Interview with Mr. Richard Maranville

Date of interview:

10/1/17

Interview:

We began by discussing Mr.Maranville’s background and experience in the technology industry. Mr.Maranvile was a Director of Store Systems at Kinkos and then later became the VP of Technology and then the SVP & CIO. He then joined The Freeman Company as their CIO and EVP and then later became their Chief Digital Officer and EVP. As the Chief Digital Officer, Mr.Maranville is in charge of the digital products and technologies that are used across the Freeman Enterprise that assist with their event planning business as well as their brand experience business. The technology incorporated include for large events are digital solutions that enhance the visitor experience as well as the exhibitors and show managers. Mr.Maranville is also in charge of the Digital Ventures part of Freeman, which is a venture that funds, acquires, and partners with tech startups in the event planning space and encourages innovation at Freeman. Mr.Maranville is also responsible for the traditional technology solutions at Freeman, where he adopted various cloud, enterprise, and mobile solutions to increase the productivity within the organization.

The next thing we discussed was the goal of every experience: to make it memorable. We talked about different ways to incorporate technology to make it more effective. The first tool we discussed was interactive tech; interactive tech allows visitors to use the technology and understand how it works with first-hand experience instead of reading a small brochure or pamphlet that may not even make outside the event. Some interactive technologies being used include the Kinect System, Holograms, and AR/VR/MR. All of these technologies allow the visitor to experience what the exhibitor is presenting first hand and interact with it; a water filter company that shows how water is filtered using a hologram is more likely to be remembered than one that just uses a brochure with a labeled graphic. But all these technologies are only part of the picture, the next piece is Data Analytics.

Data Analytics is an integral part in of enhancing an event. The main goal is to get people to attend the event, analytics help planners and exhibitors understand their audience better allowing them to more effectively cater to them. Mr.Maranville mentioned that there are over 5 different systems integrated with the data analytics, each in charge of their own function. Analytics are used to assess how effectively they were able to get people to attend the event, who came to the events, and what happened after. Also, exhibitors are always interested in finding out how their exhibit is doing, and if it was worth the cost - and data analytics provide them the answers they seek. Data Analytics answer many questions and provide information allowing companies to make more effective decisions based on their goals.

Overall, talking to Mr.Maranville was a great learning opportunity, as I was able to gain exposure to a use of technology that I am not very familiar with - event planning. I learned about major components of an event and the current technologies being used to enhance experiences and got Mr.Maranville’s insight on where technology could be headed and how it could be used in events and branding experiences.

Images

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