Together with our partner, Conference Compass, we have decided to make that extra effort to offer to our clients the opportunity to have that all so important Congress App where it can make a difference. The aim is to remove that invisible barrier for the association or organiser that seems to prevent them to take full advantage of that fantastic piece of congress technology.

By doing this Semico is once again implementing its Corporate Social Responsibility policy. Indeed, Congress Apps are green, produced locally and do not involve any potential child labour in faraway countries. Furthermore the empower the delegate before, during and even after the actual congress. They are the perfect proof that technology can enhance the quality of the meeting for the delegates.

Green and save money

It’s hard for conference organizers to “be green” if they are printing a mountain of bulky program books and venue maps. Conference apps can reduce or even eliminate the need for printed materials on-site. If the app offers note-taking capabilities, it can help cut down on the paper that attendees use as well. All of that saved paper adds up to saved money!

Before, during, after...

There are few better ways to keep your conference and sponsors in front of your attendees than having an app on their phone. Attendees will want to keep information-packed apps on their phone even after the conference is over. The app becomes a useful tool for finding reference information and acts as a constant reminder of just how great your conference was in the first place.

2014 - The Future is Now !

The Apple tagline “there’s an app for that” resonates with people because it really does seem like there is an app for everything you can imagine. Apps have now been around long enough that Smartphone users have expectations for quality and features, so it is not enough to just have an “app” for your event. The best conference apps (i.e. the ones that attendees use repeatedly) are those that help them be productive and get more out of the event with full feature sets and useful tools.

We are in the people business

Attendees don’t come to conferences just to see presentations – networking is a big factor in their decision to attend. Meeting up with friends can be arranged via email or text message, but finding a way to make new connections is the challenge. Conference apps can help facilitate networking by providing detailed information about presenters, authors and exhibitors. Attendees can get in touch with presenters and exhibitors directly within the app and schedule a time to meet.

Partners & Exhibitors : better Return On Investment

Exhibitors spend a lot of money sending materials and staff to conferences with the expectation that customers will want and be able to find them. Conference apps can offer enhanced exhibitor listings showing additional links, key products, sales staff, product catalogs and direct links to their location on the venue map. Forget bags and pens, sponsors want more meaningful options for connecting with attendees. Conference apps can act as a revenue generator for organizers by offering a variety of sponsorship opportunities. For example, premier sponsors could have custom pages and/or logo placement on main menu screens that link off to more detailed content about the company. An app can also facilitate promotion of sponsored sessions or special workshops.

Maximal Flexibility

Just image....It’s the night before the conference and your keynote speaker just called in sick... or you discovered a typo in your program... or you need to change session rooms. If you are limited to printed materials you are in trouble. Conference apps make pushing out program updates easy. As long as attendees have access to the internet (either via WiFi or cellular data networks), they can receive program updates as soon as they are available or the next time they connect.

In Conclusion

These are just a couple of elements that helped us take the decision to implement this policy. In fact we feel it is just common sense.... Together with our partner Conference Compass we want to invest in our clients and invest in the future of congresses.

Luc Niville