We're really excited to announce the release of Zerista's Mobile Social Networking Appication for Events at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. What's more, not only are we releasing the application at MWC, but MWC is also using the application as the mobile version of myMWC, the event social networking portal.
The mobile application enables event managers to protect and extend their core event business by transforming attendees and sponsors into interactive mobile communities. Zerista’s mobile application provides clear benefits to the entire event ecosystem – attendees, sponsors, exhibitors, speakers and event organizers.
We’ve designed our application to be unique in its ease-of-use, the intelligence of its content-sharing and collaboration features, and the aggregation of public media in one integrated feed.
Zerista’s application provides an event feed that uniquely captures and communicates the buzz off what’s happening at the event -- in real-time. The immediate value of Zerista’s mobile application can be recognized in real-time on the show floor as attendees can read and post updates that can be shared with the event community and immediately to the broader social net.
Zerista’s event networking platform integrates web-based and mobile content, providing value through multiple touchpoints with attendees, from their desktops to their mobile handsets.
FEATURE SUMMARY
Zerista’s mobile application provides access to the My MWC portal and its features, including:
• Smart real-time mobile feed that combines filtered public social media channel with private event follower channel, with dual-publishing options
• Personalized feed that provides real-time event updates and check ins from personal contacts at the event
• Event organizer feed to provide real-time updates on schedule changes and other event-wide announcements
• Personalized messaging and networking tools
• Advanced attendee and exhibitor search
• Personalized schedule builder with public events and personal meetings
• Integration with and aggregation of popular social tools like Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube
Mobile World Congress Participants Are First to Experience Zerista’s Powerful Mobile Social Networking Application
Solution Enhances Event’s “My MWC” Network With Real-time Features
BARCELONA – 2010 Mobile World Congress, February 15, 2010 – Zerista, the leading provider of next generation event networking software, today released its mobile social networking application at the GSMA’s 2010 Mobile World Congress, the preeminent event for the global mobile industry.The many thousands of Mobile World Congress participants are the first to take advantage of the new application, which is an extension of My MWC, the show’s official social networking portal created and powered by Zerista.
Visit Zerista in Stand 7G14 at Mobile World Congress to view a demonstration of its platform and mobile application.The event is organized by the GSMA and is being held this week from February 15-18, 2010 in Barcelona.
NEWS HIGHLIGHTS
-Zerista’s mobile social networking application is unique in its ease-of-use, the intelligence of its content-sharing and collaboration features, and the aggregation of public media in one integrated feed.
-Zerista’s event networking platform integrates web-based and mobile content, providing value through multiple touchpoints with attendees, from their desktops to their mobile handsets.
oBoth attendees and exhibitors can use Zerista’s technology to accelerate their networking experience at the conference.
oExhibitors and organizers can offer richer content and establish more meaningful connections with attendees, who are able to access content whenever they want, wherever they want, on whichever device they want.
oBoth can manage their schedules in real-time with personalized productivity tools.
-Zerista’s application is device-agnostic: Because the application is cloud-based, a user does not have to download anything to his smartphone, iPhone or other mobile device in order to take advantage of My MWC’s mobility features.
FEATURE SUMMARY
According to a 2009 survey on behalf of the Exhibition and Convention Executives Forum (ECEF), 61 percent of event organizers are targeting senior-level attendees with multiple innovative strategies to attract them to events, including social media, redevelopment of conference programming, and more. GSMA is at the forefront of the industry in enriching the experience for its attendees and sponsors before, during and after the show by leveraging the social media capabilities of the Zerista platform as part of the overall event.
Zerista’s mobile application provides access to the My MWC portal and its features, including:
-Smart real-time mobile feed that combines filtered public social media channel with private event follower channel, with dual-publishing options
-Personalized feed that provides real-time event updates on personal contacts at the event
-Event organizer feed to provide real-time updates on schedule changes and other event-wide announcements
-Personalized messaging and networking tools
-Advanced attendee and exhibitor search
-Personalized schedule builder with public events and personal meetings
-Integration with and aggregation of popular social tools like Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube
The immediate value of Zerista’s mobile application can be recognized in real time on the show floor, and participants will continue to benefit from it after the event as well.For example: Months after an event, an attendee could access archived content on his iPhone while he rides the train to work, listening to a speaker’s presentation that he was not able to attend during a conference.
Screenshots are available upon request.
QUOTE
John Kanarowski, President, Zerista: “GSMA is the leader in the mobile industry, so it’s a huge honor to have them select Zerista as a true event partner.With the launch of our mobile application, Zerista is redefining the gold standard in event management software, and in the coming months we will continue to develop and integrate powerful functionality that so far has been left untapped by others. ”
Zerista is Changing the Way the World Meets. Zerista is the provider of an easy-to-use, cloud-based event networking platform that enriches the event experience and creates a persistent connection between the event producers, sponsors and the audience. Zerista develops highly customized and branded social networks for events, enabling event management companies and exhibitors to get more out of their investments while empowering attendees to engage in a more meaningful way with content, exhibitors and other attendees throughout all stages of the event. The Denver-based company works with event management companies, associations and Fortune 1000 companies on events of all sizes across a variety of industries. For more information, please visit http://www.zerista.com.
Technology: Zerista Builds Site and Mobile Solution for Mobile World Congress
Michael J. Shapiro, February 10, 2010
Zerista, a provider of event networking software, was selected to create a customized event and mobile social networking solution for the GSMA's 2010 Mobile World Congress, a mammoth event for the mobile industry to be held Feb. 15-18 in Barcelona, Spain. Read the entire article here ...
We recently launched our largest event social network to date. The network is for the roughly 50,000 attendee and 1,300 exhibitor Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. We're really excited to provide our platform to the largest community of mobile technology and innovations professionals in the world.
“Mobile World Congress attendees and exhibitors recognized the value of Zerista immediately. That’s fantastic validation of the desire for an event-specific, open social network that facilitates a greater flow of content and communication among attendees and exhibitors. With My MWC, attendees and exhibitors alike have a central place to find information and make Mobile World Congress into a very individual and personalized experience.”
- Steve Russ, VP of Marketing
The event social network -- called My MWC -- matches the event’s unique personality and enriches both the physical and virtual aspects of the show for everyone. My MWC maximizes the networking experience for attendees and exhibitors, which ultimately helps increase their satisfaction, customer loyalty, repeat attendance, and revenue.
SOLUTION SUMMARY:
Zerista’s easy-to-use, intuitive platform integrates social networking, real-time communication and community-building to provide a richer experience for attendees, exhibitors and sponsors.
My MWC centralizes and aggregates all of the relevant content for Mobile World Congress and makes it easily accessible to the different audiences involved in the event.
Zerista connects the event ecosystem, creating a trusted customer relationship.
FEATURE SUMMARY:
Zerista’s platform delivers event-specific functionality that general-purpose social networks cannot provide, and it provides a balance of features that bring value to a number of constituencies, including attendees, exhibitors and event organizers.
Attendees:
Personalize their event experience by networking with other attendees and exhibitors, scheduling meetings, creating a conference session schedule, and more - all in advance of the event. Networking also can continue long after the physical event has ended.
Aggregate and filter event-related social media and web content in an intuitive, easy-to-find way.
Exhibitors & Sponsors:
Create “social presences” for themselves and connect with attendees in multiple, more meaningful ways. This contributes to a better experience, brand awareness, and repeat participation.
Extend the shelf life and value of their exhibition investment far beyond the show floor, both before and after the event.
Generate additional connections and leads by participating in online event conversations.
Event Organizers:
Offer a solution that maximizes networking opportunities beyond the physical event, enriching the experience for both attendees and exhibitors, and encouraging repeat – or even increased – participation in the next event.
Establish attendee and sponsor contact to support customer relationship and community.
Enterprise-class real-time API and XML integration to a wide variety of data sources and types (attendee, exhibitor, CAD/floor plan, social media, etc.).
The web-based My MWC portal includes features such as:
Advanced search and matchmaking based on common interests
Integration with and aggregation of popular social tools like Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube
Meeting schedulers
Networking tools
Exhibitor profiles with aggregated social media, web content, and news feeds
"Networking is core to Enterprise 2.0, and Zerista’s solution enables our entire ecosystem – attendees, subject matter experts, exhibiting companies, and sponsors – to interact before, during and after the event.We’ve seen hundreds of members of the ecosystem using the site.What’s more, the initial feedback has been really positive. Zerista provides our core stakeholders a great way to enhance their experience at the inaugural Enterprise 2.0 Conference San Francisco."
- Alex Dunne, Executive Producer, Live Events Group, TechWeb
Many events we work with are interested in protecting -- and equally important, extending -- their core franchise. Our platform enables them to do this by providing a next generation platform that integrates and aggregates the most relevant attendee, subject matter expert, exhibitor and sponsor in one easy-to-access place. The conference networking represents a highly interactive node within the broader social network. This enables key event stakeholders to get more value from the event, leading to increased event satisfaction, attendance, and loyalty.
Conference Social Networking Site Homepage:
Exhibiting Company Profile with Embedded Slide Presentation:
Exhibiting Company Profile with Real-Time Twitter Aggregation
"Zerista provides our critical stakeholders - attendees and exhibitors - another great reason to attend our event. Networking is a core part of our event, and the event networking site enables better networking before, during and after the event. We've seen amazing usage of the solution for weeks - hundreds of attendees are using the site. What's more, the attendee feedback has been really positive." -Trade Show Organizer
As companies scrutizines their marketing spend across channels, they are asking for higher returns from their event marketing budgets. As a result, many of the show organizers that we work with are looking for new ways to increase the marketing ROI of their sponsors and exhibitors. Given that attendance at many shows is down, increasing the quality and quantity of exhibitor leads is a true challenge. We've been working with our customers to address this critical challenge. Attendee-to-exhibitor matchmaking is one of the keys to increasing targeted introductions and conversations. Exhibitor lead quality and quantity both increase. Equally important, attendee satisfaction goes up as well due to the more targeted nature of the conversations. It's a win-win formula.
"The Congress for the New Urbanism is very excited to be using Zerista this year! Attendees have been impressed to find an event networking site that looks great and connects them with the colleagues they'll see at our conference. They're also using it to select and find sessions. It definitely surpassed our expectations." -CNU Communications Director
We recently completed a fun project working with a leading urban design conference in Denver. The Conference for the New Urbanism (CNU) is the nation's leading forum dedicated to advancing urbanism and promoting alternatives to sprawl.
We were excited to work on this project - not only because we support the general new urbanist principles, but also because we live and work in the types of communities that new urbanism seeks to encourage.
As background, New Urbanism is an urban design and development movement dedicated to implementing community-oriented principles of traditional town and city planning in contrast to the prevailing system of formless sprawl. New Urbanist developments are walkable, provide a diverse range of housing options, encourage a rich mix of uses, and provide welcoming public spaces as detailed in the Charter of the New Urbanism.
The conference attracts more than 1,000 attendees from around the world who particiapte in several hundred planned activities throughout the week.
Some of the key challgenges faced by the conference organizer:
• Strengthen relationships between core stakeholders - attendees, speakers and exhibitors
• Increase networking between attendees, speakers and exhibitors
• Increase productivity at the conference
The solution included the following key components:
• Attendee, speaker and exhibitor directories with detailed info on all key stakeholders
• Online conversations for attendees, speakers and exhibitors
• Personalized scheduling tools with ability to export MS Outlook, iCal and other calendar aps
The solution generated a significant ROI:
• 27% average increase in event networking due to Zerista (based on survey data)
• 10% average increase in overall event productivity due to Zerista (based on survey data)
If you have any questions or comments, please feel free comment below.
Many event organizers that we work with are very concerned about their event's attendance. What's worked in the past is often no longer working. As a result, event organizers are working harder than ever at finding relevant content and expanding their audiences.
We hear many questions about content - What topics are compelling this year? Should we stick to the tried-and-true or branch out to new topics? Which speakers will be a draw this year? Should we change our format?
Equally common are questions about building out the audience: How can we increase repeat attendance? How can we appeal to the younger members of our audience? What can we do to retain current exhibitors and attract new ones?
We've worked with a number of events that are growing - some of them significantly. When you step back and look at what they are doing differently than their peers, you see that the event organizers are addressing these questions creatively and early on in the planning cycle.
A great example of this kind of approach is outlined in Chris Brogan's excellent post The Art of Butts in Chairs.
In this economic enviornment, many are questioning the value of business conferences and tradeshows. In times like these, it is worthwhile to keep in mind that in-person meetings provide unique networking, informational and educational value. Bob Phibbs does a great job of summarizing some of the most important - and often-overlooked - reasons in 10 Reasons to Have That Conference and Use a Professional Speaker.
Bob's #1 reason - community - really resonates with us. By extending the conference community online before, during and after an event, we help the community form stronger and longer lasting ties.
We recently worked with an academic association on their annual conference. One of the unique aspects of this conference was its international audience: more than 50% of the attendees were from outside of the United States. The conference attracted more than 1,000 attendees from over 30 countries, with significant representation from Europe, India, and China.
Given this global audience and the fact that our software is currently English-only, we were curious to see how well our software tools would be adopted. We shouldn't have been. In fact, we saw that international adoption was the key driver of activity within the community. Many of the most active users were from around the world. Within less than 48 hours, close to 20% of international attendees were already activety using the system.
There's a more general observiation here. For conferences with geographically dispersed audiences, web-based social event tools like Zerista's add a significant amount of value to attendees.
