Battling Short Attention Spans

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A 2015 study conducted by Microsoft found that the average attention span is about eight seconds. This gives us about five more seconds to keep your attention.

Still with us? Keep reading to learn how to do the same with your attendees.

Getting people to your event is only the first step. Once they arrive, you have to battle for their attention. Work-related emails, text messages from home, social media check-ins, and even the quest for the next level in Candy Crush all threaten to steal the focus of attendees. We've pulled together a couple of ideas to put to work as you battle to make it past the eight second mark.[Tweet "Once they arrive at your event, you have to battle for their attention. #GovEventsBlog"] Continue reading →

Alexa, Can You Tell Me About GSA’s Virtual Assistant Pilot?

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From time to time GovEvents will come across information we feel our members and audience would benefit from. Here's something we wanted to share:
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In the future, citizens seeking government services might not flock to websites. Instead, they might ask their Amazon Alexa, Apple's Siri or a text-based chatbot for help.
At least, that's the plan, per a new pilot program at the General Services Administration.
This week, GSA launched a pilot that would walk federal agencies through the process of setting up virtual assistants, powered by machine-learning and artificial intelligence technology, which can eventually be deployed to citizens.
The goal isn't just to produce more "intelligent personal assistants," or IPAs, GSA's Emerging Citizen Technology Office lead Justin Herman told Nextgov. It's also to build out a structure internally, complete with toolkits and guides, so agencies can decide for themselves whether this technology is worthwhile, he explained.
"The easiest part of this is actually building them," Herman added.

They're also learning how federal data can be presented so it's accessible to those virtual assistants, he added.
GSA plans to run the pilot over the next month and to be able to give agencies the policy, accessibility, security and privacy guidance they need to build a virtual assistant. Eventually, GSA could hand those findings to tech companies so they could better support agencies building IPAs on their platforms.
The pilot's first phase covers making read-only public data available to citizens agencies are considering future phases that are increasingly complex, Herman explained.
GSA's Emerging Citizen Technology Office is also working on similar programs related to virtual reality and augmented reality, Herman said.

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Names Have Power. Be Sure to Pick the Right One

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The government market is not known for having catchy or memorable slogans. Job titles of executives routinely spread over two lines. Legislative actions are named as blandly as possible and then later nicknames are coined for easier pronunciation, quick recall or political branding. Look at how the Personal Responsibility in Food Consumption Act became the Cheeseburger Bill and how the Affordable Care Act became Obamacare.

It's not surprising then that events for the government audience tend to follow these same naming patterns. While music lovers have Lollapalooza and entertainment fans have Comic Con, Federal workers attend Government Software Forums and Data Analysis for the New Threat Landscape. While these are important and serious topics, we'd like to challenge government meeting planners to come up with more creative naming conventions to drive interest and excitement around these critical topics.[Tweet "Ideas for getting creative with government event names. #GovEventsBlog #GovernmentMeetings"] Continue reading →

The Human Factors Leading to Higher Event Effectiveness

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From time to time GovEvents will come across information we feel our members and audience would benefit from. Here's something we wanted to share:

Empty hotel conference meeting or event room provides space for business meetings conferences speakers or events. Tables and chairs set up to view projection screen.

We all want to be actively engaged with experiences that mean something to us personally or professionally. These are the events in our lives that lead to great stories people want to hear and that make memories we cherish long after the occasion ends. Our professional events should have the same impact. Events and exhibiting are people businesses. Anything that emphasizes and appeals to each individual's humanity produces authentic engagement and deeper meaning for all involved.

GES MarketWorks asked corporate marketing leaders, brand managers and event marketers about their event objectives. Revenue, Enhanced Customer Interactions and Brand Awareness topped the charts,essentially tied with about 70% of responses. Corporate responders reveal logic that should penetrate all event strategies and planning. Several factors lead to higher event profitability and success, engagement (enhanced customer interaction), brand awareness and personalization.

Engagement

Whether you are an exhibitor or a corporate host of a company event, engagement is a major objective. Unlike other objectives, engagement provides the emotional tie that binds people. It acts as the pathway to accomplish and magnify other objective results.

Customer engagement certainly stands at the top of priorities for chief marketing officers globally. In IBM's 2016 CMO Perspective report , 66% of CMOs held "developing deeper, richer customer experiences as their top marketing priority."

Awareness

With emotional engagement, brand awareness is easier to accomplish. People believe because they are emotionally invested. Engagement and brand awareness lead to revenue because they generate an emotional bond with the brand. As Ben Franklin said, "Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn."

Events create advocacy because deep engagement builds brand loyalty and because engagement happens best in face-to-face events. When we asked responders about event characteristics that drive sales, Enhanced Customer Interaction led the way with 19% of responses, followed by Brand Awareness and Personalization, both with 15%.

Personalization

Brand awareness happens through personalization of content and interactions. Customers take it personally when you demonstrate authentic interest in their issues and interests. They feel appreciated and understood. That's deep engagement.

Deeply engaged customers demonstrate more brand loyalty, less price sensitivity, shorter resell cycles, and a greater likelihood of recommending the brand to their friends and colleagues. Those are the motivators behind Gallup's observation that deeply engaged customers provide an almost 25% "premium in terms of share of wallet, profitability, revenue and relationship growth over the average customer."

These survey respondents carry weight because 60% said they earn at least a 3-to-1 Return on Investment through their events. More than a quarter of respondents (27%) earned ROI of 5-to-1 or greater. They know, at least intuitively, what Joshua Foer, a freelance journalist and champion memory competitor said, "We remember when we pay attention. We remember when we are deeply engaged." Learn more about Event ROI

What are you changing in your events to deeply engage customers based on more personal, relevant interaction? Is event consistency driving more attendees to participate less frequently? This infographic will help guide your questions.

To read full peer insights from marketing executives, download our free Driving Event ROI guide.

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Behind the Curtain: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Software Government Summit

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The seventh annual Hewlett Packard Enterprise Software Government Summit, or HPE Gov Summit for short, takes place on March 22 in Washington, DC. This annual event has evolved over the years as HPE's focus has expanded as a company. The event was originally designed as way for IT management involved in the data center to get hands-on experience with the latest technologies to help with data center operations. Through acquisitions and organic growth, HPE grew their customer base beyond the data center and began working with developers, testers, integrators, and business management. The conference has followed this evolution, staying true to its hands-on roots while expanding to include technologies supported by HPE. The event has expanded to also incorporate the business and policy side of this traditionally tech-heavy event.[Tweet "Behind the Curtain: HPE Software Government Summit. #GovEventsBlog #HPEGovSummit"]

Lewis Carr, Senior Director Industry Solutions, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, has been involved in planning this event for the last six years. He took some time to give us a sneak peek into what to expect this year. Continue reading →