If you’re like most people, you’ve probably attended a trade show or conference and found yourself underwhelmed by the experience. For more than 50 years, the conference industry has been pretty much the same – open with a breakfast keynote, go to breakout sessions with hit-or-miss speakers, eat a buffet lunch, listen to a few panel discussions, then head home.
It was enough to drive you crazy.
Or so thought Jamie Turner, internationally-recognized author and occasional CNN branding expert who decided to re-invent the conference experience with the Mobile X Festival. “I’ve been lucky enough to travel the globe as a keynote speaker at events as far reaching as Cairo and Barcelona,” said Turner. “After experiencing more than 100 events over the past few years, I realized the conference industry needed to be re-invented.”
Turner, who is the Atlanta-based author of Go Mobile, the best-selling mobile book on Amazon when it was first released, and the founder of SIXTY, a digital and mobile marketing agency, is designing the Mobile X Festival to be an un-conference. So, in addition to a few traditional speeches and panel discussions, attendees will also be able to experience a Shark Tank competition, Virtual Reality pods, a Mobile Laboratory, Food Trucks and a variety of other experiences.
The event has gained national attention from well-known companies such as Google, Microsoft, E&J Gallo, Coca-Cola and others. Part of the appeal seems to be the un-conference environment as well as the quality of speakers, one of which includes Viveka von Rosen, author of LinkedIn Marketing and a member of the Forbes Top 50 People in Social Media list.“What I like about the Mobile X Festival is not only the quality of speakers, but the un-conference aspect, too,” said Von Rosen. “It’s all about providing a casual, engaging experience which results in more conversations, more networking, and a better way to meet people.” 
So, what can you expect at the Mobile X Festival? Here’s a partial list of experiences on the conference agenda:
Mobile Accelerator: A Mobile Accelerator competition, co-sponsored by Hypepotamus, which is just like Shark Tank, only more fun. Watch as early-stage and late-stage mobile start-ups present their wares and answer questions from experts at Google, CNN, Coca-Cola and elsewhere. Then, vote for your favorite via your smartphone. The winner will be announced at the end of the Festival. (Want to pitch your product at Mobile X? Find out more and sign up here.)
Virtual Reality Pods: Other conferences have exhibits that make you want to get lost. Mobile X has Virtual Reality Pods that will make you disappear into another world. Learn about virtual reality in one of the Virtual Reality Pods where you’ll be able to put on the goggles and experience this game-changing technology first-hand.
Food Trucks: Say goodbye to cold beans and bad chicken. Instead, you can enjoy lunch from one of several different food trucks at the event.
Mobile X Charity Lab: Interested in giving back to society while learning about mobile? You can create a real mobile advertising campaign for a well-known non-profit with mobile experts in our Mobile X Lab.
Mobile Roundtables: Most conferences involve one-way monologues from speakers behind a podium. The Mobile X Festival has decided to shake things up a bit with small, board-room-sized roundtable discussions with some of the nation’s leading experts. The Roundtable discussions will enable you to roll up your shirtsleeves and ask in-depth questions with mobile experts.
Experience Centers: The team at Mobile X believes people learn best by listening to conversations, not sales pitches. Our Experience Centers are designed to be fun, interactive, and enjoyable for our sponsors and the attendees alike.
You can read more about the Mobile X Festival by clicking here. Best of all, for a limited time, Hypepotamus readers can get a 30% discount on tickets to the Master Classes as well as the Festival. Just use the code HYP16 at checkout and save hundreds of dollars when you attend the festival.
