Smartphone apps boosting real time, two-way interaction at events

15.01.2015
App developer, Lumi, is making hay out of the booming events industry, using its unique brand of real time feedback on smartphones to provide insights for clients.

Lumi produces a variety of mobile apps and technology, that focus on real-time audience engagement during events, while simultaneously collating data -- again in real time - be they traditional events and conferences, AGMs, staff training or market research.

Lumi managing director ANZ, Oliver Bampfield, said 2014 has been a big year for the company, and it now boasts that 75 per cent of the ASX Top 100 use Lumi's products in some capacity.

"We don't have a 'key market' in terms of our focus, we believe that there is a fundamental benefit to companies in every sector in finding out what stakeholders are thinking -- from banks and pharma, to mining and not for profits," he said.

Bampfield would not be drawn on local revenue figures, but told ARN that Lumi pulled in global revenues of $US22 million for the year.

While there are plenty of companies offering audience survey tools (or at least, Tweet collation) Bampfield boasts that Lumi's key differentiator has been the ability to retrieve instant responses from the audience (such as questions during a product launch that speakers can address in real time) and push content to those participants. Bampfield said that Lumi's wide range of products that allow the company to tailor solutions for their clients.

"One of the key elements here is to keep audiences engaged. They become active participants in any event, rather than passive observers," he said.

The latest push for Lumi in 2015 is Lumi Join, an app which will focus on internal staff meetings -- where a CEO based in Melbourne could take questions from staff in a virtual meeting around the country -- similar to an enclosed message board.

For example, Bampfield said a CEO offering a quarterly update can receive comments and questions while they are speaking to produce a more two way conversation -- such as "Are we on track for the quarter" or "What do you need from me to help reach our targets"

"Selling our licenses into these major companies for internal use is a key focus for us," he said.

Bampfield says that Lumi's keypad tech has been cleared for legal voting at AGMs -- which means instead of a slow process involving a show of hands or paper ballot, votes can be collated, and displayed instantly via the app.

Another key focus for the company is its apps for large shows and expos.

"Lumi Show, another of our new products, does the essentials for major events -- such as showing schedules, speakers and maps. But what is unique is the combination of these elements with the ability to provide real time instant feedback," he said.

Lumi Catch, another product launching in 2015, collates tweets in real time and produces the information in graphical displays -- which also helps outsiders comment on events if they aren't present.

Bampfield believes that Lumi's process of constant customer feedback, market research and refinement of the company's app offerings, combined with its 20 years of experience in the marketplace, make it a local market leader.

The company has also spent the last few years resolving a merger. The then Lumi Mobile, which focused on market research through mobile technology, acquired IML, which focused on real-time audience engagement and events technology. The combined company rebranded as Lumi in 2014.

"It's taken 12 months to fully combine the two companies under one brand, but its gone really smoothly. A lot of Lumi Mobile staff were former IML staff, so it has been more like two groups of friends getting back together," he said.

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(www.arnnet.com.au)

Allan Swann

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