Introducing CrowdTorch: Cvent Rebrands Recently Acquired Seed Labs

MCLEAN, Va., June 27, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Mobile apps can serve as the perfect way to collaborate with event attendees, to empower planners to deliver schedules and information instantly to participants, and to extend sponsors' reach to thousands of potential customers. Recognizing that events are going mobile, Cvent, the leader in cloud-based event management solutions, last week also became the world's largest mobile event applications provider. The company acquired both CrowdCompass, a business events app specialist, and Seed Labs, an innovative consumer events app developer. Cvent today announced that the company has changed the name of Seed Labs to CrowdTorch.

"Cvent has always been on the cutting edge of event solutions," said Reggie Aggarwal, Founder and CEO of Cvent. "We're leading the way again with CrowdCompass and CrowdTorch, putting the information event attendees need at their fingertips and transforming the event experience with the power of branded mobile apps."

The new CrowdTorch name positions the groundbreaking consumer apps division as a partner product to CrowdCompass, which focuses on business event apps. The consumer apps developer has created mobile apps to support world-renowned events that can attract in excess of 300,000 attendees per event, including custom apps for the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, the ESPN X Games, Insomniac Events' Electronic Daisy Carnival, the New Orleans Jazz Festival and the Festival International de Louisiane in Lafayette, Louisiana, an annual music and arts event.

"The app created for our festival is the most technologically advanced and interesting app we've ever come across," said Dana Baker, Executive Director at Festival International de Louisiane. "We host about 350,000 people throughout the course of our five-day event, so keeping them consistently engaged is key. Not only did the app have a significant impact on the full engagement of our visitors, it has truly elevated the event experience beyond measure."

ESPN X Games streamed live scores into their mobile app to keep their hungry fans at the forefront of all the action and the Kentucky Derby included extensive information about all the horses and jockeys in their mobile app.  These are just several examples of how mobile apps are forever altering the experience and connection that attendees have with events.

Cvent, which recently raised $136 million in a private equity round, is aggressively expanding into new markets, focusing on the mobile space via CrowdCompass and CrowdTorch. The newly strengthened Cvent is now the worldwide leader in the mobile app sector with 700 apps developed and approximately 2.5 million branded apps downloaded to date.

Helping consumer-focused events like festivals and concerts catch fire is what CrowdTorch is all about. With mobile apps that enable users to build dynamic schedules, embed rich media such as videos, pictures and Internet radio and share the event via social media outlets, CrowdTorch gives coordinators and attendees alike the ability to generate buzz. From the event organizer's perspective, attendees who download apps become effective event promoters, which significantly improves advertising reach and sponsor awareness.

These capabilities are important in an event management environment in which mobile tools and social media are playing increasingly vital roles:

"For organizations to improve effectiveness of its meetings and events, they must turn to next-generation strategies and approaches," said Christopher J. Dwyer, senior research analyst, Aberdeen Group. "I have seen a sharp rise in the utilization of mobile devices, applications and portals within this industry. In fact, best-in-class organizations are 75% more likely than all other organizations to rely heavily on mobile solutions within their meetings and events management programs. By adding a robust mobile presence to an event, companies can better engage attendees."

Audience engagement is a key part of the rebranding strategy that transformed Seed Labs into CrowdTorch: The new name shares a strong connection with CrowdCompass, its business-focused event app counterpart within parent company Cvent. It also evokes the image of concert-goers holding lighters aloft and explorers using torches to find their way. The themes of discovery and adventure are appropriate for an indispensable mobile tool designed for high-energy festivals and sporting events, just as the direction and precision instrument image of the compass perfectly complements the business-oriented CrowdCompass operating unit.

With the addition of CrowdTorch and CrowdCompass, Cvent is uniquely positioned to provide comprehensive event management technology solutions. Learn more about Cvent, CrowdTorch and CrowdCompass at http://www.cvent.com/en/solutions/mobile-apps-for-events.shtml

About Cvent

Founded in 1999, Cvent is the world's largest meetings and event management technology company and has over 950 employees worldwide. Cvent offers web-based software for online event registration, mobile apps for events, meeting site selection, event management, e-mail marketing, and web surveys, and helps over 10,000 clients in 90 countries manage hundreds of thousands of events, surveys and e-mail campaigns. The company has processed over $2 billion in online payments and has managed over 30 million event registrations and survey responses for its clients. Cvent's client base ranges from small non-profits to large corporations, and includes over 30 companies from the Fortune 100. For more information, please visit www.cvent.com.

SOURCE Cvent