6 November 2012
Meet Conference Compass @EIBTM 2012
Are you attending EIBTM this year? If so, come by and visit us at stand N145!
You know that you need a mobile app for your upcoming event, but picking the right one can seem overwhelming. With all of the options on the market today, how do you know which one will best meet your needs?
You can spend your time at EIBTM letting other people tell you what you need, or you can come and visit us at the Conference Compass booth in the Technology village stand number N145. We won't waste your time by talking about frivolous features that you don't want. Instead, we'll sit down with you and find out exactly what kind of app you need for your event. And if you choose us, we'll build that app for you. It is that simple.
Looking forward to seeing you at the EIBTM!
21 August 2012
Conference Compass & ESC 2012
(Delft, Netherlands) 21 August 2012 – Teamwork is the key to offering a great conference app year after year. The European Society of Cardiology and Conference Compass worked with sponsor Bayer Healthcare to create a best-in-class app for the second year in a row.
If you offer a great conference app at your event, do you really need to change it for the next year? This was the question that the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and Conference Compass faced this year and despite high attendee satisfaction, the answer was a resounding yes.
Jelmer van Ast of Conference Compass explained, “Every conference is different, so it is important to learn the particulars of each one. 2011 was our first year to build an app for ESC (and their first app) and we gained a lot of knowledge about what the attendees and sponsors wanted to see in the next version.”
The ESC Congress 2012 app is sponsored by Bayer Healthcare and ESC invited Bayer to participate in the design process. Everyone brought ideas to the table and the Conference Compass team helped them find the best way to integrate them into the design. The end result shows improvements in usability, easier navigation of the very large conference program, layout, design, and sponsor content.
The app is available in the iTunes and Google Play stores. The app includes the full conference program, personal programs, searchable lists, venue maps and note-taking capabilities. Attendees can share content with friends and colleagues via email, Facebook and Twitter. Try it yourself by searching for “ESC 2012” in the app stores.
Thousands of conference attendees across the world have used Conference Compass apps. Conference Compass offers a range of products to fit budgets and needs. Past clients include the International AIDS Society, the European Respiratory Society, TU Delft, and the US Pre-law Advisors National Council.
30 July 2012
Increase app downloads with social media
According to a recent study, 73% of event organizers rate social media as a "very important" or "somewhat important" tool, with Facebook and Twitter being the most commonly used platforms. When combined together with email, these tools become a powerful and inexpensive communication channel for conferences. Here are some tips on how you can effectively use these tools to increase your app downloads:
- Let attendees know the app is coming as soon as you can: If you know you will offer an app before attendees begin registering, you can include the announcement in the registration confirmation email. If not, use the news as the basis for a update email to attendees.
- Bulk schedule your social media posts: You can simplify your pre-event social media work by using free tools such as HootSuite to bulk schedule your tweets and posts. You can create a spreadsheet of items to post, pick the date and time you want the post to go live, and upload them to the server.
- Assign people to tweet about the app right before and during the event: Locate a couple of social media users on your staff or program committee and ask them to tweet directly from the app about what they are doing at the event. They can use the event hashtag to show up in the twitter stream and catch attendees' attention. For tweets about the app, our research has shown that the early afternoon and end of the day are the best times to tweet and post.
30 July 2012
Top 11 Reasons Why Conferences are Offering Apps
If you are considering offering an app for your upcoming event, but aren't sure which features are important, we can help! Download our Top 11 Reasons Why Conferences are Offering Apps. You can see exactly which features other conference organizers request and see a brief description of how or why it is important.
Here is a sneak peak at the top 2 reasons:
- Help attendees find the right content: More than 500 presentations in two or more tracks spread out across several days. Does this sound familiar? It can be overwhelming for attendees to try and find the content that is right for them. Conference apps can help them target in on the most relevant content through searchable indexes of presentations, people, institutions or topics, as well as recommended sessions.
- Make networking easier: 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 quickly see when and where a person will be presenting, and organize their schedule accordingly. Attendees can easily visit an exhibitor by pinpointing their location on the venue map.
23 July 2012
Conference Compass & AIDS 2012
(Delft, Netherlands) 23 July 2012 – Conference Compass, a Delft-based technology company, is playing a large role in helping attendees of the XIX International AIDS Conference be more productive. Conference Compass developed the official mobile app for the event. The app is connected to each attendee’s personalized online conference program so that they can easily track which sessions they want to attend, connect with others and store and share information for follow-up.
On July 22, 2012 the XIX International AIDS Conference began in Washington, DC, USA. The conference has over 400 sessions, 250 exhibitors and expects more than 30,000 attendees. With so many options, attendees can easily get overwhelmed when deciding what to see and do during the event. The International AIDS Society (IAS) is using technology to make this easier and Conference Compass is playing a large role in its success.
The IAS built an online portal where attendees do all of their pre-event work including submitting abstracts, planning travel, connecting with mentors and registering attendance at workshops. The IAS looked for a technology firm to build a mobile app for attendees to use at the event.
“One of the most important capabilities the organizers wanted was for the app to connect with their online portal and user profiles,” stated Jelmer van Ast, Conference Compass founder. “Our ability to provide all of the features they wanted made us a top contender, but it was our promise to make our system work with their existing portal (rather than requiring them to match ours) that ultimately led to us winning the project.”
The app became available in the iTunes and Google Play stores last week with over 10,000 downloads already. The app includes the full conference program, personal programs, searchable lists, a venue map and note-taking capabilities. Attendees can share information with friends and colleagues via email, facebook and Twitter. Try it yourself by searching for “AIDS 2012” in the app stores.
Thousands of conference attendees across the world have used Conference Compass apps. They have a range of products to fit budgets and needs. Past clients include the European Society of Cardiology, the European Respiratory Society, TU Delft, Texas A&M and the US Pre-law Advisors National Council.
14 June 2012
In The Media: Utrecht News
Conference Compass was delighted to be included in a recent article in Nieuws uit Utrecht about the Dutch Life Sciences and Health Congress. The story focuses on the work of the organizer, Iventus, and mentions the Conference Compass app as an excellent example of how Iventus keeps the congress fresh and interesting for multi-year attendees. You can read the full article here (in Dutch): http://utrecht.nieuws.nl/nieuws/71171
10 May 2012
We're Hiring
Conference Compass is looking to expand its software development team with the addition of a new software engineer. You can find the complete job description and requirements in our careers section. All applications are welcome and encouraged!
19 April 2012
Join us at EIBTM 2012
We just finalized our registration for EIBTM 2012. EIBTM is the premier conference for the global meetings and events industry in Europe. The conference will take place on November 27-29 in Barcelona, Spain. Conference Compass will have a stand in the Technology Village and will be available for both scheduled and walk-up appointments. We hope to see you there!
11 April 2012
Conference Compass Expands
The Conference Compass team is enjoying new office space in the YES!Delft building. After doubling in headcount over the past six months, the team was more than ready to move to a larger space. The new office is more than 2.5 times bigger than the old office and has a much better position in the building. Co-founder Mathieu Gerard said, "The new space has made us more productive. We have more room for team meetings and brainstorming sessions. It has also brought more comfort into the office with natural light and a relaxing couch area." The new office still has plenty of room for the team to grow. Co-founder Jelmer van Ast said, "We already have desks set-up for two additional team members and plenty of room to add more."
Are you interested in joining the team? If so, check out our openings on the Careers page.
5 March 2012
2nd year for ESC and Conference Compass
The European Society of Cardiology (ESC) has selected to use a Conference Compass app for the second year in a row. Over 30,000 people attended last year's conference and similar numbers are expected again this year.
ESC organizers chose the Custom Branded solution for both 2011 and 2012. The Conference Compass team and their partner Marathon International are working closely with the organizers to build custom menu navigation and new ways to showcase sponsors.
Ben Hainsworth, Director of Congresses and Meetings Division at the European Society of Cardiology commented on their experience with Conference Compass in 2011, "It was great to work with such a committed, flexible and creative team… The app had all relevant features that we expected and our attendees were very satisfied with this new resource." Jelmer van Ast of Conference Compass stated, "We are really excited to work with the ESC team again. They have great vision and bring many good ideas to our discussions. We are looking forward to building a great app that fits their needs."
21 November 2011
Meet Conference Compass @ EIBTM 2011
Are you attending EIBTM this year? If so, come by and visit us. EIBTM is the leading global event for the meetings and events industry. You can find us in the Technology Village in stand number O-180 where we will demonstrate our apps and be available for private meetings.
On Tuesday, November 29th at 15.30, Jelmer van Ast - one of the founders of Conference Compass - will give a presentation on the trend of mobile apps for conferences and trade shows and the risks organizers face when these apps are dependent upon a venue's WIFI network. Be sure not to miss this presentation "Mobile Apps when WIFI sucks" in the "future events experience".
We are looking forward to seeing you at EIBTM!
9 November 2011
Extending partnership with Marathon EU and US
Conference Compass, Marathon International and Marathon Multimedia came to an agreement to extend their partnership. The objective is to let Marathon propose the Conference Compass custom conference app to their clients in Europe and in the US. In the coming year, Marathon will mainly focus on large medical societies. We already cooperate with Marathon for the ESC, ERS and EHRA.
