Detroit’s SMG/Cobo Center announced a new Technology Services department to drive profitability and enhance events. A recent $279 million renovation included a broadcast studio, digital signage, Internet/Wi-Fi upgrades, and an extensive fiber network.

“The creation of Cobo Center Technology Services, though significant on its own, is part of a larger overall plan designed to enhance the customer experience,” Claude Molinari., the center’s general manager, said in a statement.

The new digital signage includes a 4,800-square-foot marquee sign on the center’s exterior and more than 100 digital message boards outside each meeting or event room.

“In our first year of digital signage operation, Cobo Center generated more than $800,000 in advertising revenue, an astounding feat for a convention center,” Molinari said. “Our customers quickly caught on to the fact that these signs can create substantial revenue streams.”

The center also plans to increase bandwidth up to 10G (depending on an event’s needs).

“This final enhancement will make the Technology Services offering in Cobo Center the highest caliber, comparable to any convention center in the world,” Molinari said

Other technology enhancements, according to a press release, include a free facility app that is fully integrable with event apps; recent cell tower upgrades with all providers; online event service ordering for all event services, making service ordering paperless; and conversation pod furniture groups where customers can relax, plug-in, and recharge between meetings.

I love a good hackathon, and the one recently held at the University of Buffalo (UB) produced some worthy ideas.

More than 50 students spent 24 hours visualizing about the stadium of the future, concentrating on hospitality and guest experiences. Delaware North, the UB School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, the UB School of Management, and UB Athletics sponsored the event.

“Think about the last time you were at a stadium,” Rick Abramson, COO and executive vice president for Delaware North, told the students, as reported by the UB Reporter. “What did you like? What turned you off or what was lacking? Were the seats too small? Was the food good? Could you find a jersey to buy? Talk to friends over Wi-Fi? What would you do better? We want to learn from you. How can we satisfy people of your age and demographic?”

A strength of this hackathon was the different groups of students—engineering, management, etc.—working together toward a common goal.

“There’s a lot of literature—much of it has come out of the U.S. Army, for example — that shows that groups that have diversity of views and expertise will create better outcomes and solutions and products than groups that are more homogeneous,” Liesl Folks, dean of the School Engineering and Applied Sciences, told the UB Reporter.

Eight teams ended up pitching their ideas to a panel of judges, and first-, second-, and third-place winners were selected.

The team that won first place developed a wearable wristband that replaces a fan’s tickets and ID and lets someone make quick, cashless purchases at concession stands.

Please read the full UB Reporter article to learn more about the hackathon and to find out which ideas were awarded second and third places.

(Image: UB Reporter)

Educational opportunities are prevalent at this year’s VenueConnect in Minneapolis, Minnesota, July 23-26. And they don’t just happen in meeting rooms. Join our Fireside Chats on the trade show floor and participate in important and exciting industry discussions that will impact your staff and your guests. Let’s take a look at a few of them.

Providing Bathrooms for All Guests
Saturday, July 23, 5-5:30 p.m., and Sunday, July 24, 10:40-11:25 a.m.
Bathrooms and gender have made the news a lot this past year, with groups and acts cancelling events in some states and cities in protest of laws. Join a discussion lead by Landers Center Executive Director Todd Mastry on this emerging topic and how venues are meeting their guests’ needs.

The Fan Experience: Changing the Game with Food and Beverage Technology
Sunday, July 24, 1:10 – 1:30 p.m.
Oracle Hospitality Sports and Entertainment will dive into the findings of their recently conducted research report on the fan experience at sporting events around the world. More specifically, the research focuses on the role that food and beverage at a stadium plays in the overall fan experience. Come engage in hearing more about the results of the study and what Oracle Hospitality Sports and Entertainment can do for your stadium, arena, or venue.

Overtime Law Changes and What You Need to Know
Sunday, July 24, 1:35-2:20 p.m.
Cartsen Peterson, an attorney with Hawley Troxell, specializes in employment law and will guide attendees on everything to know about the recent U.S. Department of Labor update to the overtime rules—rules that will affect thousands of employees and venues.

Other Fireside Chats include talks about mobile payments, energy optimization for venues, risk and threat identification, acoustic trends, mobile apps, and self-promoted events.

Register now for VenueConnect so you don’t miss out on learning more about these topics first hand.

Musician Alicia Keys recently made headlines by having a phone-free concert. Fans locked their devices into a pouch made by Yondr. Attendees keep the pouches with them, but they could only be unlocked by venue employees.

Yondr was founded by Graham Dugoni two years ago, and already artists and acts such as Louis C.K., the Lumineers, and Dave Chappelle have hired the company to police fans’ phone use.

“If you haven’t been to a phone-free show, you just don’t know what you’re missing,” Dugoni told The Washington Post. “There’s something about living in real life that can’t be replicated.”

I hate to break it to you, sir, but smartphones are a part of real life, too. I’ve been to concerts where multiple phones were in the air and I’ve been to shows where no phones were there. THEY WERE BOTH THE SAME EXPERIENCE. Sorry to yell at you. This is something I feel very passionate about. I admit, though, my passion for the freedom to take a photo is probably equal to someone’s passion for having a phone-free event.

Consider this, however. Taking photos actually helps you enjoy events more.

In a recent study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, researchers found that those who took photos enjoyed and were more engaged with their experiences.

“To the best of our knowledge, this research is the first extensive investigation examining how taking photos affects people’s enjoyment of their experiences,” wrote Kristin Diehl, PhD, of the University of Southern California; Gal Zauberman, PhD, of Yale University; and Alixandra Barasch, PhD, of the University of Pennsylvania. “We show that, relative to not taking photos, photography can heighten enjoyment of positive experiences by increasing engagement.”

The researchers included more than 2,000 participants in the study, having them take part in an activity where they either took photos or didn’t. The participants then completed a survey and in almost every instance those who took photographs reported higher levels of enjoyment than those who didn’t.

“Surprisingly, despite the prevalence of photo-taking today, prior research has not studied how taking photos affects the experiences being photographed,” the researchers wrote. “In this paper, we are interested in this very question: how does photo-taking affect people’s enjoyment of their experiences? Lay beliefs regarding this question vary widely. For example, some business owners and performers have banned cameras from restaurants and concerts, arguing that taking photos will ruin individuals’ experiences. However, the prevalence of photo-taking across countless situations suggests that many individuals do not share this opinion.”

Thank you, science.

(photo credit: ShutterRunner via photopin cc)

“Color is the place where our brain and the universe meet.”—Paul Klee

Our understanding of color has come a long way since Henry Ford told Model T customers they could “have any color they wanted as long as it was black.”

Today, we know colors have a physiological impact on the brain. Scientists tell us that when we view a color, our eyes send a message to the hypothalamus, which then sends messages to the pituitary gland and thyroid glands, causing the body to release hormones that affect mood, emotions, and behavior.

Color is an important part of our everyday lives. We slow down for yellow lights, stop for red lights, and go when the lights turn green. Color has even found its way into our language. When we’re sad, we say we “feel blue.” When we’re angry, we “see red.” And when we’re jealous, we’re “green with envy.”

Color also plays a critical role in triggering and reinforcing brand recognition. When we see a certain shade of green, we think of Holiday Inn. When we see a certain orange, we think of Home Depot. Some company colors, such as UPS brown and Target red are even trademarked.

We understand that effective use of color is one of the keys to success in creating seating for the hospitality industry. It has to complement a company’s design aesthetic, blend seamlessly with the existing décor, and enhance, or at the very least, not detract from the overall enjoyment of visitors and guests.

According to Josh Swy, MTS Seating’s director of design, we interact with color differently when it’s part of a seating experience. “Seating is something we touch and feel and connect with, and

“Seating is something we touch and feel and connect with, and color is a critical part of that exchange,” Swy said. “When you engage color on that tactile level, it can really speak to you.”

MTS customers have the final say when it comes to color selection.

“They tell us what they want,” Swy said. “We help them achieve it, which not only means matching the desired color as closely as possible but finding the right designer and fabric supplier to keep it from being cost-prohibitive. If our customers are happy, we’re happy, and we do everything we can to make sure they’re happy.”

(Image: EnKayTee/Creative Commons)