We’ve teamed with Polygon Studios to make NFT Tickets available to our community

Mint and sell NFT tickets with your favorite event ticketing platform

In our quest to democratize technology for event organizers, we’ve partnered with Polygon Studios and enabled NFT ticketing on our platform. While we handle the complicated part, our community can now easily mint and sell NFT tickets, completely changing the way attendees experience in-person and virtual events. 

Enter the era of unlimited possibilities with NFT Tickets

NFT (Non-fungible tokens) are blockchain-based digital records that can be associated with digital or physical goods (basically almost anything that we can imagine). And they rely on smart contracts – embedded programs that act like contracts for these NFTs and activate different options when certain conditions are met, allowing you to go full creative with your event tickets. 

Unlike traditional tickets, those leveraging blockchain technology can unlock outstanding experiences.

NFT tickets are improving the experience

Securely store access credentials and attendee information. On a blockchain network, transactions are encrypted and stored as immutable blocks – thus protecting you and your community against fraudsters.

Transform your tickets into hot collectibles. NFT tickets are stored on the blockchain, allowing users to easily check their authenticity and entire track record, thus making them the perfect assets for any collector. 

Tokenize (part of) the experience. Allow your special guests to actually own a part of the experience.

Enable perpetual royalties. Blockchain transactions are backed up by smart contracts, allowing you to set up special rules for future transactions. Eg: a small cut can find it’s way back to you each time tickets are resold.

Enable ticket add-ons on web3. Prepack additional perks into your tickets and let your attendees benefit from them long after your event is over (perpetual discounts to your future events, priority access to product launches run by your partners, VIP tickets to their favorite band, etc.).

and many more…

Polygon Studios X Oveit

The partnership between Oveit and Polygon Studios aims to simplify the selling of NFT Tickets. Until now, this option was cost-prohibitive. But with our solution, any event organizer or artist can mint and sell NFT tickets. Faster, at lower costs, and with no coding expertise required.

Blockchain’s impact on the environment is not something that should be overlooked. But we know we’ve teamed up with the right partner for the job. Polygon’s Proof of Stake consensus mechanism allows the Network to scale in an eco-friendly manner by not requiring the same computation power as mining blocks on networks that use a Proof of Work mechanism. We know this is important to you. 

About Polygon Studios

Polygon Studios is the Gaming and NFT arm of Polygon focused on growing the global Blockchain Gaming and NFT Industry. The Polygon Studios ecosystem comprises highly loved games and NFT projects like OpenSea, Upshot, Aavegotchi, Zed Run, Skyweaver by Horizon Games, Decentraland, Megacryptopolis, Neon District, Cometh, and Decentral Games. 

February 8, 2022 Event registration, Technology No comments yet

Is your work impacting the local community?

A few days ago I saw some news that reminded me of just how important events are. Not just for those directly involved, but for the local community as well.

The material covered the story of a small local community that for the last 30 years was on the verge of bankruptcy. Year after year, the local authorities did their best to bring the small town back to life. With 0 results.

Then, all of a sudden, things started to change. A team of event organizers found the area perfect for a small (at first) Jazz festival. Encouraged by the splendid landscape, they decided to give it a try.

“You are never going to make out here. You are wasting your time and your money”. I wasn’t there, but this is what they probably heard. 

I am sure that the team saw disbelieve in the eyes of the local inhabitants. Disbelieve mixed with hope. So they decided to follow their dreams. 

Gains for the local community

Fast forward to the present days: the community is thriving. One week per year, thousands of people set camp in this small community. Locals saw the opportunity and transformed their homes to accommodate their new guests. Restaurants and bars have never been so joyful. And local suppliers were facing a new problem: can they produce enough? For the first time in over 3 decades, the problem was too much demand.

This new economic life is not limited to just one week per year. People started hearing about this new town and its surroundings. And started visiting it. A friend of a friend that joined the festival is now a guest for the weekend. 

Tourists are spending money in the community. Local businesses prospered, and taxes were paid. Local authorities started investing money in infrastructure. Better roads, better facilities, more tourists. More money. The exact opposite of a vicious circle.

This is a true story, but the name of this small town is not relevant here. Because the same story happens over and over again, all over the world. You just need a brave idea and a community ready to embrace it. This is why we encourage you all to include the local community in your event economy.

Don’t stop making the world a better place!

August 19, 2021 Event registration No comments yet

How to add advanced ticket types to an event

With Oveit you can create advanced Ticket types. The first thing you do is set your ticket type name. You can set names such as VIP Area, Entry ticket, Early bird ticket etc. Obviously, the ticket type name is your choice and varies according to the events. You might want to create special prices for different areas in your venue, so you can name one ticket type Area A and another Area B. Again, this is your choice to make.

tickets

Now, you can make a short description of the ticket (300 characters). Here you can add information about the ticket that might be relevant to the attendee. This is optional but sometimes it’s a good thing to have, as you might want to offer the attendee some extra features on that respective ticket. Or it may be a multiple day pass for a larger event and the description can indicate the events where he is allowed to participate.

Advanced ticket types - new ticket

Next is the ticket price. You can set up the ticket price in USD or other, local currencies. Nevertheless, if you enter the ticket price “0”, that means the event is free of charge and you can go on using Oveit just as a registration tool for the attendees.

After you set up the price, you can tick an option to include the sales fees in the final price, or opt to add it to your ticket price. You will see the buyer’s final price (and our fee) and you will see how much you will receive in the end.

You will see a Bulk sales options bar. This is a nice feature in case you want to create special offers for a specific ticket category. Let’s say that your ticket price is 20 USD. Now, you can make a special offer and sell 2 tickets for the price of one. Just select: 2 tickets cost 20 USD. And the offer is active. Simple and fast. Of course you can include our processing fee in the price or add it, just like in the case of normal tickets. And you can also add more promotions: 5 tickets cost X USD, 10 tickets cost X USD… and all the way to 15 tickets. If you want to remove a bulk sales offer just click delete and you’re done.

Next you can set up the timetable of the sales for this ticket type. Set the starting date and hour for the ticket sales and set the closing date and hour. If you want to sell this type of ticket until the event day, just leave the fields empty and Oveit will set it up automatically.

You can customise your event ticketing process by setting specific Series and Numbers for the tickets, if you wish to do so. Otherwise, just let Oveit work its magic and generate the ticket ID’s automatically. Save the ticket and proceed. You can add more tickets, edit your created tickets and associate the tickets with the event venue.

If you’ve previously set up a venue seating chart, you can associate the tickets you’ve just created with a certain seating section, row or seat. Once you click on the Associate Tickets you will be taken to a new window where you will see the seating chart of the venue that you’ve previously created.  To associate tickets with seats is extremely simple. Just click on the ticket type and then click on the seat section… and that’s it. If you want to block some areas of the seating chart, just click on ‘Unassociated’ and then on the respective area, and it’s blocked. You can do that while sales are going on, as you might want to change ticket prices or you might want to assign some seats to other categories or even give invitations/vouchers for those seats. So with just a couple of clicks you can do your seat management on the fly with this Assign seats function.

That’s it. How are you going to use the advanced ticket types?

March 11, 2021 Event registration 1 comment

Everything you need to know about hosting a Virtual Wine Tasting

There is no doubt that we all miss our normal lives and activities. A year into the pandemic and most of us still live under imposed restrictions. Well, the good news is that part of our in-person activities which are put on pause as we speak can be replicated in a virtual environment, even when we talk about a virtual wine tasting.

In this post, we’re going to place the focus on virtual wine tastings. The end result replicates really well in-person wine tastings but setting up such an experience is slightly different. For those that would rather experience new wines from the comfort of their own homes, a virtual wine tasting can be a great alternative.

If you are thinking to host a virtual wine tasting, here are some tips that will help you create a memorable experience. 

What is a Virtual Wine Tasting?

Before diving into what it takes to host a virtual wine tasting, let’s begin by briefly describing this relatively new concept. Well, you can think of it as a regular wine tasting (in-person), where participants taste and learn about different wine selections from a winery. While the purpose of both in-person and virtual wine tastings is the same, the main difference lies in how this action is performed. Instead of visiting a winery, the winery comes to your door. In both cases, wineries take care of the whole experience. Their duty is to coordinate the wine shipment, making sure that it arrives at your location in time. Then, organizers will share further details on how to access the virtual wine tasting, including platform capabilities for a better experience. 

Date & Time for your Virtual Wine Tasting

Well, instead of deciding a date & time yourself, provide your audience with the option to do it themselves. To avoid the back and forth texting to find out when everyone’s free, consider using a tool such as Pick. This app integrates with Gmail and Office 365. It simply shows those times when everyone is available. Based on that, you can choose a date & time that hopefully works for everybody that’s interested to attend.

Provide clear tasting instructions ahead of time

To make sure that your wines are enjoyed properly by your audience, provide clear instructions on how the virtual tasting should be approached. When is the right time for your guests to open their wine bottles? Should they preserve the wines at a certain temperature? What about using a clean glass for each wine? Should they taste the wines in a specific order? 

This might seem like a basic piece of information, but communicating it ahead of time can only make you look more organized and professional. If you ship wine kits before the actual virtual wine tasting, it might be a good idea to include those instructions in there. 

Choose a tasting theme

It’s always recommended to decide upon a theme beforehand. In the case of virtual wine testings, a theme translates into deciding on particular wines to taste. These are some common themes when it comes to wine-tasting:

  • Regional

A regional wine tasting theme brings together wines from a particular region. For instance, no other wines are allowed besides those coming from the Veneto region of Italy or any other region.

  • Vertical

A vertical tasting requires a bit more effort since it includes the wine of a producer across a range of years. The key element for a proper vertical tasting is to assure that the wine bottles were stored properly. However, if you manage to put together this type of tasting, the outcome can be great, since your audience can learn about a winemaker’s style, getting familiar with the various vintage styles and how those changed during the years. 

  • Horizontal

This is a common theme for both virtual and in-person wine tastings. It involves wines that are produced in the same year, from different producers. It gives more flexibility since all new releases can be included. 

  • Blind Tasting

This one works best when comparing different types of grapes, like Pinot Grigio, Shiraz, Chardonnay, or Pinot Noir. It can be used as an ice breaker for virtual wine tastings with many participants. The wine labels are covered and participants need to guess the country, grape, and even the price range based on the taste of wine. 

Photo by David Bartus from Pexels

Think of your setting in advance

As the virtual wine tasting host, make sure to choose a setting without distractions. If you go live from your home, tidy up in advance. Run some tests in advance and check your internet connection, camera, and microphone. If you have the option to host the virtual wine tasting inside an actual winery, good for you. That will only make things more fun for your audience. You can surprise them with a virtual tour of the winery before the actual tasting begins, sharing with them your favorite parts of it. 

Custom shipments for your audience

Why not create special packages for your audience? An in-person wine tasting takes care of all the necessary supplies. To make it easier, enable your audience to order their wine supplies in advance. Inside each package, you can include different wines to be tested, food pairings, and maybe some wine glasses as well. 

To present the available packages more engaging instead of simply posting them on your website, why not create a live shopping session? For instance, with Streams.live, our live stream shopping and virtual event software, creating a live shopping session is as easy as possible. It allows your viewers to purchase different promoted packages, straight from the video. The tool comes with a chat & questions feature, creating engagement and allowing you as the presenter to answer incoming questions in real-time when it matters the most. 

Photo by Liza Summer from Pexels

Decide upon a platform

Well, you’ve taken care of all the small details. Now it’s time to choose your technology. This might be the most important step of the process when hosting a virtual wine tasting. In the end, this is where your audience will interact, exchange thoughts, and experience all the hard work that you’ve put in. 

A large number of virtual wine tastings take place on Zoom. It is indeed a reliable and user-friendly video conferencing tool. However, if you want to go that extra mile and create a more personalized experience, closer to your brand and believes, you might consider as well Oveit and Streams.live. Our solutions are interconnected. Oveit is our event registration software, that allows you to register attendees, customize confirmation emails, send out electronic tickets with unique access codes, collect valuable information through fully customizable registration forms and receive direct payments into your account once an order is placed. 

In summary

Who said that in-person wine tastings can’t be replicated in a virtual environment? Social distancing doesn’t exist in the online world and opportunities are limitless. As physical locations, including wineries, remain closed due to the pandemic, events such as virtual wine tastings are a great way to keep a business alive. It is a new way of interacting for all of us, so don’t be afraid to try it out. It won’t be perfect from your first try, which is absolutely normal. One last piece of advice is to always ask for feedback. Your audience is in the right position to provide you with constructive feedback after each virtual wine tasting. 

Stay safe. And cheers!

March 11, 2021 Event registration, Event tech, Oveit Features, Technology, Virtual events No comments yet

5 Event Trends to watch in 2021

5 Event Trends to watch in 2021 was initially published in our Newsletter on February 11th, 2021.

Hello,
quick question:

How will the future look like?

I’m sure we’ve all asked ourselves this question.

It’s one of the hardest answers somebody could give. Lately, we’ve seen how things can go south without any warning. However, in the long term, we can identify directions that are followed even if temporary circumstances force things to go off track.
During the last few weeks, we’ve tried to see the directions events will go in 2021. We’ve directly spoken with tens of event organizers and read many articles written by the industry’s top professionals. And although nobody can say for sure that there is a stable track that we should all follow, we’ve identified the most important trends that will probably mark 2021’s event industry. 

Photo by Polina Kovaleva from Pexels

 
Hybrid events

When discussing with event professionals, hybrid events were the most common answer as a 2021 trend. Regardless of how things will evolve, hybrid events are here to stay. 
Why? Even if restrictions are fully lifted, and this will probably not be the case for 2021,  we are not yet ready to go back to the way we used to act before the pandemic. Most of us will still choose to attend from the safety of our homes. And that’s fine. Events can now offer meaningful experiences for both in-person and virtual attendees. 
How? Even if you are hosting an in-person event, make sure that you offer online participants a way of attending your event. Most likely, a big part of your community is still not able (or ready) to attend physically, and that’s ok! You can easily allow people to virtually attend your experience. With Streams.live you can easily set up online and hybrid events – it automatically imports data from Oveit and you can use the same username (email address) and password to access the account. 
 

Micro-experiences

Even if you have the opportunity to host in-person experiences, they will probably take the form of micro-experiences.  
Why? Due to travel bans, in-person attendance will probably be limited to locals. Small get-togethers will replace classic events, at least for this year. Having fewer physical attendees will allow you to not only make sure that sanitary measurements are properly implemented but also to focus on delivering tailored, attendee-centric, experiences. With few exceptions, just local supporters of your events will be able to attend in-person.
How? Make sure that you follow all sanitary recommendations, I cannot stress out enough this. Also, make sure that you collect all needed information from your attendees. This will help you deliver safe and tailored experiences. 
 

Contactless experiences 

In 2021, paper and money should not change hands. Transform your events into cash (and paper) free experiences and keep everybody safe.
Why? Money changing hands is definitely something that we should avoid by all means. It’s expensive and allows for fraud and human errors to occur. It’s also unsafe from a medical point of view. But going touchless offers many operational benefits as well.
How? Event registration and management solution allow you to go fully digital and eliminate the need for printed tickets, cash, or plastic tokens.  It may sound complicated, but it’s even easier (not to mention safer) than how things used to be. Read this article and see how easy it is to transform your event into a touchless experience.
 

Live shopping as event trends to watch in 2021

gentleman performing in front of a camera

This experience, which, at first sight, may seem that has nothing to do with event trends, is the result of mixing entertainment and shopping. It’s used to describe online shopping journeys that have engaging live video experiences as their starting point. 
Why? The last few years gave us the possibility to see live how entertainment (live events) and purchases go hand in hand. Better said…people spend more while having fun. And we saw how more and more brands have included events and festivals not only in their marketing strategies but as selling channels as well. New revenue streams were initiated through this kind of live experiences. Moving your experience online doesn’t mean that these revenue streams will be lost.
How? By creating shoppable experiences within your virtual events, viewers can purchase products and services straight from the live experience. Without being forced to leave it. Streams.live allows you to easily make your content shoppable.
 

Sustainability

The general opinion is that sustainability is not just a 2021 trend. It’s here to stay. Unlike some of the other trends (mentioned or missed from this message), sustainability has, in the long term, a much greater impact on our lives and businesses. Luckily, event organizers not only see sustainability as important but are also taking action in this direction. 
Why? Because environmental problems are a fact and it’s up to us into making a difference. We can not only make our events more environmentally friendly but we can also spread the word throughout the community. 
How? You can start small: encourage your attendees not to print their tickets as they can easily be scanned straight from their smartphones. Next – find a solution for your left-over food. There are so many solutions to eliminate waste. Single-use plastics should be a thing of the past, we have so many eco-friendly alternatives these days. You can go further and find a partner that is willing to educate your attendees on sustainability and the benefits of circular economies. 


 
These are just 5 event trends we think you should take a look at in 2021. Of course, while documenting, you will find comprehensive lists of what to expect from 2021. Some trends are here to stay, some are just temporary. Some are pandemic-inducted (or accelerated), some are not. But they are all equally important.

February 19, 2021 Access management, Event registration No comments yet