How tech has changed the face of events

[MUSIC]

>> Hello, everybody.
Welcome along to

the Event Industry
News Podcast

with me, James Dickson.

Wishing you all a
very good morning

afternoon or
evening whenever or

wherever you tune in to
today's podcast from.

And on today's podcast

is a guest and
somebody who my parts

have crossed with
many times over

the last few years
and who I've

never in true all honesty,

got the chance to
sit 25 minutes

and just have

a conversation
about the industry,

about their own
experiences,

about their own
understanding of

where we're at
at the moment.

So I'm looking forward to

today's chat with
our guest who is

the Vice President
of European sales at

a company some
of you may have

come across called C vent.

And that is, of course,
Jamie Vaughan, Jamie,

a warm welcome to

the Event Industry
News Podcast.

>> Thank you, and great
to see you, James.

And yes, it sound
a bit anonymous.

I paths across,
but we've never

had a touch point. So
there we go [LAUGHTER]

>> Well, it
always seems to

be an event that you know,

usually event tech live or

something like that
that I'm working

at where you're there
in some capacity,

and I'm there, and hello.

And one of those people
that I always see,

but generally, never
had a chance to

sit and have a proper
conversation with.

>> It's amazing,
use this community

is huge, and it's
ever changing.

There's been a lot of

change in the
last few years.

I've been in the industry

for a long, long time.

So I probably bumped

into nearly everybody
who's in this industry.

But not sat down

and had a decent
conversation.

So value this, looking
forward to it.

>> As I said, intros,

Vice President of
European sales at C vent.

But broader than
that, Jamie, you've

been in the industry
a long time.

You've worked in the
events industry and

particularly in
recent years

in the event tech
space, as well.

So a lot that we
can talk about.

And we were just
talking off air

briefly about how even
in the last 10 years,

tech has changed completely
how we do things.

And I think sometimes

when we talk about tech,

we always think of
something that has to be

mega mega
sophisticated and

some wizard has
come up with it in

Silicon Valley to

change how we're
going to do things.

But if we're being honest,

sort of the tech evolution

has been around for

probably two or
three decades now,

ever since in the
events industry,

we started using email.

>> Absolutely right.

Let me tell a
little story.

So when I first got
into event tech,

as you might define
it now where

there was a real
technical element to it,

it was back in the day,

I worked for a
registration company that

as you would about
12 or 13 years ago,

send all your tickets
out via Royal Mail with

a great big catalog
attached to it in

a cellphone it at
enormous expense,

which went out
to your sponsors

because they would
sponsor the whole thing.

And you'd send out
hundreds of thousands of

these things and expect

a very small portion
to be filled in.

They'd come back
to a typing pool,

they'd type up a ticket.

And there you were,
you were registered,

which seems
somewhat archaic,

but that was the
way you did things.

And th e first
event tech that was

launched back in
my generation

was you could turn up

at and register there and

then and or print

your ticket off
while you waited.

Now, that seems like was

there anything
other than that?

But in those days, that
was revolutionary,

and we showed such
enormous savings

to the people who
would have to

pay to send these
out in advance.

They instantly
made an X5 return

on the money they got.
It was outrageous.

>> And I remember going

back 19 years
to summer 2005.

I was in my mid 20s,

and I worked at
the time for

a publishing company that

did B2B magazine
publishing.

And one of the
sectors they worked

in was the leisure and

the sort of
sports industry.

And so they attended
as a magazine,

a big show that
some people

remember called
Leisure Industry Week,

LIW that used to be at

the NEC every sort
of September.

And I remember this
brown envelope landing

on the publisher's desk.
I said, what's that?

They said, that's

the manual that
we have to fill

in to have an exhibition
stand at this venue.

And it was an inch
thick of all the paper.

And then I also

then remember
absolutely generous,

before I worked in
the events industry,

the next year,
them saying, Oh,

they've revolutionized
things.

They've sent us an Excel

spreadsheet on an email,

and all we have
to do now is

fill all the
information in on that.

And that was seen
as revolution.

So going back to what I
said about, you know,

how we think Tech
has got to be

this Harry Potter
Esque wizardry,

we've been slowly
evolving just

with dial communications,
haven't we?

>> And let me
tell you a truth

right now because I
cover the whole of

Europe and the UK is

relatively well advanced
in its tech adoption.

There are many regions

out there that still have

manual exhibitor books and

Excel spreadsheets for

how they manage
registration.

Probably my biggest single

competitor isn't
a company.

It's a style of
doing business.

It's a manual process.

So that still exists,
believe it or not.

>> I mean, the obvious
question to that is

why is that in 2024?

You know? Is that
a cost thing?

Is it an
educational thing?

Is it that without

sort of sounding
too grandiose,

we've evolved a little

bit better in
certain bits of

Europe than other parts

of the world or in Europe?

>> Other regions
are backwards.

That's far from the truth,

but there is just sometimes
a fear of change.

There is sometimes a
desire and ability

to model things internally

that seem the
right thing to do.

And it just takes

a while when you

look at a region
like Europe,

which I often compare to

my American bosses as
a patchwork quilt.

Cultures, languages,
and attitudes because

it's not one
single nation.

And I have these challenges
on a daily basis,

where I'm trying to
explain where technology,

especially SAS
technology where

you don't need to manage.

You just literally
turn it on

and use it is fundamentally
the way forward,

and it will transform
your business.

But there's
always a degree

of risk for people
and hesitation.

>> One thing that I still

hear from people is,

Oh, I'm not very
tech savvy.

And it's something
that really grates on

me today because I

don't know I've just
been on holiday.

I've just come
back from holiday,

and everyone's
getting on the plane

waving their boarding
pass on a smartphone.

And they've all
successfully done that.

And you've got people
of all ages and

all backgrounds who are

successfully getting
on board that plane,

having gone
through security,

and they've
done it all via

a mobile app and a QR

code that's now
on their phone.

So I don't buy in to
anybody who says to

me now when you

present them with an
option for something.

Oh, well, I'm not
very tech savvy.

I'm not sure if
I'm going to get.

I think it's an effort
thing now more than

anything or
people genuinely

think that
they're not tech

savvy without
realizing that

they actually know more

than they give
themselves credit for.

>> You're
absolutely right.

It's a perception.

It's an attitude
and a perception.

As you said, we get Oh,

why would I want to
buy a mobile app?

We've always been
fine without it.

And we don't use apps.

My delegates
can't use apps.

You say, Well, how
do you send a ticket

or I send it through
email with a QR code?

How do they get there?

They're probably
on Google maps.

So they're using apps,
habitually using apps.

You just need to
understand what we mean

by mobile app
because the market

grew very accelerated

massively in very
short at the time.

And there has been good
and bad technology.

And certainly as a
technology vendor,

we find if someone's
had a bad experience,

it puts them back
three years.

They don't go, Oh, that
was a bad experience.

They say, no, that
doesn't work.

That's an incorrect
perception.

So we're dealing with

perceptions, majority
of the time.

>> And from a
developmental sense when

it comes to the text.

And let's take
apps as an example

because it's a good
example because

consumer apps and
stuff that we use on

a day to day basis
are so well designed.

And obviously
we're talking

about companies here with

vast R&D budgets to

develop these and
bring them to market.

But fundamentally, we use

really well designed,
great apps.

And I think maybe
that's where

initially the gap was in

the event text space is

that people are used

to using their
day to day apps.

And when they went
to an event app,

it felt maybe a little

bit more clunky
or less user

friendly than the stuff

that they were used to.

>> Yeah. Apps are
still evolving and

we can go in
and admit about

what's the purpose
of an app.

But they've been evolving.

They've been very fast.

I remember when the
first apps came out

probably nine,
10 years ago,

when apps became a thing

and your phone was
able to deal with it,

everyone started
going to a phone

with a screen on it
rather than buttons,

and they became
a real option.

But in those
days, an app was

a replacement to
a show guide.

That's what it was.

You'd go to a show,

you'd have a great
big thick guide

exhibitors,
paid a fortune,

all this unsustainable
stuff that was

just dreadful waste of

time and energy and we
put it on your phone.

So that seemed amazing.

That is not what MO App is

anymore, it's
evolved massively.

And you know this a
story around Netflix.

Netflix is the streaming
channel out there,

I used to send
DVDs in the post.

It used to be a
mechanism. You had one.

>> I was to subscribe.

Love film, I think,
I was the company.

Love film that was then

acquired or changed
the name to Netflix.

I remember
getting you'd get

a couple of DVDs
in the post,

and you'd send it back.

>> There you go. But
what a wonderful example

of evolution
of technology.

I mean, sending them
in the pose, I get it.

I can't bother to
go to the shop.

Not that compelling.

A replacement show guide?

I can't really see it.

Not that compelling.

Not what apps are anymore.

Apps are massively
advantageous

to run your experience

as a delegate at an event,

whilst the organizer can

promote and support
sponsorship

and certain things
they want to do.

So it's done full
circle development,

an app now is
an invaluable.

If you like, it's
your PA for the show.

As a delegate, when
I go to events now,

I will pre load
my schedule,

I know where I'm
going, who I'm seeing.

I'm using AI or
machine learning,

matchmaking to make sure

I'm not only
absorbing content,

I'm meeting people
I want to meet,

and I actually live

on my app when I
go to events now.

That's not how
they started,

and they will
continue to develop

in the next few
years, for sure.

>> I mean, I

would say this because

of what I'm involved
in, but they

undoubtedly improve
the experience now,

but I dare say that in
your own experience,

and experience
is the key word

because that's
what you said.

It's about the experience

that somebody has
in their event.

Their organizers 10,

15 years ago, 10 years ago

when the apps came around,

were worried about
the impact on

the event experience
digital technology

would have on
their visitors.

They were worried,
weren't there about

people spending
all their times

with their head buried

in their
smartphone and not

talking to the people on

the exhibition stands.

>> Of course. Again,
back to what you about

the perception of change

and a fear of

cannibalizing what
you've always done.

It's always if it works,

don't fix it, the
old statement.

I don't think that's
true. If it works

great, but you can
evolve things.

You can make
things better,

even though got
a proven model,

whereas delegates
should be on their app.

They should be using it.

Moreover, I've got to add,

a good app provider will

release the app way
before the event,

giving the delegate an
opportunity to plan

preset meetings and make

sure they are efficient

when they're at a show.

Don't get me wrong.
I love face-to-face,

and I love serendipity.

I've met the most amazing
people by chance,

and we should never
take that way, ever.

However, if serendivity
is 5% of my day,

my 95% should be planned,

well executed,
and efficient.

And that's what an
app can provide you.

So the fact that
you're not looking at

your app seems
desponding yet,

if I'm looking at
because I'm on my way to

meet a sponsor
meeting for,

my salespeople for the

event company should
be very very happy

that my sponsors and

exhibitors are getting
best value for money.

>> And you mentioned
salespeople there,

and in working
in the world of

sales and related to
event technology,

a huge part of
that sales process

has got to be,
I would guess,

education relating
to the platform,

actually getting people to

understand what it is
they can do for them.

You can't sell
it unless they

understand exactly what it

is they can do from a car,

a fridge might be a
bit easier to sell.

What does it do?

It chills your food. It
gets you from A to B.

But when you go to
an organizer with

maybe a new feature in
the C event platform

or with one of the
other providers

that you worked
with previously

in the event tech sector.

That person has to

have a clear
understanding.

>> You're spot on,
and that's probably

our hardest
challenge because

two things are happening.

One, the market, the
technology is growing,

everything we do, and

the market is
consolidating.

So come C event we make
lots of acquisitions,

so our position changes.
It's quite dynamic.

So we have to make
sure our clients and

delegates who
use our software

are aware of the
features available.

And I think I'm
not going to jump

all over the base
but I think that's

where things like AI
coming in massively.

Generative AI allows
us to build content,

but it also allows a

user to find
their way around

and to educate
them real time

around what certain things

could do and help them.

For example, I go
to a new show.

I'd go onto the app,
and it's asking me to

build my bio and all
this stuff again.

I did it 15 times last
week for other events.

If AI can do that for by

pulling in my history or

my linked in
account with maybe?

Wouldn't that be
easier? A press

button, there's
my biography.

Where are my interests?
AI does it for me.

So AIs really coming

into our product
at all angles,

not just about how
you're bowing events,

but how delegates
engage with

other delegates and how

they present
themselves. So again, I

think we're in this
world of change.

>> What great example

you've just given there,

because you've touched on

something that is
a pain point for

organizers when
it comes to

adoption with things like

apps or even things
like registration.

People who go to a
lot of events a year,

it's something that they
will complain about.

Why have we got to fill

all this bloody
information in again?

>> All over again.

>> And what great
example there,

like you said, of
generative AI?

Secondly on the podcast,

nobody's flagged in such
a direct way before,

but that's clearly a
real world application

of it that would make
people's lives easier.

>> From a delicate
perspective,

and that's very much part

of events process we're

building that right now.

We've already got
all the Jung AI

from a organizer's
perspective.

I mean, your perception

of nose and may be
different to mine,

you may think about
somebody as a trade show.

You do your trade
show in Las Vegas,

you do it in London,

you do it a couple
times a year.

You got a good trade
show event live.

Some of my clients use me

for what we call the
total event program.

So they may do 5,

6, 7 Tier one
events a year.

They may do 25
tier two events,

which would be a few
hundred people or

maybe 500 people
in the room

and they do that
every now and again.

And then they may do
200 Tier three events,

just smaller
training groups,

whatever it may be,

they need efficiency in
creating those events

in putting the
content through to

those events and
having consistency

in what those events
look and feel like.

Stephen has the ability
to do that across

your entire
platform without

having to re type in,

you can clone events,

AI help you fill
out the content.

So it just makes
that whole scale

much simpler to manage.

>> And in the same
way that I mean,

we all know our
shopping habits are

tracked through
search engines now

and I don't know

anybody who's not
had a conversation

about a holiday,

and then next time
they go on Facebook,

that exact holiday
is being pushed

to them via a
sponsored advert.

We've all had
experiences of that.

This is joking aside,

this is becoming a
really powerful tool,

certainly in the event
sector in terms of

our reporting and our
analysis, isn't it?

Because when we go
back to some of

those early
examples that we

spoke about at the
start of the podcast,

the printed manual and

sending out stuff
in the post,

we had no way really there

was no discernible way of

tracking success
other than

the physical amount of

people walking
through the door.

That was really a
headline statistic

with nothing
else below it.

>> Back in the
day to work shows

with our clients and
say, How's it going?

And I'd meet the
sales director

on the show Flan
How's it going, John?

He'd take a look down

the aisle and they look at

another ale and say,
Yeah, it's really busy.

It's going great. No idea

what happened during
this show. No idea.

Do a survey, say,

the bacon sandwich is

a bit if your
coffee was cold.

And that's the
success of an event,

that is so 2010.

Now we're in a
different world.

Now we have anyone
can have the ability

to read stats on
real time behavior.

Who's, where, why,

and what are they
doing there?

I'm not talking Big
Brother, but I'm

talking about there
are levels of

technology that can
really understand how

your delegates
are behaving

and then how
they're responding.

Are they in seminars,
they asking questions?

Are they downloading
content?

Are they talking
to exhibitors?

Are they not? Why
are they not?

Which doors they coming
in? Why are they

dark areas dark patches

to your show? Because
there's no traffic.

Can we effect

that real time by
putting coffee?

There's so much data

flowing through an event

real time that it has
to be made available.

If there are
organizers who are

not reading data real time

and waiting two weeks

after show ends
for a wash up.

I haven't heard that
for a long time,

wash up report on
what happened,

you've missing the point.

It should be real time.

>> And when we talk
about real time,

even down some of the
movement tracking

and motion tracking
that we've

got available to us now.

And I know it's something

that Jamie just for
context, was very,

very generous off air

before we started
today and said,

I don't just want to
talk about C event.

I want to have
a conversation

about which is great.

And I understand that

very magnanimous of you.

A company C event now,

and I know from
having spoken

to colleagues of
yours that some of

the real time tracking
that you can do

just simple sensors in

rooms and locations
in an event space,

being able to see
how people flowed

through a particular area,

where did they dwell?

All that stuff now
is so valuable in

planning just
basic logistics

and operations
of a show floor.

>> Again, RFID, NFC,

there's a lot of
technology, doesn't it?

Back in the day,

I was talking about
this probably.

I was probably
talking about

this technology
eight years ago,

but it's really expensive.

It was quite new, bit
clunky, didn't have

the reporting
mechanism behind it,

but it was really cool.

Now people know
it's there,

but it needs to
be explained

clearly because the levels

of entry are not where
they used to be.

And to give you some
real-life example,

there's an event,

the central run
called Cannes Lions.

In fact, it was sold

the other day
to inform you.

Cannes Lions down
in South Coast

of Cannes, big
advertising festival.

It's not an
event festival.

It's for advertising,
but it is an event.

And there are lots of
brands there showing

themselves to the world

of events and therefore,

managing their own
private events.

We had 28 customers on

the fringe of Cannes
Lions and a selection,

which I can't mention,

but a selection of very
large global brands,

we're using
Cvent for, one,

their registration,
but moreover,

RFID people-tracking.

They had just party-style

wristbands with
little chips,

little cards in
them that you could

do activations real time.

You knew who was there,
who was not there.

It's all compliant with

GDPR because it
all consented,

but we had the
ability to manage

crowd-surging, who
was on the stages,

who wasn't on the stages,

who's been there
more than once,

who's been there
five times,

who's been there
every day.

So you can really begin
to understand what

is appealing to
the audience

based on that
real-time motion.

>> So I muted briefly
because there was

a knock at my
front door on

the dogs bark, you see.

>> I've heard.

>> Very quick
on the trigger.

But the real
life, I suppose,

the physical interaction
and manifestation

of technology is something

that we've seen
grow massively.

It's not just all
about utilizing

your smartphones
for people to

input information or
to network or to,

like you said, replace

show guys and
things like that,

the actual physical
manifestation

of technology at events.

And obviously, because of

the sphere that
you work in,

a lot of it is business
and consumer-related,

but conference,
trade show, etc.

But even when we
look at things

like being able
to use phones

as pixels in a
stadium now to create

a giant TV effect or

the wristbands that
we've seen Coldplay

utilize at their concerts

over the last few years,

these amazing physical
manifestations of

technology really have

helped shape life
experiences.

And that's really
where we've been able

to nip in the bud
any argument that

technology would replace

these life experiences

because what
they've actually

done is enhance it.

>> They're not going
to replace it.

You're right.

People have technology
in the hand

and we've all got a
phone or whatever.

These things are incredibly
powerful machines

to which we use
a very small

percentage of
their capability.

So you have

smart tech developers
looking into

how can elements
of that tech,

that you have anyway,

interface with your
wider objective.

So making it flash,

great, but there's lots of

other stuff going on
in the background.

Lots of stadia now have
embedded technology,

knowing where
people are going,

where they're buying

their hot dog
at lunchtime,

whatever it may be,

just so you can
understand where

you might staff
[inaudible].

But an extension to

your question is
when you look

at technology changing
the face of events,

and I think that was very,

very apparent a few years

back when we had
the awful period

of COVID when

the pandemic hit and
everyone's life,

particularly in this
industry, for sure

has changed, stopped,
went on pause.

We had to think we were

a virtual provider anyway,

as were many others,

but we had to stop
take stock and say,

how are we going
to service our

25,000 customers
that we have

globally in a way

where they can
still deploy?

So we reinvented ourselves

a little bit in some
of those areas.

We still absolutely

knew physical
was coming back,

so we didn't pivot,

which was the
word at the time.

We evolved what we
had. [OVERLAPPING]

>> I used to have this
line that said that,

and I could hold it
up and did pivot.

>> We didn't do
that because

we didn't want to
change what we had,

25 years experience in
doing in pretty well,

knowing it would
come back,

but we did have
to revolve into

a different area
that was virtual.

[NOISE] And then
surely at the time,

we became a very major
virtual provider

just by virtue of
our distribution.

We have so many clients,
but we [inaudible]

that monstrous
company straightaway

, and that was great.

And then, of course,
we saw the decline,

which is amazing, because
no one likes COVID.

And it started
shifting away and

the surge in people,
which we saw.

However, that period of

time was incredibly
educational.

We learned so much about

the desire of people

sometimes who didn't
want to travel,

and the capability of

having a digital footprint

to you than going
into physical event.

So the growth of hybrid

has been revolutionary.

Now, it won't

resonate with all
your audience because

some people just do face

to face, and that's
what they do.

But as it happens,

my cross-reference
of customers,

a vast majority still
have a hybrid or

on-demand element to
everything that they do.

Because again, going
back to the Netflix,

I didn't put this
one together,

but going back to the
streaming element,

there is real
value in having

content that you can

pull down and stream
whenever you choose.

>> Absolutely.

>> Because
what's happening

is we're beginning to

address the whole essence

of what an event is.

An event is, in my mind,

a community
coming together.

The community is always
there, always was,

always will be, and
we're bringing it

together with the
notion of an event.

Why can we not
keep connecting

that community outside of

the two or
three-day physical?

The answer is we can,

we just need to find

the appropriate
and acceptable way

to keep that
community connected.

We're modeling out our
whole community tools

around on-demand content,

dropping-in content,
and bridging

the gap from one
event to the next,

and it's incredibly
popular.

>> The whole COVID period,

in some respects, it

still feels
like yesterday.

In some respects, it
feels like an age away.

And I've said
this a few times

on the podcast and I

try and choose my
words carefully,

but it's to say
that ultimately,

from our perspective
and from

the event tech
perspective,

it was actually,
in hindsight,

quite a positive thing

because in a short
period of time,

people who doubted it,

people who were
reluctant to adopt

had no choice but to
go down that route,

and by doing so,

realized it was much
less scary than they've

thought it would be and

actually opened up
a lot of doors.

We know that it was

a terrible time
for many reasons,

but one of the
positive things to

come out from it, I think,

is the amount of
people who had to

adopt in a short
space of time

and realize that this
is a good thing.

And it's put us on
a better track post

pandemic, I think.

And I'm sure from
your experiences,

you will see people

who you were perhaps

pitching to or selling
to beforehand,

who came to you at

that period maybe in a
panic and have said,

we've got no choice
now and have actually

subsequently realized we

should have done
this years ago.

>> Sure. Well, what
it did, you're right,

it enforced
digitization because,

of course, you
couldn't have an

event unless it
was digital.

But some of the
silver linings of

that digitization was we

then uncovered the
term that we now use,

breadth and depth
of engagement.

Back in COVID times, when

you pushed a
virtual event out,

we were seeing 6-8 times

the volume of people
registering for events,

it went sky high.

So we realized that
without the barriers

of traveling somewhere,
getting a plane,

whatever it may be,
having to be there,

having space
and committing

a whole day or
two to an event,

you could jump in.

So we saw this
incredible growth

in the breadth
of a campaign.

It could be as brawl
as we wanted to,

and we could just

really excel at
the numbers,

but the depth was less.

We get that, people
stayed for less time,

so there was a whole
methodology in

shortening some of

the content and
being correct.

And we registered,

people would come
in and come out.

We saw the trends
of people flowing.

So that was okay,
that's what we had.

Now after, we're
back to the depth

of content through
face to face

because when you
are at an event,

you're there,
you're living it,

you're experiencing
it, you're

listening to content,
you're shaking hands,

and there's nothing

like the human connection,

but hybrid gives you
breadth and depth.

So you can have the depth,

and you can have
further breadth,

if people can't
get there, and

then online
consumption after.

So we're seeing
modeled correctly,

you're just executing

bigger, better campaigns.

>> Modeling and
analysis is

another interesting
one that I wanted to

maybe touch on and talk
to you about today.

And I wanted to ask
this in the sphere

of Cvent's physical
size and presence

within the industry and

the amount of clients
that you work with.

With the tools at
your disposal and

the tools that you offer
to your clients now,

how has that shaped,

as a business, how you're
able to analyze how

the entire industry is

developing and what
people are doing?

Because you don't just

have the luxury
of being able to

look at one particular

client's event and say,

here's the data from that.

You're in somewhat of

a fortunate position
where you can

look at vast amounts of

data from vast
amount of events.

How often is that done
within the business

and the global
business of Cvent?

>> Sure. Well, first
of all, let me caveat.

We will only ever
aggregate consumption.

We will never look
at clients data per

se because it's obviously
very confidential.

It's locked away, so we

don't go into
client events,

but we have aggregate
views analysis

on what's happening
in a period of time.

So we look at number
registrations,

reading data, that stuff.

Registration is
all-time high,

physical presence
is all-time high,

and you're coupling that

with virtual and
on-demand elements.

So actually, we are the

most successful we
have ever been,

but we haven't
stopped growing.

There was a
little peak and

an unusual element
around COVID,

but that was to
be expected,

but we plowed
through that.

We are very fortunate
that we are

a large and very
well-funded company.

So we didn't have

the same financial
pressure as

some of the poor folk
who we compete with,

who just have to

make ends meet at the
end of the month.

So we're very fortunate
that we could

plow through and invest
in the right areas.

We spent a lot of time

investing in our engine.

So the car looks
the same shape,

but the engine we have
under the bonnet is

significantly different.
We did that during

COVID. We have
1,100 people

in our IT team, seriously.

It's crazy. So we
can really look at

developing elements,
strength, architecture.

We have lots of
hierarchical rules

about who logs
into what and see.

So when we go to
large enterprise,

they have so much scope

to work direct
with partners,

whatever it may be,

just to have an
entire view.

But to answer your
question, analysis is key.

We look at trends,

the trends are
very positive.

We are very much
in event times.

It's gone through
the roof,

its highest
consumption ever.

As well as the most

important element
is, I think,

we have more clients

now also looking at data.

Right back to first
point, looking

down the aisle and say,
yes, business day,

we really sell
our data now.

So a client, who

has their own
instance on Cvent,

obviously has
access to the data.

But the way Cvent
works is we allow

reporting at every
solitary level,

and they are
able to really

consider the events from
a data perspective,

not just hang it
behind the door.

And if you actually
look at us,

we were listed on NASDAQ.

Last year, were
acquired by Blackstone,

but our message to

our shareholders and
our stakeholders

is very much we
were data company,

so we have lots of

open relationships we
built, like suss.com,

Microsoft Dynamics,
all those guys,

lots of our large
clients will

use big CRM tools.

And if you
imagine an event,

an event is just
a slicing time

of the journey of a
customer prospect.

It's just I'm
selling to somebody,

and at some point
they come and see me.

So we must have

a firm model of
making sure we

connect with these large,

big data companies,
which we do.

And in fact, when
we get lots of

our global RFPs,

we have to spend a lot
of time explaining

our data position and
how we can be complete,

transparent in every
action that happens at

an event back to the
sole data system.

>> I got one eye on
the clock today,

and I don't know
why because

it's half an hour's run
away with us today.

>> [LAUGHTER] Is
your dog barking?

>> In the blink of
an eye. No, they're

actually both
being very good.

One tends to be better
than the other.

You mentioned earlier
today that Cvent

has acquired other
elements that

you feel would benefit

the Cvent family and
community and the suite,

I suppose, if you
can refer it.

I don't know if you refer
it to as a suite of

products because
it very much is

from my perspective now.

But what's on the
horizon at the moment?

As a European business,
as a global business,

are you in a period
of consolidation

where you're happy
with the suite

of products
that you've got

available or is there

a continual desire to

evolve and look
at new options?

>> As a SaaS company,

you never arrive at
your destination.

You're consistently
remodeling and improving.

So as a core product,

we will always
consider change.

We have a big team
on UI and UX.

It has to be up to date,

it has to look modern.

Everything changes. We
can't be last year,

we have to be next year.

So no, we're
always changing.

We completed three
acquisitions

already this
year, Reposite,

iCapture, and Jifflenow,

so different parts of

the business that
add to our suite.

And 100%, we'll
continue with

our acquisitive
process right now

because we acquire
a few principles.

We do like to get
a cultural fit.

Obviously, we're looking
at new territory

and expansion
the client base,

but we also have
to make sure

that the products
that come

in suit where

we're trying to
take our business.

So there's a few pillars
that we look for,

but there is a
lot of companies

out there that will be
open to discussion.

So we have a merge and
acquisition team that

are always engaged
in conversations.

So we're not going to
shy away from that,

but we make
acquisitions for

a few key principles

and for all the
right reasons.

But we'll continue to

grow organically as well.

We have a strong
sales team

in Europe and globally.

Most of you readers

probably know
who we are and

probably in
touch with us at

some point along the line,

and we'll continue to

make ourselves
available to everyone.

>> Well, on that note,

I did say to Jamie before.

I said, if
people now can't

find anybody who appears
on this podcast,

I always give them

the courtesy and the
opportunity to say,

how do we get in
touch with that

person or their business?

And in some
respects, I think,

well, do we need
to anymore?

People are listening to

this if they're
interested.

Surely, they'll be able to

go and find somebody,

but in the interests of
fairness and parity,

cvent.com, it's
probably the best

start point,
isn't it, Jamie?

>> It is absolutely
the best start poin,

and I'll just
make one plug.

Every year, we do two
annual conferences,

one in the US and
one in Europe,

it's called Cvent Connect.

Cvent Connect this year
is 5-11, November.

You'll find it
on cvent.com.

Last year, we had
Claudia Winkleman

as our PA. We had
some great speakers.

This year, we
won't disappoint.

We haven't
released it yet,

but we won't disappoint.

Got some great
people coming.

It's a wonderful
two-and-a-half days

of not just Cvent.

That's probably a point
I'd like to make.

Of course, we're Cvent,

of course we're
going to be there.

Of course, we're
going to have

products there,
but it's about

the industry. We have
an industry day.

It's about celebrating
the industry

and making sure that
at the end of the day,

we all know
we're all in it

for the same reasons.

So Cvent Connect,

you can find it online,
go get your tickets.

>> Absolutely. Head
over there, guys.

We've been
speaking today to

the vice president of

European Sales at Cvent,

Jamie Vaughan, and it's
genuinely flown past.

I've said this before

on podcast before
where you know it's

a good one where
the conversation

has just gone and you
look and you think,

35 minutes has flown past.

[OVERLAPPING]

>> Moreover, James,
I think we had

a few pointers that

we're going to talk about.

We haven't spoke
about any of them.

[LAUGHTER]

>> No.

>> We just waffled.

>> Absolutely not.
Maybe there's

an entire new podcast

series that needs to come

out where we can get

through each of

these points in
individual episodes.

But no, Jamie, genuinely,

thanks for your
time today,

I really appreciate it.

For those of you who are

watching the video today,

you'll see the busy
West London artery

of the A40 whizzing

behind Cvent's offices
in Paddington.

And I've no doubt that
with a busy schedule,

taking time out to do
something like this,

I'm sure you'll
enjoy it, but it's

maybe not top of a
priority, Jamie.

So it's very much

appreciated you
joining us today.

>> Great to meet you.
Thanks, everyone.

>> Just a couple of
mentions before we wrap

up and finalize
today's podcast.

Of course, if you are
listening to this,

wherever you get
your podcast from,

thank you very
much for doing so.

Please don't forget
to head over to

eventindustrynews.com,
where you

can find the latest
news features,

special supplements,
all that good stuff

that's on the website,

as well as the A-Z
supplier directory.

If you work in

the events industry
and you are looking

for a product or a
service or a supplier,

chances are you
will find it on

the A-Z supplier directory

within eventindustrynews.com,
where you

can also watch video
versions of the podcast

if you choose to do so.

Please don't forget
to subscribe

wherever you get
your podcast from so

that you're
notified of when

the latest editions drop.

And thanks very
much everybody for

tuning into
today's episode.

My last and final thanks,

of course, go to
my guest today,

Jamie Vaughan from Cvent,

and we'll see you all on

the next edition
of the podcast.

Thanks, everybody.
Goodbye. [MUSIC]