At the Corporate Event Marketing Association’s (CEMA) Summit 2017, attendees had a chance to witness a host of innovative ideas that could very well change the way events are created, marketed and produced in the future.

Held July 30-Aug. 1 at the Rancho Bernardo Inn in Rancho Bernardo, CA, the CEMA Summit is an annual gathering for event marketing professionals, association peers and partners that features the CEMA Innovation Shoot-out, a contest for event marketing and management firms showcasing their most innovative event technology and marketing solutions.

“Each year, CEMA Innovation Shoot-out contestants surpass all expectations, presenting brilliant new concepts we’re certain will revolutionize the events industry,” said Kimberley Gishler, CEMA president and CEO.

She continued, “Hats off to all who participated in this year’s Innovation Shoot-out and electrified the audience with groundbreaking new ideas. Our CEMA community continues to lead the way in sharing transformative ideas and helping others grow capabilities in the event marketing world.”

The friendly but intensely competitive contest featured representatives from AtlasRTX, Cvent, Hubb, Splash!Events, PSAV, Xponet and WorldStage, who were required to demonstrate a new, never or rarely used idea, concept, tool or practice in an applicable way to the event’s attendees.

Attendees then evaluated each idea based on a series of criteria to determine the “Best INNOVATION!” and after careful deliberation, WorldStage was crowned the 2017 CEMA Innovation Shoot-out winner.

“CEMA is an amazing organization that values collaboration and promotes the sharing of ideas to achieve greater success,” said Richard Steinau, vice president of business development for WorldStage, which provides video, lighting and audio entertainment technology, engineering equipment and services to the global event, theatrical, broadcast and brand experience markets.

He continued, “It’s an honor to be recognized by these highly respected leaders in the live event industry for delivering a truly transformational solution for breakout rooms. Our Sx3 (Self-contained Show System) is the result of collaboration with our clients, extensive research and advanced engineering. This proprietary solution delivers in three areas critical to CEMA’s members: upgrade the look of every breakout room, increase seating capacity and dramatically reduce overall costs.”

Innovation Shoot-out runners up included:

AtlasRTX, a provider of a platform that combines A.I.-driven chatbots with human-assisted conversations to create real-time customer experiences designed to drive attendance, engagement and sales through relevant, on-demand interactions.

Cvent, Inc., a cloud-based enterprise meeting, event and travel technology company that offers software solutions for hotels, destinations and event planners, including online event registration, venue selection, event management, event mobile apps, email marketing and web surveys.

Hubb, a cloud-based event management software platform that uses simple, automated workflows to streamline collecting, managing and marketing of all event content from speakers to sessions to sponsors.

PSAV, a global provider of customized event technology services that delivers production, advanced A/V technology and staging to help customers deliver impactful event experiences.

Splash!Events, a provider of event environment and exhibit solutions that offers in-house, end-to-end capabilities including project management, 2D and 3D design, large format printing and a full custom fabrication facility.

XpoNet, a 20-year provider of internet solutions and support for events of all sizes, from small gatherings to large, technologically advanced events.

CEMA Summit 2018 will be held July 22-24 at the Terranea Resort in Rancho Palos Verdes, CA.

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