In an exciting new twist this year, the AIBTM Exhibition in Orlando, Florida, added some competition to the mix, with their first ever, Innovation Awards, organized by the Meeting Pool. The judges were asked to evaluate based on more than just technology, searching for great achievement in innovation and creativity. They specifically sought out products that transform how professionals are able to purchase, plan, execute, and, report on their events.
Well-qualified judges from a range of companies such as, Michelle Bergstein-Fontanez from Beat Creative, Stefania Conti Vecchi from Eventagist, Tess Vismale from iSocialExecution, Maarten Vanneste from ABBIT, Jessica Levin of Seven Degrees of Communications, and members of the Meeting Pool were selected to take on the challenging task of choosing just one winner. After looking at a subset of the Top 10 innovations, the judges narrowed their choices down to three game changers in the event industry.
The top three contenders were Event Farm, Digitell Inc., and, the Vienna Convention Bureau & Barcelona Convention Bureau. Eventually, despite stiff competition, Event Farm took home the first place prize with Hover, an incredible meld of physical presence and technology that uses RFID near field communication, and, affordable, off the shelf tablets to provide a personalized experience for attendees at events. In response to the award, Brennan McReynolds of Event Farm stated, “To have our NFC platform HOVER receive the AIBTM Innovation Award, is a honor and testament to our values and our passion as a company. Following in the leadership of The Meeting Pool, It’s our responsibility as an event technology provider to participate in areas like the Innovation Zone that serve as resource in helping buyer’s become more educated on what the appropriate technology tools are for their needs.”
The Vienna Convention Bureau & Barcelona Convention Bureau finished in second place with their coopetition program, an easy way for planners to get to know the advantages of both Vienna and Barcelona and to do two concurrent years in those cities and book them together.
Digitell Inc. came in third place with Syndicast, a product that allows individual exhibitors to stream and syndicate show content directly from their own websites or portals.
Concluding the ceremony, Michael Lyons, Exhibition Director for AIBTM, thrilled with all the innovation and creativity, said, “Congratulations to all of the exhibitors on some incredible new products and services for meeting professionals, and to our recognized award recipients for their excellence in the industry.”
sarahlane
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