Two years ago, Special Events polled event professionals to see which mobile apps make their lives easier. But two years is two eons in the tech world, so we just checked back with event rental pros to see what apps are especially appealing today. Here are some of the industry's favorites:
SEEING THE LIGHT
Marni Ness, CSEP, sales associate with Pedersen's Rentals in Seattle, likes the Flashlight app, which turns your iPhone into a flashlight. “It's great for events when it's pitch dark and you are searching for a pen in your purse,” she notes.
Another fave of Ness: WhatsApp Messenger, a cross-platform mobile messaging app that allows users to exchange messages without having to pay SMS (short message service) fees to their cellphone carrier.
FINDING THE PERFECT PART
Dave Vaught, production manager with Seattle-based staging, light and sound company PNTA, praises the light-meter app Whitegoods, which helps him “quantify the lighting situation so I can start solving the problems with lighting,” he explains.
Jack Weiner, owner of Phoenix-based Kool Party Rentals, calls Box “possibly the best app ever.” The system enables online file sharing integrated with Google Apps and Salesforce, and provides secure cloud-based storage.
Not surprisingly, Weiner also gives props to his company's Kool app. “I use our app almost every day to show people products and room shots and get product info like dimensions and colors, as well as stay connected to all of our social media, right through the app,” he explains.
Greg Zalkin, director of special events for AFR Event Furnishings in Miami, has found an app that saves him from carrying an avalanche of business cards on his travels: Bump. The app enables two users to share contact information, photos and files simply by bumping hands while holding their phones.
And Damon Holditch, CSEP, CERP, head of Austin-based Marquee Event Group, uses the Find My Friends app to keep tabs on sales staff and delivery drivers.
The complete version of this article appears in the September-October issue of Special Events. The magazine is free to ISES members; subscriptions can also be ordered here.
