As 2013 comes to a close, ACTIVE Network™ Business Solutions wanted to take a moment to reflect on our business and the event technology industry, in general, in 2013. We are extremely proud to say that two more of the world’s top 10 technology companies chose ACTIVE this year because of our innovative approach. These companies understand that event technology is as important to engaging customers as CRM and marketing automation technologies. We now power the Meetings and Events for nine of the top 10 global technology companies, reaffirming our position as the leader in SMART EVENTS™ technology.
In terms of the event tech industry, we saw several exciting developments in 2013, specifically:
- Meetings and Events continue to stage a comeback from the recession, with approximately 9 percent of the average company’s entire budget now spent on Meetings and Events1.
- The need for visibility into this spend is driving the adoption of Strategic Meetings Management (SMM) by more organizations around the world2.
- More companies are incorporating social media into their event-management strategies─not only for marketing purposes, but also to enrich attendees’ experiences and extend the life of their events.
2013 was a big year for us in terms of new-product development! We announced the all new ACTIVE RegOnline™, a completely redesigned, intuitive event-management solution that makes it easy for planners at all levels of experience to manage and promote any event. The all new ACTIVE RegOnline includes an integrated sourcing tool allows planners to send eRFPs to the hundreds of thousands of hotels and venues around the world in our global suppler marketplace.
We also announced the SMART EVENTS™ Cloud in 2013─the industry’s first and only solution that integrates SMM and event marketing technologies to bring “Big Data” to the Meetings and Events industry. Chris Dwyer, research director at Ardent Partners, said that the SMART EVENTS Cloud has the potential to be a game changer in the event technology industry. Click here to download our whitepaper, “Big Data: Transforming Meetings & Events With Better Intelligence.”
Below some of our additional news highlights from 2013. We thank you for your support this year and wish you a safe and happy Holiday Season. Stay tuned for many exciting developments in 2014!
- JR Sherman, Senior Vice President and Senior General Manager was named one of Business Travel News’ “Top 25 Most Influential Executives.”
- We released a report entitled “Event Trends: A Smarter Way to Run Today’s SMART EVENTS.” The report looked at event trends in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Chicago, Orlando, and New York from 2008 – 2012. It revealed that that today’s Meetings and Events are smaller in size and shorter in length, and that organizers are planning with shorter lead times.
- We shared results of a survey conducted in partnership with iMeet entitled “What RFPs Mean to SMBs: Turning Headaches into Solutions for Event Planners.” Among the findings, roughly half of all survey participants reported using multiple separate technology tools throughout the event management process. Additionally, planners who use online hotel and venue sourcing tools said they are able to complete tasks, and receive responses to eRFPs, sooner.
- Vice President of Industry Strategy Kevin Iwamoto was named one of Successful Meetings’ “Top 25 Most Influential People in the Meetings Industry”
- At GBTA in August, we shared an Aberdeen Group study entitled “Strategic Meetings Management 2013: Compliant Companies Leading the Way.” The study showed that compliant companies report 167 percent higher realized and implemented cost savings resulting from strategic Meetings and Events spend than non-compliant companies.
- We also unveiled the second edition of our popular eBook at GBTA, “SMM Champions: Best Practices for Developing SMM.”
- In September, we announced that we teamed up with VFM Leonardo to provide online virtual venue tours in StarCite®, allowing organizers to take a better look at hotels and venues.
- At IMEX in October, we unveiled our Social Media Playbook including best practices, tips and tricks for developing a winning social media strategy for Meetings and Events.
- In November, our clients, Adobe and Cisco, each won Event Marketer EventTech Awards─Adobe for “Best Use of Data Collection Technology” and Cisco for “Best Use of Social Media B-to-B.”
- Our Event Management and Best Practices & Expertise Series continued throughout the year, with its best and brightest presenting on everything from Big Data, to social media, to SMM, and eRFP best practices at industry events, such as MPI WEC, GBTA, HSMAI, and IMEX
© 2013 The Active Network, Inc. All rights reserved. StarCite is a registered trademark of The ACTIVE Network, Inc. ACTIVE Network, ACTIVE RegOnline, Activity and Participant Management, and SMART EVENTS are trademarks of The Active Network, Inc. All other trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.
References
- “Managing the Evolution: Meetings Management for the SMB Organization,” Aberdeen Group, Nov. 2012
- Global Business Travel Association report, “The State of Strategic Meetings Management 2013”
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