Trade Association Events Enter the 21st Century — Meetings Innovation Report

The weekly Skift Meetings Innovation Report defines the future of meetings and events by deciphering disruptive strategies that improve knowledge sharing.

The Future of Meetings + Events

Kicking off May 2017, the new Xperiential Design Project (XDP) association industry event could reframe the conversation around member engagement at large trade organizations.

The Center for Association Leadership (ASAE) announced last week that it is scrapping its Springtime Expo after 40 years, and replacing it with XDP to deliver a more flexible and interactive educational experience. For example, attendees will participate in roundtables in one of six zones co-located in one room in a hub-and-spoke layout around a center stage. Every 90 minutes, the zone facilitators will share their groups' insight with the general assembly, shifting the user experience between individual knowledge sharing and group learning.

That's just for starters. Don Neal, founder and CEO of 360 Live Media, which is designing XDP, told me the event is going to be a "blasting cap and catalyst" for the trade association industry "to open their eyes." Read the full post below.

— Greg Oates, Senior Editor

Social Quote of the Day

"#InspirationHub: Upcoming Event Trends for 2016: An Expert Roundup j.mp/1WSC13I @etouches"

— @IMEX_Group on Twitter

Meeting + Event Design

The Association Industry Wants to Change How Conventions Drive New Business: The trade association sector needs something like ASAE's new Xperience Design Project, which emphasizes both individual and inter-departmental education, to pivot how organizations develop new business and engage their members better at industry events. Read more at Skift

The Quirky, Wonderful and Eye-Widening World of C2 Montreal: "The Many" is this year’s theme, focusing on how influence is shifting away from the corporate few and into the hands of savvy consumers, entrepreneurs and organizations who collaborate even with their competitors. Read more at Campaign

How to Use Slack to Facilitate Networking at Conferences and Events: The organizers of Social Media Marketing World posted information about how to sign up for Slack on the conference website, and they shared a list of suggested channels. By the time the conference began, they had 78 channels with more than 600 participants. Read more at BizBash

What We’ve Learned Spending $80 Million On Events In The Past Few Years: The brains behind C2 Montreal explains why “analog” events and activations are gaining a bigger role in complementing digital and mass media channels through meaningful and personal experiences and storytelling. Read more at Sid Lee

5 Innovations From the Annual Convention & World Languages Expo: This planning team is given freer rein to create interactive environments where attendees can drive content. Read more at Convene

Tourism + Hospitality

'Burning Man For The 1%': The Desert Party For The Tech Elite, With Eric Schmidt In A Top Hat: In the desert outside Las Vegas, Further Future is the tech-centric, unapologetically luxurious alternative to Burning Man, complete with personal assistants, spa treatments and fine dining. Read more at The Guardian

State of Travel 2016: Airbnb Vs. Hotel Rivals in 6 Charts: Airbnb’s growth is significant, but the unanswered question so far is whether the growth comes at the expense of traditional hotel business or if it is carving out its own, new business. Read more at Skift

Conventions Are Leaving More Than Money Behind: The Best Cities Global Alliance is helping meetings effect lasting change in their host destinations in five ways. Read more at Convene

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The Skift Meetings Innovation Report is curated by Skift senior editor Greg Oates [go@skift.com]. The newsletter is emailed every Wednesday.

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