By R.V. Baugus

SmartMeetings.com featured an article entitled “The New Corona Reality” that among its contributors to the story included Mark Herrera, IAVM Director of Education and Life Safety. Herrera joined expert voices from various sectors including hotels, transportation, destinations, event tech, travel, presentations, networking, health and wellness, live events in-person and virtual, and sustainability, to discuss many facets of COVID-19. Below is Herrera’s contribution to the article, which can be found in its entirety here.

The reality of the event industry is one of unrelentingly disruptive change. This change is happening at an unprecedented pace. Venues of all types must successfully adapt and operate under a set of rules and expectations that are constantly in flux based on the current health crisis. The challenge of this disruption has posed an economical and physical risk, but now we will see how resilient the industry is and embrace the growth opportunities.

It is our civic duty to assure we provide safe, secure and healthy environments within all public facilities where crowds assemble. IAVM has partnered with Global Biorisk Advisory Council, where venues can apply to a performance-based accreditation program that helps facilities demonstrate they have the work practices, procedures and protocols to prepare, respond and recover from outbreaks and pandemics as it pertains to deep cleaning and sanitization.

Topline safety considerations for all venues are to allow healthy people to enjoy the facility and event. Enhanced protective measures, such as face coverings and hand-washing stations, will be more common. Managing the crowd density to assure that physical distancing guidelines are adhered to during ingress and egress will be heavily monitored, with physical barriers strategically placed in areas where crowds can be controlled.

Prior to attending all events, messaging and communication with employees and guests—to include signage on how to prevent the spread of germs—will be a common practice. Facility design and touchless points of sale will be more common than before to avoid the transmission of any communicable disease.

Although there is no guarantee to a “zero risk” environment, we will continue to implement and measure a means to mitigate all risk associated with this health crisis, and we will do it together.

By R.V. Baugus

Be sure and save the rapidly approaching date to participate in the National Coalition of Black Meeting Professionals’ (NCBMP) July 23 Zoom panel meeting on “The State of Black Culture.” The panel session begins at 1 pm EDT.

The State of Black Culture will explore the lifestyle, development and ethnology of Black communities, families, and businesses. It presents a unique opportunity for national thought leaders to consciously educate and challenge the Black community and allies to all be their best selves.

For a full roster of panelists and to register for this important discussion that will be presented at no cost, please click here.

By Hilarie Carpenter, CTA

ASM Global’s Kathy Bart, an IAVM member and Director of Sales & Event Services for DeVos Place Convention Center, has been named “Best Supplier” in Michigan Meetings + Events magazine’s 2020 Hall of Fame.

Michigan Meetings + Events’ Hall of Fame honors professionals who are making their mark in the meetings and events industry. In Kathy’s role at DeVos Place, she is responsible for growing and managing the business strategies at national, regional, and local levels. She works collectively with Experience Grand Rapids, the West Michigan Sports Commission and area hotels in filling the event calendar and oversees the coordinating team to execute events ranging from holiday parties to major corporate and large annual association events.

Bart has been active with Michigan Society of Association Executives (MSAE) through committee work, facilitating certification classes and leading sessions at annual conventions. Bart can also be seen at Grand Valley State University where she speaks to students in the Hospitality program as well as at DeVos Place where she assists professors with on-site learning opportunities. Bart has been a part of the ASM Global (formerly SMG) team for 22 years. Starting with the company in the Van Andel Arena and DeVos Performance Hall box office, she transitioned into the DeVos Place sales department in 2004. She was named Director of Sales in 2008, and her role expanded to include Event Services in 2018.

“I’m extremely honored to be a part of the Hall of Fame alongside many outstanding professionals in this industry,” Bart said. “We continue to work our hardest in Grand Rapids to showcase all that the city has to offer, and take pride in the way that our staff at DeVos Place and all of our partners work together to create the best possible experience for our clients.”

Michigan Meetings + Events’ magazine also recently released the winners of their Best of 2020 Awards. These annual awards provide an opportunity for industry professionals to vote on the best professionals and organizations within the meeting and events industry each year. DeVos Place’s hotel partner and exclusive food and beverage provider, Amway Grand Plaza, Curio Collection by Hilton, was voted “Best Hotel with Meeting/Event Space (200 or More Guest Rooms)” and Bluewater, DeVos Place’s preferred audio/visual provider, was named “Best A/V Provider.” DeVos Place was voted runner up for “Best Convention Center” this year, an honor awarded to the ASM Global-managed TCF Center in Detroit. DeVos Place was voted “Best Convention Center” in Michigan Meetings + Events’ Best of 2017 Awards. For a complete list of Michigan Meetings + Events’ 2020 Hall of Fame and Best of 2020 Awards winners, visit MI.MeetingsMags.com.

Hilarie Carpenter, CTA, is Director of Marketing for ASM Global – Van Andel Arena, DeVos Place & DeVos Performance Hall.

Voting is now open and will remain so through July 17, 2020 at midnight CST. The complete slate including biographical information and photos can be viewed on the IAVM web site.  Our voting process has changed with the introduction of a new nomination/application process for sector directors.  The ballot you will see this year will only include the Second Vice Chair election, and if you identified as one of the following sectors: Allied, Arenas, or Universities you will find the election for that Sector Director.  At most, you will be voting for two incoming positions on the 2020 – 2021 Board of Directors.

PLEASE CHECK YOUR EMAIL:  All voting members should have already received an email titled “2020-2021 IAVM Board of Directors Election-login information below”. The email contains a generated user name and password to use when logging in to submit votes.  If you haven’t received the email, please contact Rosanne Duke via email or by calling 972.538.1025.

As in the past, the ballot is available through Survey & Ballot Systems allowing complete confidentiality and security to our members.  The results of the voting will be posted following the closing of the ballot on July 17. 

By Mary Tucker

The Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR) released the results of its latest poll tracking the impact COVID-19 is having on the U.S. business-to-business (B2B) exhibition industry during a recent free webinar.

“The persistence of COVID-19 and the uncertainty of whether events can take place in their scheduled destinations are forcing an increasing number of U.S. B2B exhibition organizers to either postpone their events to late 2020/early 2021 or cancel them entirely,” noted CEIR CEO Cathy Breden, CMP, CAE, CEM. “This trend is devastating to an industry that contributed over $101 billion to the U.S. GDP last year. CEIR provides valuable impact information to both Exhibitions Mean Business and the Go LIVE Together initiatives for use in advocating for the industry to Congress.”

CEIR Vice President of Research Nancy Drapeau, PRC added, “The top two reasons speak to the chaos of the current situation, as 74% of those forced to cancel say the lack of clarity in knowing whether large group meetings will be allowed to take place at the scheduled time due to state and local lockdown orders prompted them to this decision. IMTS scheduled to take place in Chicago is a prime example. In addition, many organizers (69%) attribute the persistence of corporate ‘no travel’ policies and the impact they might have on participation levels as a reason for foregoing a 2020 in-person event.”

Exhibition organizers are doing all that they can to defend the health of their organizations and serve the needs of their communities in the midst of this crisis. A new question CEIR’s June survey posed to organizers that have postponed an event is whether they have added a hybrid or virtual component to these events. Responses reflect that 63% have, with 44% giving attendees the option to attend in-person or virtually and the same percentage (44%) having a virtual event backup plan in the event they are forced to cancel at the last minute.

Among organizers forced to cancel 2020 events, the shift to digital has grown to 81%, compared to 69% in the April survey. What is most notable is the increase in full virtual trade shows, 41% compared to 15% in the April survey.

The June survey also profiles data on gross revenues retained and gained from efforts to move participants of canceled events to digital options or other face-to-face (F2F) events offered by an organizer. It also explores the revenue outlook for virtual events, whether there was a fee to attend, and whether these organizers sought revenues via sponsorship and virtual booth sales. Lastly, it quantifies which tactics and strategies executives plan to undertake moving forward, in a post-COVID world.

This webinar also provides commentary and case study sharing by two event organizers who participated in the event: Brian Cuthbert, Group Vice President of Diversified Communications and Rochelle Richardson, CEM, Senior Vice President, Exposition and Event Services at AVIXA InfoComm USA. Richardson shared lessons learned from the recent launch of AVIXA’s virtual event, InfoComm 2020 Connected, that took place two weeks ago.

CEIR’s most recent survey was fielded on 9-21 June 2020, inviting executives with oversight of U.S. B2B exhibitions run or managed by their organizations to respond. A total of 169 executives participated, similar to the level of participation generated in the April survey, which includes a sample of 164 executives. The June sample was generated from qualified members from the International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE), the Society of Independent Show Organizers (SISO), and Trade Show News Network (TSNN) subscribers.

A full report of survey results is available in the webinar deck downloadable at no cost on the CEIR online store. Click here to download the full webinar presentation.

Be sure to save the date for CEIR’s next webinar on 15 July 2020, which is also free to attend. During this webinar – moderated by CEIR CEO Cathy Breden, CMP, CAE, CEM – CEIR Economist Dr. Allen Shaw will update his perspective on COVID-19’s impact on the U.S. economy and B2B exhibition industry. Click here to register.

The annual CEIR Predict Conference will be held 22 September 2020 at the MGM National Harbor, just outside Washington, D.C. Predict will provide insights into the performance of the exhibitions industry and a forecast through year-end, along with an economic presentation by Alex Chausovsky of ITR Economics discussing how world events are expected to impact the global economy. Registration for the CEIR Predict Conference is now open, and complete details are available here.

Mary Tucker is Sr. PR/Communications Manager for CEIR.