On Demand Content Sessions Available through January 2021
The International Association of Exhibitions and Events® (IAEE) welcomed more than 1,200 attendees – and counting, as the platform is available to new and existing users through the end of January – to its virtual Expo! Expo! IAEE’s Annual Meeting & Exhibition 2020 held on 8-10 December. After careful consideration of the negative realities of COVID-19, IAEE announced in October that the event would be transitioned from its face-to-face format originally scheduled to take place in Louisville, Ky. to a virtual format. Louisville has been rebooked to host Expo! Expo! IAEE’s Annual Meeting & Exhibition 2022 to be held 6-8 December at the Kentucky International Convention Center.
“After much deliberation by the IAEE Board of Directors and IAEE senior staff members, we realized that the best alternative for delivering the quality of content that makes Expo! Expo! the Show for Shows was to fully invest in the virtual format in lieu of an in-person or hybrid event,” noted 2020 IAEE Chairperson Robert (Bob) McLean, CPA, CAE, CEM, Executive Vice President of the Promotional Products Association International (PPAI), who will continue to serve as IAEE Chairperson in 2021.
“We are incredibly pleased at the result and grateful to the show partners who collaborated with us to create such an outstanding experience, the 100+ exhibiting companies who stuck by us through this very challenging year, and of course, the attendees who fully engaged in the format to make the most out of all that Expo! Expo! had to offer,” added IAEE President and CEO David DuBois, CMP, CAE, CTA, FASAE. “We look forward to seeing everyone in person next year at Expo! Expo! in Philadelphia, 7-9 December 2021.”
Expo! Expo! featured more than 100 education sessions with more than 120 presenters covering the following topics:
- Virtual Event Production
- Safely Reopening Exhibitions and Events
- Wellness and Personal Development
- Executive Experience
- Young Professionals
Session formats varied with a mix of live sessions and pre-recorded content followed by live Q&A in which attendees could submit questions for the speaker and engage in relevant discussion among session participants.
In addition to the wealth of education offered, Expo! Expo! featured specialty sessions and activities including:
- Opening General Session & CEM Class of 2020 Presentation
- General Session with Keynote Speaker Risha Grant on Permission: Granted and How to Get Rid of Your BS
- IAEE Awards Watch Party
- Art of the Show Competition Watch Party
- Tech Use Case Presentations in the Tech Theatre
- Industry Icon Interviews in News and Views
- MATSO Cocktails & Content
- IAEE Asia Hybrid Forum
- Chapter BINGO and Networking
The Expo! Expo! Marketplace featured 102 exhibiting companies who opened their virtual booths to all attendees on Tuesday, 8 December and Wednesday, 9 December. Nearly 2,500 connections were made between exhibitors and attendees, with more than 22,000 messages sent between all users. Eighty-six percent of registered platform users were active online and each exhibitor made an average of 41 new contacts. The Expo! Expo! education experience drew more than 10,000 individual session registrations and 8,000 unique session views.
The virtual platform was powered by Swapcard with audio/visual production by SmartSource and video production by CNTV. IAEE extends a special thank you to all of its 2020 Expo! Expo! partners. Please visit www.myexpoexpo.com for a complete listing.
For those unable to attend this year’s Expo! Expo! IAEE’s Annual Meeting & Exhibition, IAEE is making full meeting registrations available through 31 January 2021 with access to all on-demand content. Click here for more information.
