Event safety and security are always on the minds of event organizers. From the physical security concerns of bringing together thousands of people into a single venue or area to privacy regulations surrounding personal attendee data.
In 2019, we’re continuing to see creating safe and secure events as a top priority in enterprise event marketing.
This article will cover strategies event marketers are using to ensure their events are safe and secure – both digitally and physically – for their attendees.
Make data privacy a win-win
Attendees are increasingly looking for personalized experiences and recommendations, customized to their unique interests. In turn, event organizers are looking to delight attendees while also maximizing value to their partners and sponsors and abiding by privacy and security regulations.
To create an ecosystem where event organizers can delight attendees, create value for sponsors and partners, while paying attention to event security and event app security, as well as fulfilling legal requirements, it’s best – and legally required – for event organizers to be upfront with their attendees about what data is being collected, how it is stored and how it’s shared with partners and sponsors.
For attendees who are willing to share their personal data, event organizers are better able to use systems like TurnoutNow to provide personal recommendations to help attendees find event content most relevant to them. For large events with thousands of sessions, this is particularly helpful.
Be GDPR compliant
The launch of GDPR in May 2018 meant all organizations need to be more transparent about data collected and stored and we’ve seen a massive shift in the overall enterprise approach to personal data collection and storage including email addresses, names, location data and phone numbers.
Virtually any event could be hosting a European citizen, which means event organizers need to comply with GDPR regulations – even if the event itself is not in Europe. We’ll continue to see increasingly strict data regulations roll out, including the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) coming in 2020.
Work with trusted vendors
With stricter data security requirements, enterprise event marketers must ensure all pieces of their tech stacks are able to comply. Every technology vendor you work with should have measures in place to secure attendee data and, if required, be able to prove it’s secured.
Being GDPR compliant is more than just keeping attendee data secure. You’ll also need to be sure that if requested, you can share all data related to an individual and delete it if they ask.
Be mindful of physical security
Not only is data security a huge concern for event organizers, physical security during their events is also on the top of their minds. The 2018 Event App Bible annual survey of event marketers found that 24.7% of respondents reported that they are concerned about terrorism at their events. With disastrous incidents like the shooting at the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival in 2017, event organizers are taking extra measures to keep their event attendees and staff safe. To help them, they’re looking to new technologies to pave the way.
Use innovative technologies
Last year, Mobile World Congress piloted facial recognition technology to reduce identity fraud. When attendees uploaded pictures at any stage during registration, these were used to match faces when attendees arrived at the event. In February 2019, we’ll see this is returning to the Barcelona event to keep attendees secure.
Crowd-source safety monitoring
The massive Consumer Electronics Show (CES) uses LiveSafe, a safety app that lets attendees discreetly request security assistance from their phones. This let attendees quickly alert event staff of any security issues. In 2019, LiveSafe was integrated directly into the CES mobile app to make it even easier for attendees to access, instead of downloading two separate apps.
When using a service like LiveSafe, let attendees know how seriously you take their physical safety. Consider putting together a video, signage or a slide that plays before sessions start sharing with attendees what to do if they have any physical safety concerns during your event. You can also use this as an opportunity to showcase where they can find out more information about the event security procedures.
