Ahead of his talks at The Meetings Show, we speak to Taylor Smith, VP and Executive Creative Director at BCD Meetings & Events, about under-utilised tech in the events industry.
With 20 years in creative production and events, working with big name brands such as Apple, Toyota, and Uber, Taylor Smith knows the ins and outs of using technology to enhance your event.
He’s worked with tech start-ups to mega corporations, designing and delivering hundreds of highly successful events within a range of budgets. As the VP and Executive Creative Director at BCD M&E, Taylor leads the production and content team and all elements of creative, content, and live event experiences.
Something which is often on event organisers minds since the pandemic forced both event profs and delegates to rely exclusively on technology for experiences, as Taylor explains: “In terms of technology, I think the pandemic was a big reset for a lot of people, and everybody though we were going to do virtual forever, which didn’t happen. But there are some things we’re working on with customers which still apply post-pandemic.
“The Metaverse is a good example. When the pandemic hit, everyone transferred their events budget to that and spent tonnes of money on these highly immersive platforms but weren’t really willing to spend the time developing them. I think there’s a place for that kind of technology post-pandemic to continue the conversation and feed content to your attendees year-round, so it’s not just, ‘see you next year’.”
“Everybody is talking about it, but not everybody knows how to use it properly.“
AI has dominated headlines this year, but most event professionals are still not using this tool to its greatest potential: “Everybody is talking about it, but not everybody knows how to use it properly. It’s good at being an assistant for more of the logistics side of things, but on the creative side it’s a whole different world using AI to write scripts, or to create storyboards or visuals. Just as with any other technology, it’s important to approach it with caution and research, and test ways of slowly incorporating it into your workflow. AI is only as good as the people using it and that’s the same with any technology. It’s a really powerful tool, but if you don’t know how to use it you’re going to break something, or not get the most out of it.”
Many larger events are using show- stooping bits of technology as a talking point or marketing device. From projection mapping over a venue’s exterior, to holograms of long-dead celebrities, there’s no shortage of wow-factor moments modern tech can produce, but Taylor believes that few event profs are truly exploring what can be done: “I think there’s this common theme of using technology just for the sake of saying that you’ve used it. Ten years ago, at Coachella there was the Tupac hologram, and everybody lost their minds and thought ‘this is what we need at our sales kick-off’. So they took an amazing piece of technology that took years and years and millions of dollars to build in a one-off controlled setting, and then tried to recreate it without any thought or budget or effort in their own space.
“Projection mapping isn’t new to events for some of the more highly experiential uses either. But in order to properly projection map on to something and get the angles and lines correctly, it requires an entire team of highly skilled people and special equipment software. I’ve seen attempts at it which were basically using a standard slide projector.
“In the end, the way to incorporate a jaw dropping tech-based experience to your event is to invest the time and money and expertise to make it truly unforgettable.”
Check out Taylor at The Meetings Show Themeetingsshow.com