We use Whova when we attend large scale (1,000+) events. We use all the features that sponsors are able to use including: photos, videos, meet-ups, promotional events, etc. We also use the app to capture lead data/information for future partnerships. Very engaging application.
Pros
Engagement
Scheduling
Promotions
Pictures
Cons
User Interface seems a bit 'old'
Likelihood to Recommend
We use Whova for large scale events with hundreds or thousands of participants
I was offered the use of Whova as an attendee of the American Student Dental Association Annual Session in February 2023. I absolutely love this app for pre-event engagement, during the show contact/lead capture and follow up messaging! Every tradeshow should use this app or something like it. It was our best event ever since we were able to promote our booth and prize drawing and capture contact info with the scan of a QR code.
Pros
Pre-Event Engagement & Promotion
Event Contact Info Capture (scanning)
Post-Event Follow up
Cons
Can't think of many, but if I had to think of one...make more fields mandatory for attendees to fill out (either by self use or event registration)
Likelihood to Recommend
It helps to promote pre-engagement. It helped to make contact info capture as easy as taking a picture with our smart phone. Lastly, it allowed us to have a good list of names to follow up with that we engaged with while at the show. Whova is great at keeping users informed during the event as well.
I used Whova as the app for the Florida Festivals and Events Convention and Trade Show in August 2022. I was an exhibitor/attendee and thought the app was very thorough and simple to use. It has great functionality.
Pros
Message boards - I enjoyed the message boards during the conference.
Create opportunities for connecting with prospective customers. It provides great information about the attendees at the conference.
Messaging - I liked how we were updated with messages.
Cons
Nothing that I can think of
Likelihood to Recommend
I think that overall, Whova is a great app for the purposes that we needed.
I used it for a conference, and it was extremely helpful to get messages to other attendees. It also provided a calendar and an agenda--your own for your meetings and an overall agenda for the conference. You could send messages to other attendees, invite them to meet, etc. It was extremely helpful for a conference where you did not know anyone.
Pros
Provide a secure message to other attendees
Provide meeting details
Keeps an agenda of your own for the particular meeting
Cons
I liked it the way it is
Likelihood to Recommend
I used it for a conference, so I believe it would be helpful for other conferences.
I've been using Whova for 5 years now. We originally bought into the platform to manage our speakers, sponsors, and agenda and provide a networking tool for our attendees. Whova saves us time and allows our speakers and sponsors the ability to update their own profiles at any time. Now Whova hosts virtual and hybrid events. Looking forward to our first hybrid event in 2 years this coming April.
Pros
Manage speakers
Manage sponsors
Manage agenda
Integrates well with our website
Allows gamification and networking
Cons
Payment is required to have any website functions. In the past, we could manage content with Whova before an event to help sell tickets. Now they have changed this policy to 100% in advance.
Whova cares more about taking our money than allowing us access to use the platform after we paid fully. I paid to have access to the platforms this week, thinking that it would allow me to show speakers and sponsors on our website, however, the website function has still not been turned on - so we are still not able to show speakers or sponsors for our upcoming events. Very frustrating.
There are some headlines that are not customizable that should be - for instance the Sponsor web page doesn't allow customization of the main section headline.
Likelihood to Recommend
Whova worked great in the past for managing speakers and sponsors, particularly having an api that rendered the speakers in a format that fit well on our website. Whova changed their policy which used to allow event organizers the ability to use the platform to show speakers/sponsors and agenda before paying 100%. We didn't need to have the app turned on until we had attendees. It's a chicken and egg thing - can't attract attendees and sponsors without showing speakers and the agenda. Unfortunately, this function doesn't seem to work anymore, even after paying for 4 events in full in advance to turn on the web pages so we can promote the events. I sent a request through the platform asking when they would turn on our functionality and received no reply in the past 3 days.
I was a speaker at a conference that used the Whova app and was impressed by the apps ability to connect attendees before, during, and after the conference, as well as the event organizer's ability to send out announcements and information to attendees through the app. It was much preferred to exchanging business cards in connecting with other event attendees. Additionally, I found it easy to review the event schedule, ask questions, and provide feedback for the sessions.
Pros
Connecting attendees in a dynamic way through ice breakers, Q&As, sharing photos, and more!
Keeping track of the event agenda and locations of sessions.
Engaging attendees on session topics through the session Q&A.
Cons
The full address of some of the sessions didn't show up in the app- just the start of the address and/or I couldn't easily figure out how to view the address.
I didn't notice this feature if it exists already- integrate session addresses with Google Maps to make it easier for attendees to find different locations for sessions when it's not all happening in the same building.
Make it easier to interact on a desktop. I couldn't figure out how to access the event on my desktop, which I would have preferred prior to and after the event.
Likelihood to Recommend
I am an organizer for Fort Collins Startup Week and think the Whova app would be great for any Startup Week event that occurs across the country. One of our current challenges with Startup Week is how to connect attendees. We currently use Sched to manage the schedule, but it doesn't have great functionality to give attendees the opportunity to connect with each other, build buzz about sessions, etc.
Whova was one of the worst mistakes we made as a small
events team looking to include some virtual options to our Covid-era repertoire.
I found their sales team to be wholly misleading in the functionalities they
offered as found on our checklist which then meant we misled our regular sponsor customers on the basis
of the provision they would receive and are now paying the price post-event. We found
their support unhelpful, bordering dismissive and the functionality of their
platform for many of our attendees was such that a great many had to watch it
off-site. They recommend you use Zoom (‘you can get away with the free option
too’) which quickly becomes obvious you will need to spend hundreds extra. Then
when it didn’t integrate great with their system, they tell you “that’s a Zoom
problem, nothing to do with us”. There are conflicts between Zoom and Whova
(using the same emails on both causes malfunctions); speakers logged-in on both
get thrown out of Whova; speakers can’t see the live video feed on Whova; attendees get messages that they can't access and Whova pass it off as their internal marketing messages etc. etc. And now
they advise they don’t (contrary to a fundamental tickbox from our earliest conversations) allow
sponsors to know who watched their own sessions or visited their pages or downloaded their content! Which
is an industry standard they try to brush off as a ‘privacy’ issue. Pay a
little more if you need, avoid this organization.
I used Whova for a recent conference with the Association of Energy Services Professionals. It is by far the most robust and user-friendly conference app I've encountered and seemed to truly create engagement with the users. I loved being able to see the full schedule, or just see the schedule that I'd created for myself. I loved being able to scroll through and bookmark the conference attendees I knew and wanted to connect with. I loved the discussion board and personal profiles. And I loved the leader board for engaging with the app. I did not even take a printed conference booklet because Whova was so comprehensive.
Pros
Engagement.
Pre-planning for networking.
Cons
Looking forward to the desktop version, in addition to the app.
Would be great to export contact cards.
Likelihood to Recommend
Conferences with medium to large attendees groups are well-positioned for Whova.
