ARS Basics

In a Nutshell

Audience response systems bring interactivity — and in some cases, honesty — to a meeting by allowing users to answer multiple-choice questions anonymously via a keypad. Almost instantly, results are collected and can be displayed on a screen or exported for reporting and analysis.

What's the Point?

Top reasons for bringing ARS into a corporate setting include faster decision making, improved attentiveness, gauging understanding of key points — or actual testing (a system can be set up to track individual responses) — and sometimes creation of a livelier meeting.

Budget Bummer

Price can keep planners away. ARS rentals cost $20 to $25 per response pad per day, plus one wireless base station for every 250 attendees at about $130 per day. For a one-day, 150-person meeting, the fees are north of $3,000 before you figure in the laptop computer, LCD projector, screen, and, most notably, a technician, who can cost upward of $1,000 per day. Companies that use ARS technology regularly should consider purchasing a system.

It's a Record

How large a group can use an audience response system? Option Technologies Interactive claims the record for the largest event to use a wireless ARS at a single location: Nobel Biocare's World Conference 2005 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, with 8,100 participants.

Up and Coming

Audience response systems that use attendees' own wireless devices — such as PDAs — are a promising frontier, but they are still in the early stages of development. With these systems, the session leader creates questions and assigns them an Internet address, where participants can log in. The responses are sent from the IP address to the leader. Another variation using cell phones and SMS (Short Message Service) technology has been developed by an Israeli company called Mobile Feedback; however, the service does not provide the instant feedback of conventional, dedicated keypads.

Hot Company

When Inc. magazine announced its Inc. 500 list for 2007, an audience response company was front and center. Turning Technologies, Youngstown, Ohio, was recognized as the 18th fastest-growing privately held company in the country (and it came in first among software companies). Inc. ranked participants by the percentage growth of their revenue from 2003 through 2006. Turning Technologies, which launched in 2001, had a three-year growth rate of 3,907.9 percent.

Sources : Wikipedia.com; Audience Response Info, www.audienceresponseinfo.com; Audience Response Rentals, www.audience-response-rentals.com/cellular.htm; Audience Response Place, www.audienceresponseplace.com/industry_pricing.htm; Inc. magazine, www.inc.com

(noun) 1. An interactive meeting technology that allows real-time polling of attendees

RSS Share

Want to use this article? Click here for options!
© 2012 Penton Media Inc.


Acceptable Use Policy
blog comments powered by Disqus

Search 125,000+ Venues

Search Meeting Space

Find Event Venues with Cvent

The Meeting Planning Blog

Face2Face Latest Posts

Sign Up for Our Free E-Newsletters

Meetings Collaborative

Rate your experience with meeting venues and suppliers.

Facility / Hotel

 
Powered by: Meetings Collaborative
Aega Awards

Latest Webinar

Global Meetings: Risk Management A to Z
February 28 | 2p.m. EST

Organizations take on more risk than usual when booking meetings outside the U.S. Join our expert panelists and learn how to assess your overall risk, write contracts that protect your organization, manage currency exchange rate fluctuations, keep your travelers safe, and much more. View it on-demand now!

VIEW ALL ARCHIVED WEBINARS

Recent Comments

Powered by Disqus

Back to Top

Explore Our Newsletters


Meeting Planner Survival Guide

Whether you're a novice planner or a veteran, this compilation of must-read articles is your meeting planning resource.

Must-See Meeting Files

Visit the MeetingsNet expert-advice site, where we’ve got top meeting pros on camera answering a variety of your questions as well as a collection of educational—and sometimes offbeat—editors’ pick lists — from the top tech tools to the best books for meeting professionals.

Pharma Meeting Management Forum

8th Annual Pharmaceutical Meeting Management Forum
March 25-28, 2012 in Orlando, Fl
Register now!
Learn more about how healthcare reform will affect medical meetings.

Both forums are co-sponsored by Medical Meetings and The Center for Business Intelligence.

Suppliers/
Facilities/CVBs

MeetingsNet makes it easy to find the CVBs, tourist boards, and facilities you need for your next meeting.

Deal Finder

Special offers brought to you by MeetingsNet.

Find A Job

Targeted to all aspects of the hospitality and special events industry.

SMM PORTAL

Your source for Strategic Meetings Management info and intelligence

Facebook   Twitter   LinkedIn   RSS Feed

Inside Current Issue

January 2012 CMI

January 2012

January 2012 FIM

MM January 2012

Jan/Feb 2012 MM

December 2011

December 2011 RCM

December AM

December 2011 AM

Browse Back Issues