For the first time in its 50-year history, the world’s greatest convention of science fiction and fantasy pop-culture, July’s San Diego Comic-Con, was carried out in an entirely virtual sphere.
Comi-Con is not just an event where fans can indulge in comic books. Over the years, it has become a universe that annually draws thousands of people, major corporate sponsors and movie studios, into the same space.
While Coronavirus may have curtailed the event organisers’ original plans, this new normal has marked the beginning of a virtual events era. It is no secret that adaptability has become critical, and now more than ever technology has proved how it can help us adapt by shifting the way we approach conferencing with like-minded people online.
Using tech magic to digitally transform for the future
As advocates of business reinvention, at Zenitech we’re pleased to have sprinkled our own tech magic closer to home at Comic Con Baltics, a local, but no less grand, event in Vilnius, Lithuania.
The largest pop-culture gathering in the Baltics, the yearly event gathers together a huge audience, many of which come specifically for one of its most popular attractions, the cosplay competition.
A portmanteau of the words costume play, the cosplay contest is the perfect opportunity for participants to dress to impress and perform as their favourite pop-culture icons.
The problem? With over 100 contestants in the competition, the judges have a tough task on their hands not least to keep track of every entry. Using printed materials or pre-made Excel sheets for judging the competition has become inefficient, and that’s where Zenitech came in.
Adapting to a digital world
Aware of the necessity to adapt and successfully position within the digital business landscape, we took upon the challenge as soon as one of our colleagues came up with the proposal.
As a volunteer at the cosplay competition, our colleague could easily see the necessity of a platform that could bring more efficiency in the judging process, and we were more than happy to help and support our colleagues’ hobby at the same time.
One of the key elements on which we have focused was on how to adapt their processes and come up with a tailored solution. Being an effective technology partner means that you have to understand your user’s needs and bring both the technology and usability functions together.
We have created a standalone desktop application infrastructure to mitigate the challenge. The solution addresses the need to have an easy to manage, well-performing tool, independent from internet connection quality or availability. The application gives the judges a categorised view of competitor data, with advanced search capabilities. Moreover, it provides a real-time ranking feature based on the scores added by the judges.
It’s an innovative use of tech, which will prove invaluable for the judges in ranking the competitors on all kinds of different criteria. The application also offers search and filtering functionality, managing different categories, as well as data export/import.
Having the right technology to power your event
In today’s digital world, having the right technology at the forefront of your event to participants’ relationship will assure your path to success. We are always happy to contribute to our partners’ business reinvention, help them be more agile and solve their pain points.
Which events, physical or virtual, do you have coming up in your diary? And can you be sure the tech you use is up to the task in terms of conference organising, participant interaction, on-the-day scheduling, and feedback? Get in touch to let us help with your needs and build a tech partnership that’s fit for the future.
