2020 ASAE Virtual Annual Meeting & Exposition Breaks Event Registration Record

Viva Las …Virtual?

Originally slated to take place in Las Vegas, the 2020 ASAE Annual Meeting had to change plans due to ongoing problems with COVID-19. With little time to switch gears, ASAE pivoted and just wrapped up its first-ever 100% VIRTUAL annual meeting.

Was it successful?

ASAE released its press release this morning sharing that it had the highest registration number in the 100-year history of the event.

The conference garnered 14,108 association professionals, consultants, and industry partners registered for the meeting taking place August 10-12, 2020, with 71 percent of those being first-time attendees.

The final attendance breakdown included: 12,813 executives, 544 exhibitors, 207 industry partners, 433 consultants, and 111 others including press, vendors, and staff. The ratio of buyer to sellers was 95 percent buyers to 5 percent sellers.

(Statistics from ASAE’s August 12th press release, 2020 ASAE Virtual Annual Meeting & Exposition Breaks Event Registration Record.)

“I am proud to lead an organization which, even during unpredictable times of change and uncertainty, can provide a much-needed space for the association community to come together, share ideas, and have critical conversations that will guide associations to future success,” said Susan Robertson, CAE, ASAE President and CEO.

“Throughout the last year of ASAE’s Centennial celebrations, we looked back at the lasting impact associations have had on society over the last 100 years. If the overwhelming response to the 2020 ASAE Virtual Annual Meeting is any indication, we can expect the association community to act when called upon, starting with COVID-19 response and legislation, along with the fight for racial equality. I hope the theme of Virtual Annual Meeting will inspire other associations to ‘Make Your Mark’ in this next chapter of history.”

What did Association Chat members think?

Over in the Facebook group, many people shared the sessions that they would recommend others view so that people could decide which ones to go back and watch. The community members were helping each other to provide their curated suggestions, which I thought was interesting.

(Wouldn’t it be cool to see uprated sessions with a 1-line review for sessions recommended to attendees based on who they were connected to and their interests? I could see an awesome AI feature for virtual platforms here…especially for people who can’t attend sessions live. Lots of thoughts about this…)

Some people mentioned a need for better networking with peers, which seems to be an ongoing struggle in the virtual event space. Several individuals noted that a time change to accommodate people on the west coast would be wise for future virtual offerings hosted in the US.

There were some concerns raised about the closed-captioning on the pre-recorded sessions. Reports suggest the closed-captioning wasn’t always working properly and could have a lag time of several minutes.

Industry sponsors and exhibitors had some interesting emails and virtual event offerings that went out, but I was surprised that no one thought direct mail pieces and a more experiential campaign would be worth developing. Or, if they did, maybe I wasn’t part of that list. At any rate, I think more could have been done with some creative marketing for suppliers working with ASAE and hoping to augment their investment.

David Patt posted a great summary of his overall impressions and feedback for the conference on LinkedIn, too.

Overall, social media posts reflect that members were happy to have a chance to check in with peers and appreciated the work ASAE put into the conference.

What happens next?

As meetings continue to happen and the virus keeps us in the habit of social distancing, improvements in virtual meeting offerings will continue to evolve.

People will always want to get together. How we can provide a safe, exciting, valuable way for them to do that remains a challenge. But with creativity and a focus on what matters most in the conference experience, I believe we’ll get there.

You can check out Association Chat’s longer interview with ASAE Amy Ledoux, Chief Learning & Meetings Officer at ASAE about ASAE Annual, their decision to take the Annual Meeting to virtual, to make it free for attendees, and how they approached exhibitors and sponsors to provide the greatest value.

Next year’s ASAE Annual Meeting & Exposition will be held in Dallas, Texas, August 14-17, 2021, at the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center.

This is a list of ASAE’s Alliance Partners who continue to support the association community through their participation with ASAE:

Strategic Partners
Atlanta CVB
Destination Canada Business Events
Choose Chicago
Experience Columbus
Community Brands
Greater Fort Lauderdale CVB
Naylor Association Solutions
Discover Puerto Rico

Corporate Partners
Visit Austin
Caesars Entertainment
Destination Cleveland
Visit Dallas
DelCor Technology Solutions
Fonteva
Louisville Tourism
Visit Omaha
Travel Portland
Visit Salt Lake
Visit San Jose

Event Partners
IMIS by Advanced Solutions International

Bostrom
CliftonLarsonAllen
Experient
Higher Logic
Manifest

Maritz Global Events

Mighty Citizen
MemberClicks
OpenWater
Discover the Palm Beaches

Global Partners
Dubai Association Centre
Korea Tourism Organization
Singapore Tourism Board

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