Hello everyone and welcome to today's webinar. For those of you who don't know me, I'm Andrew, the CEO and founder of HeadBox. I'm thrilled to be back here today to discuss something that's not just a game changer for us at HeadBox, but for the entire event sales industry—how you can leverage AI for smarter event sales. There's no secret that we're living in a time of rapid technological advancement. AI is now part of our everyday lives. 2024 has been the year where generative AI truly entered the mainstream, with tools like OpenAI, Bard, and MidJourney becoming increasingly popular and quickly cementing themselves in our daily routines. AI goes further than using ChatGPT to help us write better emails. According to the latest McKinsey Global survey, 65% of organizations now regularly use generative AI, a number that has nearly doubled in just 10 months. This rapid adoption is reshaping industries, and the event sector is no exception. My advice for you, especially for those looking to attract corporate clients, is to embrace this change. Those who stay ahead of the curve will be the ones leading the way, especially in an industry like ours where innovation is key to staying competitive.

At HeadBox, we have long seen the potential of AI to revolutionize how we plan, sell, and execute events. We think AI should empower you to move faster, helping automate and accelerate the mundane and repetitive tasks so you can focus on work that needs a human touch, like strategy, creativity, and relationship building.

This is not new to us. We first implemented machine learning into our products in 2019 with our venue recommendation system. We see ourselves as a service-led meetings and events platform supercharged by AI software. This is why I'm excited to share our new HeadBox 3D Studio product that not only showcases the power of AI but also unleashes a new future for event sales and bookings.

Our product and tech team have been working hard behind the scenes to develop this exciting new tool that is helping customers like Rison Hotel Group, Hilton, and IHG drive engagement, increase conversion, and ultimately close more sales. But enough talk, let's take a look at 3D Studio in action.
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Hey there, let me show you how personalized we can get with these tours to really help conversion at the bottom of the sales funnel. For example, if I received an inquiry for a Technology Innovation Conference from Jamie at Accenture, we could create a bespoke tour in minutes, a little bit like this:

Hi Jamie, welcome to Hi Jingo, London's multi-sensory Bingo experience and next-generation event space. We'd love to host Accenture's Tech Innovation Conference and think Hi Jingo's futuristic aesthetic and AV capabilities would be a perfect setting.

Our venue has two spaces that provide a variety of private hire options. The Lucky Cat Reception Bar can cater to 100 standing guests and is the perfect place to gather before the day begins. There is also the main Hi Jingo room where conferencing, presentations, and, of course, Bingo can all be held. Feel free to have a look around.

A neon-bathed slice of Tokyo in the heart of Shoreditch, the Lucky Cat Bar is a perfect space to gather your guests before your event kicks off. Keep everyone on their game with tea, coffee, and breakfast service while displaying your company’s logo or the day’s agenda on the 265" wall-mounted television screens above the windows. During the main event, the Lucky Cat Bar can act as a separate breakout space, a presentation area, or a lunch service station with movable furniture and a fully stocked cocktail bar. You can even host post-event networking drinks.

This is where the magic happens. The Hi Jingo room is a state-of-the-art event space that can accommodate up to 185 guests. The room is intricately designed so that no matter where you're sat, you will be able to see at least one of the two high-spec mirror screens and the built-in stage. This way, no one misses a thing. Why not customize the stadium-grade lighting to reflect Accenture's company colors? Our tech team will be on hand to make any setup seamless. Combined with surround sound, your event will look and sound next level. We would be delighted to invite you for a venue show-round should you wish to see the spaces in real life. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

We integrated AI to make the process of creating and sharing 3D tours of venues faster and more informative than ever before. With AI, we can automatically generate immersive and personalized event proposals, complete with a personal tour guide. No longer do you need to rely solely on static images or long site visits. The future is here, and it's about making event sales more dynamic and accessible.
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Within the events industry, there are some key pillars that every event salesperson needs to be familiar with. HeadBox 3D Studio is built from the ground up to supercharge each of these pillars.

First, we have client experience. Customers can now experience the venue as if they're physically there, making it easier to envision their event and increase the chances of a conversion. The immersive experience of 3D Studio gives clients around the world the confidence they need to book without requiring them to leave their office.

Time efficiency is also something that's going to be impacted by AI-augmented 3D tours. Thanks to AI, creating a 3D tour is quicker and easier than ever before. What used to take days or weeks can now be done in just a matter of hours. Of course, this means you can send proposals faster and secure bookings more quickly. As everyone knows, time saved is money saved. By reducing the need for multiple site visits and shortening the sales cycle, 3D Studio helps lower your overall sales costs. It's a smarter, more efficient way to do business.

Something super important to me is consistently offering a bespoke service to your client. A great event proposal shouldn't feel like a copy-and-paste template. That's why we've put a lot of thought and energy into making every AI-generated tour feel like a personal, unique experience. You can tailor the 3D tour to highlight different setups, decorations, and layouts. You can send a tour in German in the morning and then send one in Spanish before lunch. Embracing artificial intelligence should not leave any client with a sense of artifice.

Data, of course, underpins all of this, and you should have that at your fingertips in easy-to-comprehend formats. Our AI doesn't just create 3D models; it also provides valuable insights into client preferences and behaviors. This means you can refine your sales strategy based on real data, not just on intuition.

For those of you who have concerns about the future of AI, we completely understand. There's a common misconception that AI will take over all jobs and replace humans. Instead, it will be deployed where it clearly does a better job than humans and will also be vital in helping humans to do a better job. If we embrace this, it will leave us more time to do the stuff that we as humans are good at, such as the creative world-building parts of events.

AI is already replacing many time-consuming tasks in the event process so they can become automated, like proposal building, sending invites, or managing logistics. Post-pandemic, with so much pressure to do more with less, this has been a lifesaver for many of our customers. For example, for our meetings and events team at HeadBox, we've integrated AI into our software to instantly match venues with client requirements. What used to take hours can now be done in just minutes. And it doesn't remove the human from the equation. A proven expert is still making the final decision and understands better than a computer what exactly an event needs—they can just do much more with less.

This goes to show that today's webinar is not just a product launch; it is a glimpse into the future of event sales. And this is only the beginning. We believe that 3D Studio is set to redefine how we sell event spaces and engage with clients, offering that next level of personalization. I'm excited for you all to experience 3D Studio for yourselves. Whether you're a venue owner looking to elevate your sales process or an event planner searching for the perfect space, 3D Studio has something to offer.

I'm going to now pass this on to John, our Head of Brand and Marketing, who has been a key player in developing this product. He's going to share with you how you can use our new 3D Studio to get more inbound leads and improve conversion by having a digital guided walkthrough. Over to you, John.

Thanks, Andrew. Hi everyone, I'm John, Head of Brand and Marketing here at HeadBox. I'm really excited to talk to you about how HeadBox 3D Studio is not only revolutionizing the event sales process but also providing new opportunities to enhance your sales and marketing efforts to increase inbound leads.

Over the next 10 minutes, I'm going to show you how revenue leaders across the hospitality industry are unleashing AI for their sales teams. Let's dive into some of the ways that HeadBox 3D Studio can serve as a powerful brand-building touchpoint and how it can fit seamlessly into your sales funnel.

Let's start at the top of the funnel. How do we create great demand generation for your venue? With 70% of customers starting their discovery online, your website is the shop window you need to make the most of, giving the first impression of your venue. With HeadBox 3D Studio, you can offer something far more interactive and memorable that feels as close to a physical site visit as possible. It helps potential customers engage with your venue in a way that they were just previously unable to and allows you to really set yourselves apart and differentiate what your venue offers from others. This is so important for brand building and demonstrates to your clients that you are innovative, whilst at the same time making sure that every touchpoint shows your venue in the best possible light.

Let's take in an AB test conducted by Rison Hotel Group with our immersive content, you get 35% more inquiries, 279 more clicks, and 3.5% more engagements on pages that have immersive content versus those without. By integrating 3D tours, your prospects will be able to envision their entire event in your venue from the comfort of their home and boost the chances they'll move forward in the decision-making process.

So now let's focus on what I think is the real game changer for your sales conversion: the bottom-of-the-funnel touchpoints that help drive revenue—bespoke proposal tours tailored to the inquiries you receive. This elevates your proposals in three key ways: firstly, with customization; secondly, through personalization; and finally, localization—all of which lead to faster decision-making, a shorter sales cycle, and ultimately higher conversion. If anything, all of these give you the cheat code to venue sales and an unfair advantage over the competition.

Let's start with customization. HeadBox 3D Studio allows you to make completely customized tours from scratch to suit every event type your venue offers. You can clone previous tours and add or remove scenes as you see fit to create an entirely bespoke experience.
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Personalisation takes this one step further. You can address the viewer and, more importantly, their specific needs, wants, and outcomes for their event. The level of personalization you can go to with these tours is exactly like what you would do on a site visit, guiding them through the event from start to finish and highlighting exactly why they should choose your venue—allowing them to envision the space like never before.

The final way you can elevate your proposals is through localization. Our tours are available in 32 languages, meaning you can sell anywhere in the world. This level of customization, personalization, and localization makes the experience feel tailor-made for each client, which in turn increases engagement and conversion rates.

Our corporate bookers love this tool too, as it allows them to achieve their three main goals of saving time, money, and emissions on arranging travel and attending site visits. We've also received fantastic feedback from a senior procurement manager at a leading professional services firm, who shared their experience using 3D Studio and AI in event sales, and what this means for their business:
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"AI-powered virtual site visits created in HeadBox 3D Studios are a game changer for our event planners. It drastically reduces the time and resources needed for our team to make informed decisions, and HeadBox’s commitment to sustainability is evident in the platform's ability to minimize the environmental impact of planning and putting on events by cutting out unnecessary site visits. HeadBox 3D Studios is the future of modern sustainable event planning."

To sum it up, HeadBox 3D Studio offers you and your team a comprehensive marketing and sales tool that helps you engage clients more effectively, elevate your brand presence, and increase conversions. I’m confident that with this tool, you will secure more bookings, build stronger relationships with clients, and ultimately grow your business.

I'm now going to hand over to Gavin, our CTO, who will take you through some of the exciting new features coming to HeadBox 3D Studio in the next few months.

Hi everybody, I’m Gavin, I’m CTO here at HeadBox, and I’m really excited to show you a couple of new features that we have available in 3D Studio. As always, I’m going to come into Studio, I’m going to create a brand new tour, and, perhaps a little bit of a giveaway with the name I’m giving this tour: Multimodels. So, I will save my tour, and here’s where the new features kick in.

I’m going to be able to add a new scene into my tour. I’ll call this one “Model 1” and, from my venue and space selection, I’m going to choose the Café Ensom. If I open this up, the Parisian Street Garden looks really nice, so we’ll choose that

Got my first model selected. Here’s where one of the other really lovely new features is also available: you now have control over the camera rotation in each of those scenes. Previously, we always rotated the camera clockwise, but we received feedback that sometimes you wanted no rotation at all, or even to rotate it counterclockwise. So, you now have complete control over how you would like that to work. I’ll just keep it on standard rotation and select from my narrators.

Hopefully, you’ll also notice since last time that we have lots more available, including a number of premium narrators, which are kind of like next generation—they’re higher quality. I’m going to choose James, one of our premium narrators, and I’ll put in my text that I’d like James to read out, which is, “From France to Shoreditch.”

I’ll preview that audio: “From France to Shoreditch.” Fantastic! I can make sure everything sounds as I’d like it to, and I’ll save that scene. First scene already available in my tour.

For the second scene, I’m going to add, I’ll call this one “The HeadBox Office,” and again, I’ll select from the available spaces. This is where you can see where the new feature kicks in. Previously, once you’d chosen a model, that was the only model you were able to select again. Now, you can select from any of the models you have available in your account.

I’ll choose the HeadBox Office, and it’s on a much sunnier day than today. Here’s our balcony, and maybe I’ll give you the counterclockwise rotation of our balcony. I’ll choose James again and put, “Hey, we’re now in Shoreditch.”

We’ll preview that: “Hey, we’re now in Shoreditch.” Fantastic! Two scenes, really quickly created across a number of different models. Let me save that tour, and I will publish it. Hopefully, it won’t take too long to generate.

So, while we’re waiting for that tour to generate, why is this feature so useful? We had feedback that particularly if you have larger venues or more complex setups, your estate is split across multiple models. You really wanted to be able to showcase more than one model in a tour. Particularly if you have a model dedicated to bedrooms or the outside, you wanted to include it all in one tour. We listened to that feedback, and it was a surprisingly complex feature to implement, but we’re super happy we’ve done it, and it’s available for everyone to use.

We’re just waiting for our tour to finish generating. I see that we’ve already got one of our clips available, and both are now completed. Let’s now have a look at this tour.

Okay, I’m going to click and play: “From France to Shoreditch,” “Hey, we’re now in Shoreditch.” Maybe a simple example, but a good one nonetheless, of us being able to move between models seamlessly, and I can see that the camera is rotating counterclockwise as we set it up. So, a couple of new features that are now available for you to use. I hope you enjoyed that sneak peek, and I hope you enjoyed the webinar. As always, if you have any technical or product questions, please don’t hesitate to get in contact with me.