In 2018, the Events team at Paragon Events took over the newly rebranded Global Tourism Summit from a previous organization. With a complete revamp of the summit in mind, they needed a strategic rollout plan to increase attendance by at least 33%. "When we took over, they were using multi-products on a different platform,” explains Manager of Meetings and Events Katherine Stokoe. “We realized that in order to have a seamless integration and improve our attendee experience, putting it on one platform was not only going to make the summit more successful, but our team more successful.”
Using Flex for a Modern Registration Experience
Technology and Applications Coordinator Braylon Bush used Flex to ensure a gorgeous, modern registration experience. He notes, “Managing between 30 and 50 registrations a year, having Flex makes it easier for me to help manage the team and the different programs we have going. I think Flex is going to be a premier option for us to move forward with responsive, design-oriented registration sites.” The new website helped Paragon Events drive registration for the summit with unprecedented traffic. “Our Cvent site had over 105,000 views. This was very well done from a site that only had about 15,000 views the year before,” notes Katherine. Automated emails and social pushes helped target abandoned registrations. "It was something that we’ve never had before for this client," adds Katherine. These efforts increased revenue by $3,000 and increased registration by 46%.Powering Paragon Events Experiences
Using OnArrival, the team was able to process check-ins quickly. “For me, I feel so at ease having OnArrival,” notes Event Specialist Jalissa Sutton. “95% of attendees’ reactions were ‘That’s it? Am I done?’ It’s so easy that people are in awe. The team opted to use the CrowdCompass mobile app to communicate directly and efficiently with attendees. “The year before we took over management, the app had about a 25% engagement rate. This year it went up to about 85%,” notes Katherine. “We also took different advertising options this year, and funneled that into sponsorship revenue.” Noting the power of an integrated platform, Katherine adds that "the website updates went directly to CrowdCompass, which created more productivity within Paragon Events. OnArrival made it easier to give updated numbers ASAP to our stakeholders.”Using Data to Power Summit Success
Using additional Cvent tools like Lead Capture and Appointments helped the team gather accurate data that integrated directly with the Cvent Event Management platform. "For us, the biggest thing was the post-event data that we received," notes Katherine. "Within our clients’ world, they need to be able to back up costs, which means we need to be able to back up costs. We always provide a very comprehensive report after an event that sums up all of the pros and opportunities. For this we turned to Cvent, which made it very seamless for us to pull all this data.” Katherine and her team are quickly establishing themselves as industry leaders, constantly engaging with event technology in order to fully invest in the success of their clients. Most importantly, Katherine explains that her team feels that their voices matter in the development of new and exciting technology. “For us, Cvent’s our partner,” she explains. “If it makes our lives and jobs easier, that’s something that we’re going to want to keep investing in and therefore having our clients invest in.” Want to read more? Check out the full customer story video and hear about Paragon Events team's success in their own words.See the Full Story Here
