What’s New
This release brings major feature updates to Empower, introducing a robust Events management framework, more control over your Home screen layout, and comprehensive Map upgrades.
Pladia customers can now seamlessly create, schedule, and manage Events, such as guided tours, talks, workshops, ticketed experiences, members-only events, and more. Customers can also reorder, rename, show, or hide Home screen sections with a wider range of featured content. Visitors will also enjoy an upgraded PWA map experience, featuring a new list view, multi-category filtering, and contextual location details.
Events
The new Events feature allows Venues to integrate scheduling, ticketing links, and rich programming directly into the PWA. Each event record captures comprehensive details including title, subtitle, image, date/time, location, attributions, related content, tags, and a home screen featured summary.
Note that this feature is available as an add-on. Talk to your Customer Success Manager to find out more.
Overview
There are some fields and features unique to Events in Empower:
Admission Types: A required field unique to Event records to signal visitor action (Free, Ticketed, Paid, Members only, and Donation). If all events are Free, this field is automatically hidden in the PWA. It also powers smart filter chips on the "All Events" list.
External Links: A call-to-action section can be enabled to link out to an external platform, ticketing page, booking form, or membership portal. Note: Empower does not process payments, ticket purchases, or membership sign-ups.
Scheduling: One-off or recurring events are supported. You can also set a plain-language label (e.g., "School Holidays") to override standard date displays.
Location Options: You can attach your Event to a Space, position it on the map, or specify an outdoor address. A "Location description" field is available for meeting point or entry details (e.g. "Meet the zoo keeper at the enclosure entrance").
Attributions: Connect speakers, artists, or sponsors to pull profile details directly into the event's Details tab.
Related Content & Tags: Bidirectional relationships let you link Events to Spaces, Objects, Tours, or other Events. Tags are also fully enabled to group content thematically.
When to use a Space vs. an Event
Some programming falls between a Space and an Event. For example, a limited-run exhibition. The right choice depends on your venue's scale and the complexity of the programming.
For standard exhibitions, we recommend using Spaces, which keep the visitor's focus on immediate, on-site exploration. For multi-area or limited-run blockbuster exhibitions, use Events instead. Events support date-range scheduling and let you link all participating locations, tours, and points of interest together via Related content.
Flexible Home Screen Configuration
The Home Screen can now be configured with highly adaptable sections that can be reordered, renamed, and enabled or disabled to create a tailored visitor journey.
This update gives you the power to dynamically highlight specific storytelling elements, adjust layouts for seasonal events, and prioritize how visitors interact with your digital content upon opening the PWA.
Overview
Featured Carousel Sections: Create customized carousels containing any mixed combination of Objects, Tours, Spaces, Points of Interest (POIs), Events, and Attributions.
Featured Grid: Showcases your Tags. You can choose up to six tags, rename the section heading, reorder the section placement, and toggle the visibility of the Browse all button.
Configurable Headings: Each carousel or grid features a configurable heading that supports translations, a vertical reordering option, and an optional Browse all button toggle when showcasing a single content type.
Fixed Header: Tailor your header elements by individually enabling or disabling the Logo, Subtitle, Introduction, Search shortcut, QR Scanner shortcut, and the Image Scanner shortcut.
Content Blocks: Deploy new modular blocks anywhere on the page alongside grids and carousels. This includes Text Blocks for rich text, Logo Blocks for displaying vendor or sponsor logos, and Button Blocks featuring a configurable button with flexible layout positioning for its accompanying image.
Our Recommendations:
Most visitors spend just 10-20 seconds on the Home screen. Make every section earn its place.
Lead with visitor questions
What do visitors need to know first?
Highlight what's new
Prioritize and promote changing content over the permanent content.
Curate, don't clutter
Less is more. Fewer, high quality sections create a stronger first impression.
Support your mission
Promote memberships, donations and sponsors where they naturally support your organization's goals.
Map Upgrades
We have enhanced the map interface to improve how visitors discover and navigate your Venue's content.
Map Filters: Content-type filtering allows visitors to toggle between All, Spaces, Events, and Points of Interest. Spaces with linked active events will display a distinct purple dot indicator.
Map List View: We now offer two views on the map tab; map view and list view. Visitors can toggle between them to see their active level and filters across either view.
Events on the Map: Selecting a Space with linked events pulls up an interactive drawer showcasing all upcoming sessions, rather than a standard static card.
Point of Interest (POI) Enhancement
POI markers are now available across all map surfaces, including Tours, Pathways, Events, and Space detail pages. This adds extra context to each item’s position, which is especially helpful for outdoor tour stops.
We’ve also expanded our outdoor POI library using the OpenStreetMap taxonomy. You can now add markers for POI like Viewpoints, Bridges, Streams, Picnic Tables, and Defibrillators.
Improvements & Fixes
Improved: Redesigned the location component across all detail pages to support the broader range of location types and place greater emphasis on the Pathways CTA.
Improved: Refreshed Console interface with updated tables and picker controls for a cleaner management experience.