Good to Know B R I G H T I D E A S , N O TA B L E N E W S , C O O L T R E N D S It isn’t news that event apps are pretty much must-haves. “The days of printed agenda books and so on are so far gone!” says Barbara McRae, chief planner at Strategic Events in Grimsby, ON. “There really is an expectation from your attendees that they’re going to get a comprehensive mobile app.” Yet with so many providers, dazzling features, not to mention concerns around costs and more, finding a good fit can be fraught. How to choose? We asked McRae, as well as Muhammad Younas, founder and CEO of vFairs, a Canadian event platform, for advice: STEP 1: EVALUATE YOUR REQUIREMENTS Event complexity: Holding a small gathering or one-day internal meeting? Here, McRae says an event app may not make sense. “But anything that’s two, three days, where you’re getting more than, say, 50 people, it’s a great tool.” Features: Apps commonly include registration and sign-in capabilities, event information like agendas, and often web-based and mobile IGNITE YOUR... formats. Beyond that, McRae says, “There is no one app that does it all.” She advises thinking about what you’re trying to accomplish first. For larger events, this might include check-in capabilities, chatbots, social and video feeds, gamification, reporting and translation, along with enabling attendees to “communicate with each other while they’re onsite, have a full agenda they can customize, have access to all of the sponsors and allow sponsors to upload brochures.” Often, says McRae, “You’re looking for something that’s quite robust nowadays that will meet all of your stakeholders’ needs.” Types of apps available: Solutions can range from inexpensive “off-the-shelf” products that handle the basics, to fully customizable solutions from third-parties. At the high-end, vendors also offer “white label” solutions (that display your branding) and comprehensive support. While creating a simple website or using Google Forms in-house may work for small projects, Younas says, “Anything beyond that, I don’t think it makes sense to do it in house, because no matter how big your technology team is, how much time Three steps for nailing the right tech for your event’s needs by Connie Jeske Crane → EVENT APPS FAST FACTS 68% of attendees think it’s vital for events to offer a mobile event app. 73% of organizers feel event platforms contributed to positive outcomes at recent conferences. Source: Bizzabo, 2024, 2023 Fall 2025 | Ignitemag.ca | 11
