Central London event venue, 8 Northumberland Avenue are the lovely hosts of the next London Christmas Party Show taking place on 4 – 5 May 2016. 

With a wealth of experience in the events industry the 8 Northumberland team are known for being extremely tech forward and were the first venue in Europe to install new event technology such as a  state-of-the-art Intelligent lighting system.

We caught up with Head of the Venue & Sales, Charlotte Stephenson to find out what’s the newest event tech on the market and why it adds value to events.

Interviewee:
Name: Charlotte Stephenson
Job title: Head of the Venue & Sales
Venue: 8 Northumberland Avenue
Specialism:  Technology in Events

1.Event technology is changing at a rapid rate. How can technology add value to an event? (eg. Intelligent lighting)

We advise clients to use technology to quantify and amplify their event message. One simple solution is to use lighting to create a powerful impact on your event attendees emotional responses. You’ve heard of “surround sound”? Well, Intelligent lighting can now be thought of as “surround light”.  With 16.7 million colours per light, clients have complete creative freedom. This intuitive technology can be linked to music, PowerPoint presentations, TV commercials and films as it reacts to the colours on screen.

Light can also be used to help set a tone or illicit a response. for example,  Have your delegates just arrived in London from a long flight? You’ll need some sky blue light to re-energise them so they can refresh themselves before the event begins. Is there a hard hitting message mid-way through a conference that needs to draw staff’s attention? You’ll need some red light on the matter.

 Whether the event organiser wishes to immerse the venue in their corporate brand colour, rouse people’s spirits with a yellow light, or help to focus guest’s attention on specific points of the room, our intelligent lighting technology can help make this possible.

2. As venues in London go, you are known to be very tech forward. Tell us about some of the newest event tech 8 Northumberland Avenue uses.

We were the first venue in Europe to install the state-of-the-art Intelligent lighting system and the first venue in the UK with 3D Holographic Technology.

We now also provide clients with video mirror walls in our corridors, state of the art intelligent wifi analytics and are working on a platform that will enable clients to quantify and amplify their event message beyond the event day itself.

3. You hosted the world’s first Holographic telepresence over 4G at your venue tell us how this came about?

We invested in a 3D holographic system a few years ago as the ability to reproduce a human or object, between different locations is a valuable concept. No one can dispute the benefits of direct human interaction or face-to-face meetings.

However, Telepresence normally required an expensive fibre optic cable and a dedicated network management system operating between two venues, meaning that the only people who could afford this method of communication were Tele-coms companies who could use their own lines.

 To provide a better value for money solution we used eight 4G SIM cards in a box all working together to stabilise the signal to deliver a 3D image.

 Take a look for yourself at what the telepresence looked like: http://www.8northumberland.co.uk/news/article.php?url=world-first-holographic-telepresence-over-4g

4. How has the move to digital affected the event experience for attendees?

If digital is used properly, it can be a real benefit to the event organiser and their guests!

 There’s no point in using technology, for technology’s sake.  At worst, it can completely distract your guests so much so, that they forget what you’re trying to tell or sell to them!

 With the right technology guests can discover with ease all the pre event information they need, use their own device to interact with speakers (we particularly love the option of using your phone as a microphone if you want to ask a question in a large conference room, like our Ballroom) and collate information about the event to review at a later date.

 All this can ensure attendees have a more enjoyable and productive event, which they will then share with their network.

5.What aspects of events if any do you see becoming redundant in the near future due to technology?
 Pens/pencils and paper!

6. Our exhibitions are all about the power of face to face meetings. Do you think there will ever be a point in the future where digital/online events will overtake face to face meetings?
We thrive on human interaction, so I don’t think digital/online events will overtake face to face meetings, but as people try and reduce travel costs and increase productivity there is still a lot of scope for that part of the market to expand.  Perhaps our own personal avatars will be able to provide the same experience as face-to-face contact?

7. What are your top technology trend predictions for the future of the events industry?
From a digital perspective, I think RFID technology will really begin to pick up. We’ll see iPads and technology integrating more fluidly with everything, from presentations to in-conference sales.

There will probably be fewer ‘traditional’ food stations, as well as more expensive goody bags as technology becomes a de-facto part of the event experience (I’m excited!)

Here’s what the rest of our sales team think will be the major conference and event trends for 2016;

Rebeka

“I think we’re going to see events really become ‘experiences’ as they get more and more immersive. Technology will definitely help with this trend. Things like wearables, holograms and personalised reports will make events more entertaining and even more useful.”

Hayley

“Technology is a safe bet, but let’s be honest – it has to be used properly. I think that people will realise this year what many haven’t previously: you can’t over-schedule events, you can’t be all over every kind of social media and you have got to have decent, reliable wi-fi. Otherwise I’m not coming!”

Olivia

“Mobiles have already become completely indispensable, but I bet we’ll see fewer and fewer non-convertible laptops making it to conferences this year. Hand in hand with this, we’ll also see a bigger switch to digital content over paper. Sustainability will definitely be an event focus this year – I hope!”

8. Which piece of event tech would you never be without?
My iPhone!

9. And lastly a question we ask all our experts, as you know our next event is focused on Christmas, what is your favourite Christmas food?
I know I’m biased but the Lamb breast with rosemary pesto which our partner AlchmeyLive made for our Christmas parties at 8 Northumberland Avenue last year was just soooooo good!