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etouches and Meetingmax Announce Integration
Companies to offer integrated event registration and housing systems

Event software specialists etouches and Meetingmax announced today an integration of their systems. The two companies will offer professional conference organizers a system that leverages etouches’ expertise in attendee engagement and Meetingmax’s online housing reservation capabilities.
"Our partnership with Meetingmax reflects our commitment to providing our customers seamless access to essential, quality solutions," says Leonora Valvo, founder & CEO, etouches. "Meetingmax has developed a focused expertise which, in combination with etouches, is a powerful offering."
The integration will offer event attendees a unified online interface that will take them through the registration process and allow them to book space at one of the event’s participating hotels. This will eliminate the duplication of data entry and give organizers comprehensive data and reporting capabilities.
“etouches and Meetingmax have a lot in common. We are both young companies with intimate knowledge of what it takes to plan events,” says Jeff Duncan, COO Meetingmax Systems. “By working together we can enhance the way we do business and make our clients’ lives easier by offering them a complete package.”
Interestingly, the two companies started out as event management companies. Their founders weren’t satisfied with available event management software solutions so they developed their own, each focusing on different areas. With increasing interest in their software, both etouches and Meetingmax transformed from event planning companies to software companies.
The integration was first developed for a joint client, International Conference Services (ICS). ICS approached the two companies to inquire about integrating their systems to allow for seamless conference registration and housing management.
“With this integration, my team gets their dream system,” says Mathias Posch, President, International Conference Services Ltd. “The system will save a significant amount of staff time and will allow us to be much more strategic with our e-marketing. For example, we can now easily follow up with people who haven’t booked their rooms, without irritating those who have.”
The integrated system is available to meeting planners or conference organizers upon request by contacting either etouches or Meetingmax.

EventSpot from Constant Contact Brings Mobile Advances to Check-In and Ticketing Process
With EventSpot’s Passbook® integration, Constant Contact takes first step in making
Passbook relevant for small businesses and nonprofits

More Americans now own a smartphone (45 percent of adults) than a traditional cell phone. This tipping point represents a tremendous opportunity for small organizations to more efficiently engage with their customers and members through mobile technology. To support this growing trend, EventSpot from Constant Contact®, Inc. (NASDAQ: CTCT) has introduced mobile-enhanced features that allow small businesses and nonprofits to promote and manage their events in a dynamic new way.
“Small businesses clearly recognize the opportunity that mobile offers. Last fall we released results of an EventSpot Customer Survey in which 81 percent said they expect to increase their use of mobile technology to market their events in the coming year,” said Chris Litster, vice president and general manager of EventSpot from Constant Contact, a comprehensive online event management tool designed for small organizations. “The savings, both time and money, that mobile technologies present to our customers are huge. With these mobile integrations, EventSpot is putting our small business and nonprofit customers at the forefront of mobile innovation in event management.”
Mobile Check-In
EventSpot’s new features streamline the ticketing and check-in process. Tickets generated for each event attendee contain valuable, time-saving registrant information, including name, payment status, guest information, fee type, items purchased, and a QR code. With the Event Check-In for Constant Contact App, event planners and attendees benefit from an accurate, fast check-in, alleviating lines.
Passbook® Integration
EventSpot’s seamless integration with Passbook puts it ahead of the industry curve. iOS6 users can download their event ticket as a pass with one push of the button, bypassing the need to download the app on their device or enter in any additional information. They can then store their ticket in one place, along with other tickets, loyalty cards, etc.
These enhancements to the EventSpot check-in experience mean added convenience for attendees, who do not need to print out tickets if they prefer to present tickets from a mobile device or Passbook. As for event planners, they can efficiently check in attendees by name, ticket number or QR code scan and mark them as attendees.
“With mobile technology becoming increasingly popular, we can expect to see even more attendees looking for the convenience of mobile registration and check-in,” said Corbin Ball, CMP, CSP, Meetings Technology Analyst. “Of course, there’s a learning curve, as with any emerging technology, so the more easy-to-use, mobile-enabled event management tools available to event hosts, the better.”

Stowe Business Launches Charitable Donations Program
Image Outfitters customers may donate a percentage of order revenue to the charity of their choice through iShare

Image Outfitters has been providing custom promotional products for businesses around the world and proudly contributing to nonprofit organizations since its founding in 1998. During the economic downturn, the company noticed many worthwhile organizations suffering from under-funding and created iShare to combat the issue. iShare is a charitable donations program that allows Image Outfitters customers to help better their communities and the organizations they care about by donating a portion of their order’s revenue.
Through iShare, Image Outfitters customers may direct ten percent of the revenue from their order to the 501 (c)(3) charitable organization of their choice. The first iShare donation was made in April of this year, and donations have since exceeded $7,000, while reaching a variety of organizations including LBA Children & Families Foundation, Stowe Youth Lacrosse League, and the Kiwanis of Little Havana Foundation.
“Giving back feels rewarding, and we want to share that feeling with all of our customers,” says Esbert Cardenas, who co-founded Image Outfitters with his wife Kirsten Cardenas. “iShare provides an opportunity to not only feel good about your contribution, but to also see it in action in your community or any worthwhile cause where you choose to direct it.”
Image Outfitters does not inflate prices in order to cover iShare’s donations. In fact, Image Outfitters is willing to meet or beat any competitor’s pricing before donating a percentage of order revenue to charity.
Image Outfitters was founded in Miami in 1998, but relocated to Stowe, Vermont in 2008 after the Cardenas family visited the area and fell in love with the Vermont community.
For more information on iShare visit www.iShareWorks.com

6 Things to Consider When Setting Up Wi-Fi at Events

Fast, free, reliable Wi-Fi is no longer an optional perk for convention and trade show attendees; it’s an expectation. According to Nielsen, there are now 84 million smartphone users in the United States, and many users also carry a second device such as a tablet or laptop. On one hand, the ubiquitous nature of this technology creates opportunities for planners, like generating more buzz for events by encouraging attendees to share live posts to Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and other social networks. But this hyper-connectivity also creates an added item on a planner’s to-do list: ensuring there is a fast, free Wi-Fi network that can handle the load of the event.
Read More at BizBash

CoatChex is Changing the Bailment Industry

CoatChex took the outdated coat-checking process and developed technology to make coat checking a hassle-free experience that also captures customer data for future marketing purposes. The ticketless system uses today’s technology to connect a customer’s profile with their checked belonging, and it has been used at events and venues of all sizes, from the ESPN and Maxim Super Bowl parties to a popular college bar. The CoatChex station is collapsible and highly mobile. Event organizers can opt for CoatChex to staff the station or CoatChex can simply install it so staffers can operate it themselves. Visit www.coatchex.com for more information!

Would you like to easily create your own video for an event? Click here to find out how!

Blast of New Apps

Meeting planner apps blasted into the marketplace in 2012. Each is marketed with assurances of making the life of meeting planners easier by claiming greater organization and cost efficiencies. But with the abundance of new apps for emerging technologies, comes confusion about which app is best and most targeted to improve work efficiencies, add value to meetings and save monies by replacing higher priced technologies.
Read More:

Meeting Innovation: Conference Mobile Apps and the Chicken-Egg Dance

Whenever several hundred or more are gathered for a B2B event, if there's no mobile app, people notice. They also start to wonder about how current and relevant this conference experience might be.

Read more from Donna Kastner and Cvent

Web conferencing showdown: What's the best software for online meetings?

It's become a maxim of modern business life: Your most important meeting of the year won't take place in a conference room, but rather online with all attendees viewing a common computer screen.

Read more from PCWorld

10 Apps the busy meeting professional can't live without

About a year ago I stopped carrying a laptop on short trips. It was a big — and slightly stressful moment — when I boarded a plane for a conference in San Jose with only an iPad and a presentation on iWork Keynote. But, something quickly dawned on me. Apps were made for the conference goer.

Event professionals need information on the go. And with the app market now worth over $10 billion with a staggering year-on-year growth rate of 100%, there is an app for just about every element of the business meeting experience — from the airport to the convention center and everything in between. Read More - Eric Olson, RegOnline

5 Tips to ensure virtual event success

Virtual events will never replace face-to-face events, but can be utilized as a beneficial complement. I believe that face-to-face events, virtual events, and hybrid events should all be considered within a 365 day event portfolio. Each type of event comes with its own benefits and challenges and should be used appropriate to the strategy, goals, and objectives set forth by the conference organizer and that which is best for the audience to derive benefit.

With that being said, here are 5 tips to ensure virtual event success:
Read More - Emilie Barta

Live Meetings and Events – Record Everything!

Even though I have spent most of my career working with live event technology, my career really began working in recording studios. Actually, in the beginning I mostly just hung around recording studios, and helped out wherever help was needed. I was a young musician and absolutely fascinated with audio technology. After watching thousands of hours of recording sessions I came to realize there is one rule in the studio that is paramount – record everything. Read more from Jay Ward, CTS @ Go with GoWithGenesis

Meetr™ iPhone App Launched to Track Cost of Meetings in Real Time

The new Meetr™ iPhone app gives companies and employees an engaging, accurate and easy way to keep tabs on productivity while calculating the real cost of meetings
Two Sarasota, Florida-based entrepreneurs today announced the release of their new iOS application, Meetr™. Programmer Patrick Denney and designer Miguel E. Elasmar created a unique application that helps companies and employees calculate the cost of time spent by groups or individuals in meetings, conference calls or other events – all in real time. Meetr helps answer the age-old question of “cost versus benefit,” with a humorous and entertaining twist. Meetr version 1.1.0 is now available for download on the iTunes store at https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/meetr/id578167313?ls=1&mt=8.
Meetr works by allowing the user to quickly input meeting attendees and their estimated salary, providing a running total of the cost of time spent during a particular event. Meetr automatically organizes all completed meetings under “history”, as it runs a grand total for all meetings completed within an organization’s life. The user can also save a specific group of people for reoccurring meetings. Meetr costs are displayed both in time and U.S. Dollars, and results can be shared in several different formats, including CSV files (compatible with most spreadsheets), graphs and even anonymously via Twitter.
Meetr designer Miguel Elasmar, a 2004 graduate of the Ringling College of Art and Design (http://www.ringling.edu), referred to the user interface design as “an intuitive and beautiful approach to calculating data - influenced by 1980’s LCD gadgets.”
Using Meetr is simple - drop in the salaries of your employees, fire up the app and you'll see in real-time just how much that meeting is costing your company in terms of wages. Many first-time Meetr users are shocked to see just how expensive a 'quick 15 minute meeting' is. Designed not just as a tracking tool, Meetr will spur productivity and provide an active motivator to keep meetings on-task and on-point.
Meetr version 1.1.0 is now available for download on the iTunes App Store at https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/meetr/id578167313?ls=1&mt=8
For more information, please visit http://www.meetr-app.com.

The Check In Easy Android App is Now Available

The Check In Easy App is now available for Android. Check In Easy is a simple and fast guest registration, check-in, and management at events from two people to 20,000.
Below are the three most common questions about the Check In Easy App for Android:
1) Will the Android app work and sync with my iPads and iPhones - YES! All data will sync between devices even if some are iPads and some are Androids.
2) Does the Android app have all the same features - YES! The same features are on both Android and iOS apps.
3) Any other cool features in the works? - YES! In fact, we just released the ability for multiple people in you organization or on your team get notifications when certain guests arrive.

Thirteen Meetings Technology Predictions for 2013.
By Corbin Ball

These are exciting times, the rate of technology change is accelerating with thousands of ideas, apps and innovations bubbling up to help meeting planners, exhibitors, venues and attendees to do their jobs better.

Read more from 4Hoteliers and Corbin Ball

Introducing the latest must-have accessory for brides this season – the TapSnap phototainment system

Brides who want to give their guests the ultimate wedding party are turning to TapSnap as their entertainment solution.
TapSnap is a new kind of photo booth, without the booth. Imagine how much fun it would be to play with a giant tablet computer that takes photos and you have TapSnap. Open concept and highly interactive, TapSnap seamlessly integrates a giant 42-inch multi-touch screen with social media to give wedding guests an unforgettable “phototainment experience.”
“Not everyone wants to dance, sit at their table, or pound drinks at the bar,” said Alison Rudover, who invited TapSnap to her summer wedding in North Vancouver, Canada. “We thought about what we could do to get the non‐dancers out of their chairs and really get everyone involved. TapSnap was the solution. Just about everyone made their way over to the TapSnap area and the photos are absolutely amazing. It captured candid moments of our guests just having fun. And that is exactly what we hoped for.”
TapSnap works like magic with the touch of a fingertip. Guests can compose and take their photos, draw and write personal messages on them, and then share instantly via their social media networks.
“TapSnap brings your wedding guests closer together,” said Scott McInnes, CEO and Founder of TapSnap, which has its North American headquarters in Vancouver, BC. “We see it at every wedding we’ve done – people become playful, they start laughing and soon they’re having a great time posing and sharing their pictures. It’s always fun to watch.”
TapSnap solves the age-old dilemma of providing wedding photos to guests quickly by giving guests access to wedding pictures instantly though social media. The online photo and video gallery acts as a guestbook. Friends and family who aren’t at the wedding can follow the action online through social media. TapSnap also gives guests a take-home present in the form of prints and pictures to share on social media.
The sleek, high-tech design in cool white blends in with any kind of wedding decor. Extremely portable and suitable for both indoor or outdoor events, TapSnap has a small footprint so it’s easy to find space for it at any wedding venue.
Alison and her husband Brad had first seen TapSnap at her friends’ wedding and had so much fun, they wanted to have it too.
“Party of the century was the goal for our wedding. Friends and family, beautiful weather, great food, dancing, and TapSnap made it a successful endeavor. We’re still getting feedback from our guests weeks later that it was the best wedding they’ve ever been to!” said Alison.
Learn more about TapSnap by visiting www.TapSnap.net or calling 1-877-577-0566.

Want Email Marketing Success? 6 Tips

Halloween parties are one of the most fun to throw. You get free license to get a little cheesy, a little loud, and have a lot of fun. To make sure your October 31 shindig is a ghoulish good time, here’s some food for thought on choosing and implementing the perfect theme.
Read more from Planspot

3 Things You Need to Know About Your Mobile Event App

Event apps are becoming increasingly popular among attendees. The burning question we should ask ourselves is no longer “should I offer an event app?” but rather “which event app should I offer?”.

Read more from Event Manager Blog

12 Digital Registration Systems for Events

From existing platforms that are continually being updated to others that made their debuts this year, here’s a look at what’s available in online registration systems.
Read more from BizBash