Once a year, the TU Dresden offers its students the opportunity to look beyond the borders of their studies and to engage in interdisciplinary tasks. There are no regular courses that day: It is called dies academicus.

The team of Integrale – Institut für studium generale coordinates this day. Part of this team is Ines Herrmann, who used the LineUpr app in this context for the first time in 2019. In this interview, Ines tells us more about this special day, how she filled the app with content, and what possibilities and difficulties came with the app. Enjoy reading this customer story.

LineUpr: Hello, Ines. Thank you for taking the time to give us an interview. Please introduce yourself and the Integrale-Team.

Ines: Hi there! You’re most welcome. My name is Ines Herrmann. I am a musician who coordinates events such as the Garage Concerts (since 2019) and the dies academicus (since 2017) besides. At the dies academicus, I am part of a dedicated team of students and graduates (like myself) working for Integrale – Institut für studium generale at the TU Dresden. Integrale has various teams. For example, we organize the lecture series and issue a prospectus for all general studies/AQUA courses at the university every semester.

LineUpr: You have used the LineUpr app for the dies academicus at the TU Dresden. Please tell us more about this event.

Ines: Sure! The dies academicus is an annual interdisciplinary festival at the TU Dresden. It is firmly anchored in the academic year, and there are no lectures that day. Instead, student councils and university groups introduce themselves. There is also a detective game coordinated by our team and a wide variety of workshops, culture program, and lectures.

LineUpr: Do you also use printed products for marketing the event or distributing information on-site? If so, which and why?

Ines: Yes, we also provide the main program points of the event via posters, and it is printed in the prospectus. We do this to make everything as accessible as possible and to allow easy access to our offers on-site. We do not want to assume that everyone owns a mobile device with internet connection. Besides, we advertise with flyers, posters, and a banner in advance where a QR code and website addresses to the program are referenced.

LineUpr: How long ahead of the event did you start creating the event app?

Ines: I immediately started to incorporate the first fixed points of the day’s program into the app. The handling is very intuitive, so the invested time is “light-footed”. It was helpful to start early so that all content could be requested and created before the event.

LineUpr: How much did you individualize the LineUpr app?

Ines: So I think I made full use of it :-D. I adapted the app to our corporate design colors and reset all logos, covers, etc. I even renamed the menu items.

LineUpr: Did you also display your partners with profiles?

Ines: Yes, I made sure that our partners, organizers, and sponsors for the dies academicus were featured within the app prominently. Though, I was only able to display content that was made available to us by them. For this reason, there was a different level of information availability (texts/links, etc.).

Quote: We think that the use of the app is only worthwhile if it is used repeatedly as a part of the event presentation.

LineUpr: How do you rate the creation of the event app with LineUpr? What do you like and what can we improve?

Ines: The creation of the event app is straightforward, but I do not know to what extent my rather expanded affinity and knowledge for technology comes into play here. The presentation of the event content is clear, and the low-threshold for the user is worth highlighting. I find the available customization options ideal, which nevertheless provide a consistent layout between different LineUpr pages.

It happened multiple times that in conversation with others the term “app” is perceived as confusing, since it is more of a website link on a smartphone than an app (in the sense of: available via the App / Play Store and loads independently from the browser).

Personally, I miss a way to get usage statistics without external tools. Doing this via Google Analytics (as currently possible) is problematic and gives an extra overhead (Analytics is not as intuitive as LineUpr and does not conform well to local privacy policies, and I need to register elsewhere and then log in at multiple platforms every time).

LineUpr: How was your event or event organization changed by using our event app?

Ines: Our event organization has not changed. Through the app, we have just found a new way to present our program clearly and to make it easily accessible to our target audience.

LineUpr: The event is over now. Would you use the app the same way at the next event to communicate with your participants, or is there something you would change?

Ines: The promotion of the event is not facilitated by the mere creation and communication of the app. On the contrary, promoting a new platform to participants takes time. We think that the use of the app is only worthwhile if it is used repeatedly as a part of the event presentation. Currently, my team is still unsure which value the app has for us in comparison to a traditional website.

LineUpr: What top tips would you like to give to other event hosts who want to use LineUpr?

Ines: Tip 1: It is advisable for organizers to set up a short domain, which forwards the user to the app because the link given by the app is quite long and not so easy to remember (and in conclusion not handy/user-friendly).

Tip 2: I sometimes see more prominent organizers in Dresden like the Elbhangfest and the BRN, using the app, but not using little to no images. The app runs on visualization! Those who do not embed any pictures miss out on reaching a wider audience because their app and therefore event will not be perceived as attractive and inviting as it would be with images. This is actually my main tip: Do it, but then do it right!

LineUpr: Thank you, Ines, for the great interview. The dies academicus is a unique day at the TU Dresden. And this is only possible because of people like you. You are doing a noble job there.

On Twitter and integrale.de, you can get more information in the dies academicus. Besides her volunteer work, Ines also works as a musician. You can find out more about her on Facebook, Instagram, and of course, on her website. For an auditory taste test, we also recommend her YouTube profile.

We would be thrilled if we could support you again next year with an app.

The post Event Apps for Festivals – An Interview With Ines Herrmann From the dies academicus, TU Dresden first appeared on LineUpr Blog.

What does a typical scouting event look like? And does it make sense to use an event app for such events? This and much more is clarified in this article together with Lucius Schweizer. He is part of the organizing team of the PFF18 EXPLORE- one of the biggest events for scouts in Switzerland.

LineUpr: Hello Lucius. Thank you for taking the time to do this interview. Please introduce yourself and the PFF18 EXPLORE personally.

Lucius: Hello. The PFF18 EXPLORE was a festival from scouts for scouts and anyone in Liestal, Switzerland who wanted to come. PFF stands for Pfadi Folk Festival, which takes place at irregular intervals throughout Switzerland and has its origins in England.

I, together with Barbara Hochuli, was responsible for communication.

LineUpr: How much time and work do you spend on the planning of the event on average?

Lucius: The Organizing Committee started to form 3 years ago and we ended up with 17 people in 9 different departments. Then more people joined the different departments. I cannot tell you a definite total number. Only in the communications department, there were finally 25 people.

As I said, we started three years ago. Because it’s an event of the scouts we all work voluntarily in our spare time.

LineUpr: What makes the PFF18 EXPLORE special? What added value do you offer the participants?

Lucius: The PFF combines the values of Scouting in Switzerland with the classic elements of a festival. So the PFF is also a big scout camp. The bars and buildings are provided by Pfaditechnik. There is, like at camp, food that you could pick up with your own dishes and in addition to the onstage programme, there were a lot of typical scout programmes offered, such as campfires.

The great thing is that everyone has a similar background and you can just easily get into a conversation with everyone there. A bit like a very big family party. ?

LineUpr: Who is the typical target audience of your event and how do you reach them? What channels and tools do you use for marketing and presentation?

Lucius: As mentioned above, the classic target group are scouts from 16 years to 30 years. But it is also open to anyone else who is interested (not even scouts) and is at least 16 years old.

Because of the size and the good networking among the scouts, we have limited ourselves to Facebook, internal association advertising and word-of-mouth distribution. Also, we used Instagram and have a homepage that provides those interested with lots of detailed information.

LineUpr: Do you also use printed products to market the event or distribute information locally? If so, which and why?

Lucius: We distributed flyers regionally and throughout Switzerland at various in-house events. The content was a short description and a “save the date”. In Liestal we put up placards and flyers, and during the festival, there was a printed programme in the form of a map. We were also allowed to advertise via the mailing authorities of the Scouts Regional Associations in our border neighbors Germany and France.

LineUpr: How did you first learn about LineUpr and what was the decisive argument for you to use an event app?

Lucius: LineUpr was given to us. We were not necessarily looking for a digital solution for our festival. The possibility to use the offer free of charge and also offline at the event and also the simple configuration and being able to offer an added value to our visitors was then crucial in deciding.

LineUpr: How did you use the app before, during and after the PFF18 EXPLORE?

Lucius: We promoted the app before the event but mainly used it during the festival. It was thought to be complementary to our printed programme. The visitors could there / via the app also look at the entire programme and see more information that did not make it to the printed version. For example, we praised the favorites function and encouraged our visitors to put together their individual festival programme in advance.

LineUpr: How did your visitors react to the app?

Lucius: The app was mainly used by people who found our printed programme too big (it was the size of a map). This alternative was very much appreciated. I think that our printed schedule was used on the campground and the app on the smartphone was used in the area in front of the stages. However, we did not have the capacity to get specific feedback during the festival.

LineUpr: Is there a crazy story about the PFF18 EXPLORE which you would like to share with us?

Lucius: Shortly before the festival a non-scout came up to us with an extraordinary request and in the end, we were allowed to help him make a marriage proposal to his girlfriend, who is a scout.

LineUpr: Thank you, Lucius, for the exclusive interview. Until now, we have never accompanied a scout event with an event app. So thank you for this opportunity. If you would like to know more about Scouting, then visit the homepage or go to Facebook. Optical stimulations are also available on Instagram.

We are already looking forward to accompanying you again next year.

The post Event Apps for Scouts – The Perfect Team of Digital Programme and Printed Map first appeared on LineUpr Blog.