News: Metaworks

Event Guide Helps Show Planners

September 2002, Shows and Exhibitions Online, Volume 10, No.9,

A study conducted by Meetings and Incentive Travel magazine shows that 25% of conference planners face a challenge increasing show attendance. With 13,185 trade shows across held in North America last year alone, competition for attendance is strong.
 
A Halifax company, Metaworks Inc., believes it has a solution: MetaGuide, a Palm OS-based mobile, wireless-enabled conference and event guide that gives attendees instant access to detailed, up-to-the minute information. MetaGuide can be customized to include information such as daily schedules, exhibitor profiles, registration details, logos, maps and tourism information.
 
Carrie Anderson Chavis, manager, Convention Promotions, for the Food Marketing Institute says, "The MetaGuide Electronic Show Guide was a huge success at our technology convention. Attendees were very impressed with this progressive idea and were happy to have the MetaGuide beamed to them instead of carrying around a bulky show guide."
 
MetaGuide handheld technology enables attendees to download conference information before they get to the show, and plan their agenda while there. When the show is over, they can have a database of contacts that can be accessed by a simple tap on the screen.
 
Event managers can also generate additional revenues by offering promotional space within a MetaGuide to sponsors and local tourism venues, which in turn, allows their sponsors an increase in corporate visibility, resulting in more booth traffic.
 
Recent MetaGuide users include the Food Marketing Institute's Marketechnics Show, the Association of Computing Machinery's OOPSLA conference and the Atlantic Film Festival.
 
Metaworks Inc. specializes in creating handheld, wireless and web-based solutions to connect mobile staff to corporate and medical data. More information: Phone: 902-423-3208, fax: 902-423-8391, toll free: 877-265-0075, Website: www.metaworks.com.