5 Technology Trends for Experience Design

12.16.2021

By Eileen Page, SVP, Digital and Ray McCarthy Bergeron, Digital Experience Director

5 Technology Trends for Experience Design

Emerging technologies have advanced at an astonishingly rapid pace due to the pandemic, driving unprecedented and innovative shifts in the experiential sector. In response, event marketers must continue to evolve and adapt with the aid of technology.

We’re highlighting five technology trends that will continue to shape the strategy behind experience design as B2B marketers plan a new wave of events in 2022 and beyond.

1) QUALITATIVE DATA ANALYTICS

“The amount of data being created is astounding. It’s doubling every seven or eight months.”
 - Michael Dell, Forbes

Today, we have access to so much data. The challenge marketers face is pulling valuable insights from the information they’ve collected – analyzing, compiling, and then contextualizing those conclusions in a meaningful way. Another challenge is survey inaccuracy and fatigue – people are tired of answering long-form questions, and external factors can skew how they rate an experience. 

Quantitative data collection is some of the easiest to understand and analyze (e.g., web page hits, number of tweets or likes), but we’re finding that qualitative data (e.g., brand awareness, consumer engagement) is a goldmine of important information marketers are frequently overlooking as it helps us understand the emotions that drive behavior.

Fortunately, there are many unique advancements in our qualitative data gathering abilities, making some of this collection passive. For example, emotional response tracking platforms like iMotions can monitor attendee reactions in real time. Facial expression and eye tracking technology can be used in an event to measure audience engagement and provide contextual insight in response. Emotional sentiment algorithms can track reactions and even the specific conversation styles that resonate among specific attendee groups. By diving deeper with smarter tools, we can fuel campaigns with sharper communication and strategy, ultimately curating better experiences.

A Note on Security and Privacy
With an abundance of data and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) comes an equal amount of responsibility. Attendees must know that their highly personal data (e.g., facial recognition, biometrics) will be kept private and secure. Building trust through confidentiality lets attendees who opt in know they are receiving an overall better experience in a secure and governed way.

 
2) AI IS EXPONENTIAL

“Some people call this artificial intelligence, but the reality is this technology will enhance us. So instead of artificial intelligence, I think we’ll augment our intelligence.” 
- Ginni Rometty

Artificial intelligence is pervasive, and arguably the defining technology of our time. Major brands like Amazon, Netflix, and YouTube use an underpinning of AI to provide next-best recommendations. In events, AI can enhance the attendee experience, and create personalization. Using the information gathered (e.g., demographics, registration data) AI can be used to predict how an individual is going to behave in a particular event setting, or what content is going to be most relevant. Based upon their conference attendance and actions, organizers can provide attendees with personalized recommendations throughout their journey.

 AI drives informed decisions and results, empowering organizers of events to expand their reach, cut costs, and improve lead generation. Take advantage of industry analysis and content that already exists to consider what AI initiatives (from chat bots to robotics intelligence) can help drive both audience engagement and strategic results for your organization.

 
3) BLOCKCHAIN – BEYOND CRYPTOCURRENCY

 Blockchain is incredibly complex and has far-reaching implications that continue to evolve. In simplified terms, the digital information (the “block”) stored in a public database (the “chain”) allows digital information to be securely recorded and distributed, making it nearly impossible to be tampered with. In an event application, beginning with attendee registration, private blockchain works off a ledger of encrypted identities to securely store payment.

 Blockchain based platforms such as KickCity help event organizers compete by promoting peer-to-peer based recommendations in a secure and optimized way. Through the power of influencer marketing, brands can save money and time on audience acquisition efforts.

4) XR - EXTENDED REALITY

Extended Reality, which refers to the combination of real and virtual environments using computer technology, offers incredible design capabilities that allow brands to build a more robust audience experience. Whether it’s Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), Mixed Reality (MR), or any future realities that technology may bring, these engineering tools can be used to up-level content that’s being presented.

 Studies show that AR can positively affect brand awareness by as much as 70%. Additionally, audience engagement on AR ads, specifically dwell times, average at 75 seconds — four times longer than mobile video. This not only gets attendees viewing and engaging with your content for longer, it also provides you with more data gathering opportunities to gauge reactions to content.

XR continues to shape new opportunities for industry events. With hybrid events here to stay, applications like Prezi offer attendees a compelling second screen experience, acting as an equalizing factor for remote and in-person audiences. Consider how this smart technology can reinforce key messaging for your strategic initiatives.

5) HYPER-PERSONALIZATION

The modern B2B buyer has been conditioned to receive a customized experience across communications. With new content constantly surfacing, data is key to performing the personalization process. Hyper-personalization takes curation a step further by using AI and customer data to respond to a customer’s unique needs and pain points. Data acts as the bank where insights can be gleaned into varying experiences and forms.

With access to a wealth of data and AI related tools, B2B marketers have the capacity and agility to hyper-personalize the entire attendee experience. With proper execution, Deloitte’s study indicates that hyper-personalization can deliver 8x the return on investment on marketing spend; however, Gartner reports that 63% of digital marketing leaders struggle in executing on a customized approach. In entering a new year of events, consider what intelligence can strategically and successfully reach your attendees in a hyper-personalized way.

Are you looking to get the most out of technology to engage your audiences? Let us help you. Contact your account director or info@iv.com to learn more.