Earlier this year I wrote about an Australian start-up that was aiming to apply some of the principles of open innovation to the way events are run.

Real Big Things run a series of 2 hour long events in the online marketing field.  They’ve shaken things up in a number of ways.

Firstly, there isn’t a headline ticket price.  Instead, you pay according to your ticket number, so the earlier you book, the less you pay for your ticket.  It’s an interesting approach that is taking clues from how airlines are increasingly pricing tickets.  So if you get in early you could bag yourself a real bargain, paying just a few $ for your ticket.

They are also innovating with the lineup for each event, or at least the advertising of it.  In a similar vein to the increasingly popular Secret Cinema style events, Real Big Things don’t actually divulge the speaker lineup at all.  They make certain promises about the kind of speakers you’re likely to see, but they don’t tell you who they are.

What’s more, the location itself is also kept underwraps, with attendees given the date of the event plus a general location to attend.  Pretty much the only thing that they aim to guarantee are three 30 minute lectures about the latest and greatest in online marketing on a monthly basis.

All of which is kinda cool.  Another company looking to innovate in the event space is SpaceMarket.  Rather than looking to open innovation however, the Japanese company are taking their inspiration from the sharing economy.

Like AirBnB and their ilk in the travel sector, SpaceMarket allows anyone with a space suitable for hosting events to list it on their site and offer it out to the market for events of whatever kind.

The site is primarily focusing on the niche end of the market, whether that’s for luxurious spaces or slightly quirkier venues.  There are currently around 800 of these spaces on offer on the site, providing space for anything from meetings to corporate getaways.

As mentioned, they do cater well for the quirkier end of the market, and users can choose to book their event in places such as disused ships, baseball grounds and even heliports.The company recently secured a healthy dose of funding, which it will use to further develop the concept, particularly on mobile, and secure more venues for users.It’s an interesting concept as it isn’t so much companies renting out under used conference rooms (which does exist), but more a way for places to find additional uses for their current venues.  Certainly one to keep an eye on.