Hi. I’m a management consultant working with a large corporate client with a global presence that requested I perform a comparative review of mobile event apps. A search was conducted with results filtered for vendors with at least 5 years of industry experience and an international presence. A further determination was made about which mobile apps offered key features beneficial and/or critical to meeting and event planners, participants and presenters. In all, 36 features or capabilities were compared across functions such as event setup, content management, interactivity, networking, customization and others.

1. If you’re unsure of how many events you plan to hold per year, the number of attendees or the complexity involved, steer clear of contracts that lock in the pricing based on guesses about your events, sometimes made a year in advance. If you need to make changes, you could easily run into problems and cost overruns. Look at Evenium ConnexMe and QuickMobile for the best flexibility in pricing –  both offer low costs for single events and Evenium ConnexMe is the only solution offering an unlimited number of events annually at a very low price, and with a full feature set.

2. For large events like tradeshows where you are also promoting sponsors and exhibitors, select a vendor who specializes in these types of events and whose app was designed specifically with this in mind. DoubleDutch, Lanyon/GenieConnect, CrowdCompass or QuickMobile all fit the bill – be sure to factor in what you get for the price. Large events are usually complex, requiring support and the app’s full feature set. Make certain you’re getting what you need and at a cost that is not needlessly excessive.

3. Particularly for corporate meetings and events, successful outcomes hinge on the app’s capabilities that:
– allow participants and presenters to readily engage with one another and the content,
– provide simple and efficient networking to forge new relationships and strengthen existing ones,
– enhance learning and assimilation of the messages or material being presented, and
– allow participants to leverage the intellectual capital of the organization through the sharing of best practices.

The apps with the best best design and feature set to achieve the goals above are Evenium ConnexMe and Lanyon/GenieConnect.

Other resources you may find helpful are the individual company websites and reviews like the following: