WebSummit Dublin 2015 - A Reflection on our experience

It's been 10 days now since we returned home after WedSummit in Dublin, Ireland.

We certainly needed some of that time to recover, but we have used the last few days to reflect an our whole experience from both skignz being at a big exhibition/conference as an 'Alpha Company', through to what we felt was good & bad from an event point of view?

Let's get the bad out of the way and focus on the positives. These are only really nitty gritty things that we felt that we would like to change:

#1. We only had our 'Alpha Stand' for one day, we would have preferred at least two days. WebSummit is now that big with over 42k people attending that after we had the stand on the first day, we didn't really have a base or somewhere we can direct people to to come and talk to us.

#2. the opportunities to meet the investors was limited as they chose who they wanted to see and only one of the ones we saw was worth the meeting.

Most of the success we had meeting VC's was at other events and through introductions from our own bank and other contacts.

#3. Using the chat on the app was great prior to the event but once the event started, many people weren't replying in time, setting up meetings became difficult due to clashes and delays, "if only there was a way to identify them and would alert you when you were close, so at least you can say hello and put a face to a name (If only hey ;-))."

Like we said above the above are nitty gritty stuff, that can be taken on board by WebSummit as they progress, as all feedback is good even if it's a little bit uncomfortable at the time, but as a growing brand and organisation, listening to your customers is key to your future success.

Positives... for this we maybe have too many to mention but feel it was not only the opportunity that WebSummit presents, the types of people attending and the quality of your offering. for us though what was key was the dynamic of the team we took with us, the approach as in early mornings and late nights. 

Engaging people during the day, with either preset meetings, chatting to the next table over lunch or mixing with Many different people during the 'Night Summits and Pub Crawls'.

 

David Murphy (Head of Sports Partnerships at skignz) thought the Pub Crawl on the first night was excellent for him personally, as the four of us were broken up into different places, making us engage people and not just go to the opening event as a group. 

By the time we all met up afterwards, we already had a number of different people to speak to, interested parties for partnerships and an overwhelming positive response to skignz itself. 

He said after the second day that the night before was fantastic as it helped him find his feet with regards to explaining skignz and how it could work in a multitude of scenarios, so much so that on the Tuesday, he felt he went straight in, was quick and efficient with his explanation and demonstration of skignz to everyone who he spoke to, as well as finding ways to relate to each of them personally.

This continued for the next 3 days for all of us. We have met some wonderful people from all corners of the earth, some we may not do business with but will certainly stay in contact with as we are sure we can help each others companies going forward, even if we may not do business with each other.

The key for us was that we never spoke to anyone who did not see either a fit for skignz with them professionally or personally. Not many startups or tech companies can say that. This is actually the overall response we get from anyone who sees skignz for the first time.

From us placing skignz all over Dublin to help everyone at WebSummit find their hotels, the venues, even the toilets, refreshments and various stages; right through to the partner bars for the 'Pub Crawl's and Night Summits' to places of interest. 


 The corridor of sponsor skignz ran from the train and taxi ranks right to the main gate of the RDS. But only those who knew about skignz, had the app could see this information.

We spoke to a number of people who actually worked for WebSummit and fed back what we were constantly hearing - "Why isn't this part of the Web Summit offering? If we all had skignz it would be easier to find people after using chat".

Lets hope the connections we have made and discussions held throughout WebSummit and hopefully in the coming weeks, can make this a reality not only for next year's WebSummit in Lisbon, Portugal, but also for the other events they organise such as RISE, COLLISION & ONE.

We will obviously update you on our progress and also the other similar tech events across the globe who have approached us to work with them. 

Who knows, within the next 12-18 months every major tech/brand/mobile event like WebSummit you attend, will be 'skignzed up' for your convenience and even further enhance your overall experience.

In summary we had a very positive experience with WebSummit but it's like anything, you get out of it what you put into it. 

Plan, Plan and Plan some more, have a very clear idea of what you aim to achieve and what is required, and execute your plan....

For Further information on WebSummit and their other associated events across the globe, please visit: https://websummit.net

And as always for further information on skignz then please visit us on the usual Social Media channels or drop us a line info@skignz.com

Winning at Old Trafford - Can you improve on that?

“That’s Boro out”… 

The first words my 14 year old M.F.C. mad son said, as the draw for the fourth round of the Capital One League Cup was made.  

Manchester United v Middlesbrough, at Old Trafford, the Theatre of Dreams…

I had to think hard about whether or not to buy tickets to the game.  The shiver of disappointment from the Play Off Final at Wembley last may still ran down the spine. Then, we learned that there would be up to 11,000 fans travelling.. Oh go on then, one last time….

As 'Head of Data Visualisation Partnerships' at skignz, I couldn’t resist thinking about the possibility of a showcase of skignz at Old Trafford, and how we could maybe make at least one part of the game memorable for my son!

After speaking with Si, the Co-Founder & CMO of skignz, he came up with the plan that we would use skignz to show my son and his friend to their seats, and allow other skignz users to see where they were.

Great Idea! Over 70,000 people in the ground and any one of them would be able to pick us out using skignz.  We also decided to place skignz around Old Trafford for the away fans, guiding them to the correct areas of the ground, and making life easier for them.

Inside the stadium there was an electric feel to the atmosphere as we made our way to our seats, 11,000 Teessiders (me, my son and his friend amongst them) ready to roar on our hometown club to victory in the biggest club stadium in the land.  

My son opened the skignz app on his smart phone…. 
"Have you seen that!!” he said.  

He’d just seen the skignz above his seat.  Then he saw another, and others dotted around Old Trafford there were skignz showing supporters clubs, people, and also support for the plight of the Steel Industry on Teesside #SaveOurSteel.

Middlesbrough F.C. won on penalties against a strong Manchester United team with England Captain Wayne Rooney missing his penalty.

A result that will live long in the memory of Boro fans.  The next day, I asked my now very tired son what he thought of Old Trafford and the trip.  

“I loved it dad. We won and I had my own skignz above my seat.. 
I wonder if LVG (Louis Van Gaal, M.U.F.C. Manager) saw it?”

I’m not sure about that son, but I’m sure he will soon….

If you want to use skignz at your club or on away days, place your own skignz beforehand and it will not only can help you find the 'Away End' at any stadium in the world but will also help you find your friends in the crowds if you link with them.

You can find out all the latest from skignz on both this blog and our usual social media channels

ARt Above will do for the graphic arts what Spotify has done for music.

In early September we blogged about how one of the skignz users had 'subverted the subversive' by displaying his own art work (through skignz) at Banksy's Dismaland.

Martin has been working away on how Art could be best presented through the skignz platform, so we asked Martin if he wouldn't mind sharing in his own words a bit more about skignz and the new Art Channel that we have since created called 'ARt Above'.

Utilizing the skignz platform, 'ARt Above' has the ability to place graphic works anywhere on the planet without asking the permission of gallery owner, curator or town planner. 'ARt Above' will level the playing field allowing artist to install their work at any address in the land – Mayfair, Soho or Madison Avenue.

The potential offered by the skignz platform and the ability of 'ARt Above' to place images at any location is only just being unlocked.

'ARt Above' is above all the Spotify of graphic art – the facilitator of personal curation – placing your exhibition in front of your audience - hijacking the white cube.

Art conceived within the confines of the 2 dimensional space has been placed around the world, but 'ARt Above' offers the possibility of developing a new art – the art dreamed of a century ago - a vector art of lines in space without the need for the support of paper and without the structural concerns of gravity – taking works off the printed page and out of the shuttered form of the canvas, positioning them in space – breaking the forth wall of art – the new cubism – a neo neoplasticism.

In 1936 Charles Tamkó Sirató published his Dimensionist Manifesto which described:

     1. Literature leaving the line and entering the plane.

     2. Painting leaving the plane and entering space.

     3. Sculpture stepping out of closed, immobile forms.

     4. The artistic conquest of four-dimensional space.

The art envisioned by Pablo Picasso and George Braque and described with Cubism a century ago, 

'ARt Above' has actualised!

We would like to thank Martin for his vision, enthusiasm and efforts in working with skignz to develop 'ARt Above' so that it can be used by any Artist of any genre, skill, ability or form, for the benefit of artists and the wider public.

Many people who may not be interested in going into Art Galleries or to Art Shows, can view art where the artist intended them to view it, it maybe a park, a town square, on a beach and even on the side of famous buildings.

If you would like to find out more about 'ARt Above' then please visit www.skignz.com/downloads and get your copy of the skignz app on either iOS or Android.

Already got the App, well anytime you see the 'channels' icon highlighted, when using skignz, press the icon and see what channels are available?  

If you see 'ARt Above' then please select it and take a look!

Wired Retail Conference in London

skignz Co-Founder and CMO will be speaking at the upcoming WIRED Retail Conference in London.

Si was invited to speak after a number of the 'WIRED' events team saw him present and pitch at various events and the articles written about skignz in 'WIRED Magazine' throughout 2015 

Si will be focussing on the future of retail and how this will evolve, change and progress using Augmented Reality. 

skignz already has a few innovative and unique ways in which AR can be incorporated into retail, but instead of looking in store as many other brands have done with AR or activating content through brands publications. 

"What about GeoLocation?" 

"What about lead generation?" 

"How about relating hyperlocal information to drive and increase purchases?"

Some of the areas in which Si feels further exploration are:
 - AR driving sales 
 - AR helping with emotive purchases
 - AR increasing speed of purchases

http://www.wiredevent.co.uk/wired-retail-2015-speakers

'WIRED' Retail together with Valtech is on November 23rd at the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, London, with a view to presenting the future of retail - with those who are building it.

For further information on 'WIRED' Retail 2015 please visit:

http://www.wiredevent.co.uk/wired-retail-2015-2

We will be updating you through our various social media channels as the event progresses and sharing others comments on Si's talk. If you would like to speak to Si about this event then please email us at info@skignz.com