimate party favor!
Have you seen any of these technology innovations at events you’ve attended? Any other impressive uses of technology in the events? Tell us about it in the comments below or on Facebook and Twitter!
Tech Tuesday: Maptiv8
Tech Tuesday highlights the best and brightest ideas in the tech world. ABCey would like to recognize these up and coming companies for their innovative ideas and ability to think outside the box!
In today’s events world, we are always looking for ways to engage event attendees. Maptiv8, founded by Seth Familian of Familian&1, is a new private directory visualization platform for students, alumni, event attendees, and supporters.
The Map Admin sets branding and adds the member list, which enables you to visualize the list in an appealing and simple way. Maptiv8 will then invite members via email, and reveal affinities within the community. Once members sign in with Facebook, LinkedIn, or email, the map will automatically take shape! This ignites connections and actions among the Map members.
Some of Maptiv8’s powerful features are an easy 30-second profile setup, activity feeds and profile notes, up to three custom affinity groups which can be based off of cities, industries, or companies, campaigns and events, and volunteer tools to drive engagement.
What’s great about this platform is there are three different options that can be used based on the type of groups you are involved with. GradMap is designed for students, alumni, faculty and staff. OrgMap is for members and supporters of both non-profits and for-profits. RSVPeeps is for attendees of events and conferences to utilize, which will enable event networking!
The pricing is straightforward and aligned with the number of Map members. Mini is used for up to 100 members, Midsize is up to 500 members, and Mega is up to 5,000 members. We love Maptiv8 because it has so much versatility and adheres to audiences made up of different groups and sizes!
Would you use Maptiv8 to engage your attendees?! Which features do you like best? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook & Twitter!
Tech Tuesday: 5 Event Startups to Engage your Audience
The world of technology is constantly changing and is adding value to the event industry! Here at ABCey, we love to keep up on current startups and trends that can enhance the event experience for attendees. We did some digging to find 5 event startups that will engage your audience and make them active participants throughout your event.
1. Postano: Put your attendees in the spotlight and make them feel like social media rockstars through this unique platform! Bring your conversation to life at your next event by showcasing your attendees’ social content, tweets and Instagrams on social media displays. Attendees can actively participate rather than simply listen and this will enrich their experience and create visibility for your event.
2. Catchbox: The world’s first throwable microphone was created for audience engagement. It is a great way to get participants talking! Catchbox lowers the barrier for people to comment and present questions. The box comes in different bright colors and is easy to throw or pass from one audience member to the next, making participation easy and fun!
3. PowerVote: Maximize the value of your event by engaging your audience, encouraging your participants, and encouraging their feedback. If you want your to gather information about your audience’s opinion, PowerVote can instantly display voting results in an graphical format. Presentations can be directly streamed to the audience’s mobile devices and people can vote or provide feedback in the moment.
4. Sopreso: Through this unique platform, your audience can ask, comment, and like your presentation live. Once you develop a presentation and run Sopreso on your laptop, the audience can connect to the presentation with their smart devices. Additionally, this platform extends the lifetime of your presentation! You can easily follow up on your leads, answer all questions, and keep the community alive.
5. TweetWall Pro: A TweetWall offers a great opportunity to interact with audiences. Rather than asking a few audience members questions, inspire all attendees to share their thoughts. People can ask questions on Twitter and get live responses. Interesting topics can quietly be discussed, and interaction is highly encouraged. Onlookers of TweetWalls find it difficult not to participate, inspiring engagement from all viewers. Post event reports allow you to follow up with attendees directly!
With so many advances in technology, passive audience participation is coming to an end. We love each of these startups, and Postano really stands out to us because you can see what people are saying about your event and what popular topics of interest are, as well as create visibility for your event! Which of these unique event startups would you use to engage your audience members? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook and Twitter!
RSA Conference: Find out what the Mobile App can do!
Today marks the first day of the RSA Conference! This yearly event began in 1991 and has become as a forum for cryptographers to gather and share the latest knowledge and advancements in the area of Internet security. The conference is taking place at the Moscone Center and the week will be filled with live keynote sessions, seminars, tutorials, networking and more! Here at ABCey, we are so excited to be producing FireEye’s Guardians of the Galaxy themed event this Wednesday in conjunction with RSA.
With so many opportunities to take advantage of this week, how will you build your schedule? The RSA Conference Mobile App is a great solution! This mobile app allows you to:
- View agenda items and explore sessions
- Build your personal schedule and manage meetings with fellow attendees
- Access speaker profiles, sponsor information, and find networking opportunities
- View interactive maps of the Moscone Center and of the expo floor
- Participate in the conversation on Twitter through the #RSAC stream
- Update – a quick way to share photos, comments, where you are, and which session you’re attending
- Activity – see what other people are doing, view photos of the event, find trending sessions and topics, and “like” and comment on other attendee check-ins
- Agenda – view the full agenda and related information (session time, room number, etc.)
- Attendees – see who is at the event and connect with them through the app
- Sponsors – find sponsors, check-in to leave comments and feedback
- Profile – you have an official app profile which highlights your name, profile photo, title, and company
ABCey’s Weekend Lineup 2.6.14 – 2.9.14
Don’t let the rain stand in the way of getting out this weekend! There are tons of awesome events going on, and we can’t wait to share our favorite picks! Our Weekend Lineup features a great mix of activities including tech mixers, a Film Festival, a Valentine’s themed 5k dash, and more.
FEATURED EVENT | Startup & Tech Mixer| 181 Third Street |Friday, February 7th| 5pm | San Francisco is a city filled with startups and tech companies! The Startup & Tech organization creates opportunities for learning, inspiration, and creation. The platform fosters an environment where participants can have interactions with the best and brightest of today’s innovators. This fun experience will include music, interactive exhibits, art displays, a speaker series with 4 dynamic panels and more! Get your tickets for this can’t miss event.
1. CrowdFunding Movement Extravaganza| 111 Minna|Thursday, February 6th |6-10 pm| The CrowdFunding Movement is throwing a party to celebrate Valentine’s Day. Come enjoy delicious sweets and drink specials at the city’s premier entrepreneurship event made possible by Crowdfunders for Crowdfunders. Product designers and developers will participate in a Keynote Speaker Series to showcase how they are using crowdfunding and technologies to startup. Entry is free, so get your tickets now!
2. SF Independent Film Fest | Roxie and Brava Theaters |Ongoing from February 6th|One of the cities biggest film festivals, also known as SF Indie, celebrates its “Sweet 16th” and kicks off this weekend! This annual festival showcases the best in independent, alternative, and subversive cinema from all around the globe. Screenings will be held at the Roxie and Brava Theaters in SF and at the New Parkway in Oakland. Don’t forget to attend the awesome parties such as the annual Disco costume party and The Big Lebowski party! Check out the full lineup and ticket information.
3. Food from The Heart| Ferry Plaza |Friday, February 7th |5-7:30 pm|Come out to stroll the candlelit Grand Nave where the Marketplace merchants and restaurateurs will be offering seasonal hors d’oeuvres ($2-4 each) and Slow Food will pour wine from different wine bars($6-8 per glass). The proceeds of these purchases benefit Slow Food San Francisco. Additionally, you can take advantage of the marketplace shops open until 8pm for Valentine shopping!
4. Salted featuring DJ Spinna|Mighty|Saturday, February 8th |6-10 pm|Best known around these parts for his Wonderfull Stevie Wonder tribute nights and Michael Jackson vs. Prince “soul slam” events, DJ Spinna makes his way back to the Bay from Brooklyn. He will debut at the soulful house haven Salted. As both a producer and DJ, Spinna has deep roots in house, soul, funk, and hip-hop. We can definitely expect to hear an eclectic mix from him!
5. San Francisco Valentine’s Day Dash 5K|Music Concourse, Golden Gate Park|Sunday, February 9th |9am|Come out for this Valentine’s day themed run/walk where people can participate individually or as a two-person team! There will be a costume contest, participant shirts, Tunnel of Love sign making area, free food and drink, and a finish-line festival beer garden! There is also a free kids dash for children 10 & under.
Let us know which one’s you will be attending in the comments below or on Facebook & Twitter! Stay warm & dry kids!
Tech Tuesday: Crowdtilt
The 7th Annual Crunchies Awards are just around the corner! Here at ABCey, we did lots of digging and research to cast our votes. There are truly some unique companies and apps up for nomination! Let’s take a look at a platform from the tech world that stood out to us: Crowdtilt.
Crowdtilt is nominated in the Best Collaborative Consumption Service category. It serves as the largest funding platform for group experiences, purchases, and causes! Crowdtilt is a quick and simple way to pool funds with your friends and family.
This platform makes it a breeze to collect money for shared experiences such as group vacations and birthday parties. Costs can be split evenly for group purchases like wedding gifts, concert tickets, or dinner parties. Is there a cause near and dear to your heart? Support your favorite non-profit or local community by pooling funds through Crowdtilt.
Check out the video on How it Works! Let’s break it down. There are 3 easy steps to how Crowdtilt can collect funds for you.
1. Set things up: Develop a campaign by creating a description for it, add an image, and choose how much money you want to raise or collect.
2. Spread the word: Generate buzz by telling friends and family about your campaign through social media. Email, tweet, and post on Facebook!
3. Get paid: As soon as the campaign tilts, every participant’s card is charged. You will get the funds via direct deposit.
We love what Crowdtilt has to offer! Would you try it to plan your next group vacation, dinner party, or fundraiser? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook & Twitter! Don’t forget to vote and purchase your ticket for the 7th Annual Crunchies Awards!
Event Designer Predictions: Top Trends in 2014
As 2014 quickly surfaced, event designers made their predictions for hot trends as well as tired ones. At ABCey, we love to keep ahead of the curve on emerging trends, especially in event design. Here are predictions from some top event designers based on three design elements: theme, props, and color palette.
LESLEE BELL
Leslee Bell, founder of Decor & More: Themes can truly set the tone for an event. Leslie says ‘Cirque’ and ‘Alice in Wonderland’ are themes that will remain popular in 2014. Stand-up receptions will continue to go for the club look, using colors such as grays and blacks to make the setting more enticing than the basic white on white. Circus is a theme that is predicted to be on its way out. As far as props go, Leslie believes the bolder the prop, the bigger the impact. Oversized props such as mirrors, moveable walls, and giant walk-through frames will add depth and drama. She also believes bold, tropical colors are in for the next year.
MATTHEW DAVID HOPKINS
Matthew David Hopkins from 360 Design Events: Aligned with Leslee’s predictions on color palettes, David believes bold colors are in, not only for 2014, but for the next few years. He says combining metallics is what’s hot for this year. A mix of gunmetal and gold or copper is in. What’s out: orange is a color that is fading, and won’t make an impact on your 2014 event. Metallic tableware and tinted glass will be found on tabletops at events in 2014. According to Matthew David, a neutral linen combined with a pop of color is “very now.” He also suggests to keep an eye out for cobalt glass, as it will be very prevalent over the next couple years.
EDGAR ZAMORA
Edgar Zamora from Revelry Event Designers: Mixtures of ‘trend’ and ‘Old World’ make unique themes for 2014 events. This theme can be executed by using wood, mirrored, and antique tables. This can create an unforgettable dining experience for 100 – 200 guests. Shabby chic is a theme that is tired, and will not be seen in 2014 events. According to Edgar, guests are looking for events that bring elements with legacy and history. Trending color palettes are basic whites with pops of lavenders and purples.
JAMES DOUGLAS
James Douglas from Shiraz Events: Rustic modern is a hot theme for 2014. This new trend is compiled of raw materials with wood finishes, and a color palette of black and silver. Mason jars, wood coffee tables, and vintage barn pendants can create a rustic setting with a modern twist. Black and gold decor is in, while pleated stage skirting is out. What’s up and coming? Furniture and various decor pieces with neon lining.
Themes, props, and color palettes are each important design elements that add to any event! What do you think of the 2014 predictions from these event designers? Do you have any predictions of your own? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook and Twitter!