Fallstudien

BACKGROUND
The HBAA Annual Forum is a one day event attended by over 260 delegates. As a well established forum, it brings professionals together from across the events and hospitality industry to discuss the most pertinent and current topics, and to exchange ideas, learn from each other and to support the development of people.

The format for the event included key note speakers, interviews with industry leaders, panel discussions and debates incorporating audience polling, plus campfire sessions and leadership workshops.

CHALLENGE
Apps provided for previous events by other suppliers had failed to attain high levels of adoption due to insufficient training and guidance on how to use them in the most effective way. Our brief was to facilitate meaningful engagement for delegates, provide relevant information and knowledge to the event team, ensuring sufficient training and guidance was given to all stakeholders to maximise adoption.

Further to this, as a newly condensed one-day event, the event organisers needed to streamline the organisation of individual delegates’ agendas, to ensure they could move seamlessly from session to session throughout the day.

APPROACH
We worked closely with the event team to build their trust in the capability and relevance of the app for all event stakeholders, as well as liaising with the venue to ensure adequate Wi-Fi capability.

Prior to the event, delegates were invited to participate in surveys which then encouraged them to download and engage with the app on their own devices. By encouraging early participation in the technology, excitement and interest in the event was built and snippets of information regarding the subjects to be discussed were revealed. An interactive agenda feature allowed delegates to shape the content of particular sessions. Delegates were asked to select which questions speakers should answer during their interviews.

At the beginning of the event Chris Elmitt, Crystal Interactive’s Managing Director, introduced the app to delegates explaining the app’s purpose and its features so they felt confident using it.

We designed a bespoke feature in the app enabling individual personalised agendas to help address the challenge of moving delegates quickly between sessions and rooms. The app helped organisers ensure swift turnaround times between sessions and reduced reliance on paper based methods. 

By providing our advice and technical knowledge, we took the strain of managing and maximising the use of the app which gave the organising team peace of mind.

ABOUT THE CLIENT
HBAA is the trade association for the hotel booking agency, apartment and venue community. Agent members run businesses that specialise in the procurement of accommodation, meetings and event facilities and services, both in the UK and internationally, on behalf of corporate clients. HBAA is the association that supports them and the hotel and venue companies they work with.