Playbook for a long-term Event Tech Strategy

Wound Care Today is the leading event for the community of tissue viability specialists. Each year, hundreds come together for seminar sessions and thought-leading keynotes.

VenuIQ has been working with Wound Care organisers on their annual event Wound Care Today for three years. The way they have innovated and developed how they embrace technology gives a playbook to the whole conference organiser industry. Here we share that playbook.

Initially, Wound Care Today leveraged VenuIQ’s technology as a front-facing information hub and networking accelerator in year one. Fast-forward to year three, VenuIQ now provides a seamless onsite check-in process, sponsor lead retrieval, and live reports on popular sessions. 

Let’s go back to the start and the fundamentals….

Our first event with Wound Care People focused on the areas that THEY KNEW to be true. Attendees came to the show to learn, engage with content/workshops and network with each other and sponsors. This year was key to the success of the project overall as it was the first time they had used an event app so had to provide real value for users. We needed an app that would resonate with their audience but meaningfully improve delegate & sponsors’ event experience.  

We also gave their audience a “what’s in it for me”. Workshops had limited space but did run throughout the day. Year one a rule was implemented that without adding a session to your agenda (with our seat limit) you would not be able to attend that session.  

This was important, not only for year one ROI, but because it allowed us to have a breadth of reports to learn from for year two! Guess what? IT WORKED – sticking to the basics got them a nearly 100% download rate with a huge range of engagement across their app. 

We then did a detailed debrief. This involved seeing how people used the app, the success of adding to agenda on engagement and more are all integral. We needed to base future discussions on solid foundations.  

Secondly, on both sides, we kept asking WHY? We questioned everything. Why would people send messages? Why should sponsors download the app? Is the check-in process working? This questioning filtered & solidified ideas into processes & usable future functionality. 

We then took that feedback, founded in reports & reason, that passed the “why?” filter were implemented! This is SO IMPORTANT for events. We got better, and so did their event technology! 

What does this look like for Wound Care Today? 

Year two – the first event back from COVID and we did our part to take the event badge-less! YES, BADGELESS. Limiting the touchpoints, we developed a contactless check-in process. This ensured all people were vaccinated with a lateral flow test done within 48 hours. 

Encouraging social distancing required NO BUSINESS CARDS, NO HANDSHAKES, NO ROAMING MICs. This meant a new type of QR scanning that would enable delegates to scan booth spaces from a safe distance, utilising in-app Q&A for roaming mics, and policing session attendance using live data for smaller rooms.  

Year three was post-pandemic and we looked at some of the successes of the COVID measures. Reports on check-in numbers & times were invaluable. Sponsors required more intuitive lead scanning that would allow for notes. Also, going badge-less was a HUGE success. So, we worked on improvements.  

VenuIQ’s new feature “My Guest Pass” – a QR based pass, unique to each delegate was perfect. This pass was used to scan and check people into the event. It was used by sponsors for lead retrieval and could be used to scan people into sessions. 

Sponsor scans had a dedicated report with notes, who scanned, and when. Importantly with minimal clicks for the organiser to send! 

What’s next for VenuIQ and Wound Care Today?  

The next bit of feedback is on the design of our home screen. Wound Care Today has rebranded and would like to continue this brand throughout our app. We are now close to completion for a BRAND-NEW template design that can be rolled out at ALL of our client’s events. Stay tuned for more information.