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GPJ39s Dream Machine a digitally enabled cannon prompting gueststo answer questions and take a selfie Suddenly a puff of smoke erupts as the cannon shoots those details onto the 100foot LED halo above
<p><em>GPJ&#39;s Dream Machine, a digitally enabled cannon prompting gueststo answer questions and take a selfie. Suddenly, a puff of smoke erupts as the cannon shoots those details onto the 100-foot LED halo above.</em></p>

On Trend: The New Tech Day for Events

<p>Special Events magazine looks at new technology tools for events, including virtual reality and augmented reality</p>

Today’s technology literally lends new dimensions to events, enabling them to be more like personalized journeys rather than ready-made destinations. Here’s how event professionals are using technology to make lasting impressions.

VR, PROJECTION MAPPING STAY STRONG Auburn Hills, Mich.-based George P. Johnson Experience Marketing, the minds behind the Honda auto show experience, also used virtual reality (VR) to craft a different type of experience for AT&T.

“We created an interactive game of a day in the life of a network security expert to showcase a broad solution portfolio,” says Nick Riggall, GPJ's head of digital strategy/U.K. “Oculus VR allowed us to create interaction where users made decisions through the VR, so it wasn't another passive virtual-reality experience.”

It’s easy to see why VR is popular with event organizers—and Google is making it simple to implement. Google’s Cardboard VR glasses bring stunning environments and simulations to life.

“Attendees love them,” says Matt Gillam, officer at Enterprise Events Group, based in San Rafael, Calif. “Google Cardboard glasses are cost-effective, easy to assemble, cool, and can be co-branded, so our customers’ names live on well after the event.”

Gillam also sings the praises of ON Event Services’ ONstage 3D projection mapping, which transforms common environments of any 3D shape into striking interactive displays.

David Kenyon, senior vice president of production for Memphis, Tenn.-based LEO Events, echoes Gillam on how projection mapping can pump up the "wow" factor.

“At the 2016 Walmart Shareholders Meeting, CEO Doug McMillon turned pages of a custom pop-up book while the images projected onto it depicted the history and growth of the company,” Kenyon explains.

TECH DRIVES ENGAGEMENT Event professionals can help attendees engage with content with a “beyond the screen” experience, says David Kerr, senior director of creative and audio visual services for Ashfield Meetings and Events in Ashby, England …

The full story will appear in the Winter edition of Special Events, available in January 2017.

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