The EMS Today Conference and Exhibit hall had its own Android and iPhone App called EMS2Go 2012. I installed the app on my Android phone the first day of the show and tried to use it throughout my time at EMS Today.
3 Ways I used EMS2Go
1. Find vendors. My top use of the app was in the exhibit hall to find booths of vendors I wanted to visit. The search feature was easy to use and got me to my destination.
2. Speaker schedule. I also used the app to search the speaker schedule. The education portion of the app allowed me to search by Track, Date, Speaker.
3. Review session information. The app had the same information as the printed conference guide so I could read “speaker” bios and session descriptions.
3 Ways EMS2Go App Delivers Ads
1. Sponsored by Phillips. The app was sponsored by Phillips and displayed the Phillips logo during the launch/load process.
2. Rotating horizontal banner ads. Each page in the app had a horizontal banner ad at the top or bottom of the page from a rotating set of sponsors. These banner ads were like GIF ads and rapidly rotated (too fast in my opinion) as I looked at the page.
3. Display ads around the exhibit hall. I saw many signs around the exhibit hall and registration area announcing the availability of the app.
3 Features I want to Have in a Conference App
1. Social Sharing. I want a conference app that lets me connect with other attendees. I want an app that I can connect to my Twitter status updates and Facebook stream or even FourSquare.
2. Interaction during sessions. I want a conference app that I can encourage attendees to use during a session to answer poll questions I might ask, view additional resources, or rate the session as I present the information.
3. Contribute Photos and Video. I want an app that encourage me to capture and tag media from the exhibit hall that will go in a conference photo/video collection.
Overall, the app performed well and was an easy to use alternative a printed conference guide. Unfortunately, it didn’t deliver much that I couldn’t do with the conference guide and a ballpoint pen. The app doesn’t have functionality for me to keep engaging with the page content, advertisers, or even EMS Today after the conference is over. An app has the opportunity to connect me with other attendees, sponsors, and JEMS content between now and EMS Today 2013.
Did you use EMS2Go at EMS Today 2012? What did you like about the app? What could it have done better?