It seems as if tablet technology is everywhere, but for some reason, it isn’t integrated into your meetings yet. So, what is holding you back? Below are common obstacles most meeting planners face when considering ipads and tablets, and here are some creative ways to overcome them.
Obstacle #1: "I don’t have it in the budget."
This is the most common reason planners don’t rent tablet PCs. Here are some ways to justify the cost, without experiencing significant cost overruns. Here they are:
- Research the rental and application cost. It is best to rent iPads, rather than trying to retrofit your application onto the technology an attendee would bring to the conference (i.e. smartphone, laptop, or other type of tablet). Having a homogeneous platform will keep your costs down.
- Look at the total cost of printing, assembling, and shipping binders to the conference. Remember to include your time and any staff members time in the assembly process.
- Once you know your total cost differential, consider obtaining 1 or more sponsors to cover the additional cost.
Obstacle #2: "I don’t have the time to develop and load the applications."
There are many meeting applications already written for the industry and don’t require a lot of tailoring for your meeting. Here are 3 websites I would recommend to look at to determine how much time and effort will be required to customize the application.
- Meeting Apps
- Corbin Ball
- LinkedIn Discussion Groups
Regarding the loading of the applications, many times the event audio visual rental company will preload the applications onto the tablet so they are ready to go as the conference starts.
Obstacle #3: "I don’t have any tablet experience."
That’s okay if you don’t own a tablet or plan to own one. However, if you put together a technology committee with some Millennials and/or sponsors to help with attendee training and application recommendations, you will find your fears will be diminished.
Tablet technology is highly intuitive and easy to navigate. Once you use it a few times, you will wonder how you got along without the technology for so long.
Obstacle #4: "My attendees are not tech-savvy."
I have heard a lot of planners say this is the reason they are unwilling to complete the 3 steps listed above. However, the reality is, how much do we really know about our attendee’s habits and their willingness to learn? Planners won’t know how tech-savvy their participants are until they implement the technology. Getting excited about the technology yourself, having a good volunteer support staff to train the attendee on the apps, and hiring the right AV team for support, will definately help.
Don’t be held back by budget or experience! Contact AV Event Solutions for 1st and 2nd generation iPad rentals. Their tech and project management support staff is available to help you all along the way.