Grupio

Branded apps that carry an event in a pocket

Grupio builds mobile apps for events, and its pitch is that an organizer can have a custom app wearing its own branding without commissioning a development project from scratch. The company describes its product as a white-label event app: the organizer supplies logos, colors and menu imagery, and the app is applied to different parts of the interface, such as the menu background and the top navigation area. Native versions are offered for iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and Android, alongside a mobile-optimized website that can serve kiosks and other handsets.

Running content without a developer

The apps are managed through a content management system that updates in real time. Organizers publish changes as often as they need, so a room change or a new speaker appears without a new release. Sessions can be arranged in layers, starting with tracks and moving down into sessions and sub-sessions, which expand and collapse under one another. Grupio says this structure suits medical meetings in particular, where programs are complicated. Security can be set at different levels for corporate events, and organizers can require attendees to log in for the whole app or only for certain sections.

Sponsors, exhibitors and floor navigation

Sponsors and exhibitors each get their own section with a logo, a description and a link to their website. Organizers can also sell advertising placements inside the app, which gives them a way to earn money from sponsors. Interactive maps show where sessions, exhibitors and partner companies are located, and the current site adds trade show features such as booth details, product information, lead capture through badge scanning and digital forms, and featured listings that raise sponsor visibility.

Networking, surveys and attendance tracking

Attendees can exchange messages, swap digital business cards, scan the QR codes on visiting cards and connect through social media. Surveys can be attached to individual sessions and the answers are collected as people fill them in. Badge scanning with QR codes records who entered and left a session, and the attendance data can be exported to Excel. Polls, question and answer tools, gamification and push notifications are listed on the current site as engagement tools, with analytics covering engagement, session attendance and event performance.

Multi-event use, virtual events and sectors

One app can host many events, so an organization that runs several gatherings a year can reuse a single build instead of paying for a new one each time. The company has also added a virtual and hybrid events platform with integrated streaming, attendee profiles, messaging and meeting scheduling. Grupio points to conferences, company meetings, trade shows, hospitals and universities as typical users. For healthcare it describes continuing medical education, with accredited sessions, participation tracking, and reference and study tools for physicians and students. For universities it describes orientations, campus conferences and alumni events, with agendas, venue guidance, news casts and announcements. It lays out a three step launch: configure branding and content, upload sessions, speakers, sponsors and exhibitors, then let attendees download the app.