For many of us throughout the year, we usually attend a never-ending marathon of trade shows. I have often remarked that I am in the wrong business and could be getting wealthy organizing events. But that has certainly changed with the arrival of the coronavirus pandemic. The event business is still in a state of shock. Traditionally, I write about a dozen or more events each year for audioXpress and Voice Coil magazines, and here in The Audio Voice newsletter, but now my dance card is... rather blank.

First, let's look at 2020 - early-on the knee-jerk solution was to push out the event dates a few months, but to everyone's dismay COVID-19 did not go away and now almost every convention is canceled far into 2021. The promoting organizations have tried hard to maintain their presence and continuity with virtual webinars, but this is not the same as in-person trade shows. 

Conversely, premature efforts to continue with live events such as IFA in Berlin, Germany are perceived as both greedy and callous. As Editor-in-Chief J. Martins has commented in The Audio Voice about IFA 2020, which took place September 3-5, as a real-life B2B event - by invitation only: "I am waiting for the invitation and private jet to take me to Berlin."  While IFA promoters said: "Our industry - like the rest of the world - now has to plan and prepare for how we can recover and rebound. For 2020, we are planning to go ahead based on a reworked concept that highlights IFA's core functions: supporting brands and manufacturers, retailers, innovators, and the media."

Rocky Mountain International Audio Fest 2020 (early October) was cancelled early, last May. "The very worst thing that we can envision is for someone to fall ill because they came to our show, whether as an exhibitor, a journalist, an attendee, or a volunteer," wisely stated Marjorie Baumert, RMAF Director, and Marcie Miller, Operations Director.

Beyond this year is just as bleak. CES in early January 2021 was canceled by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) or more specifically "is moving away from a physical format in favor of an all-digital experience." NAMM, which was scheduled for a few weeks later, has already converted into a virtual experience. Those of us who have made the pilgrimage to Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) in Amsterdam each year may remember that ISE in early February 2020 was the last AV show to (barely) take place prior to the lockdowns. ISE 2021, scheduled to move to Barcelona, Spain, has little or no chance of happening, since Spain is seeing huge virus spikes, well-ahead of the expected Winter second-wave. ISE is charging on at the moment, probably because Mobile World Congress (MWC), hosted by GSMA and also scheduled to happen in Barcelona a few weeks later has not yet been cancelled. Ironically, MWC Barcelona (March 1-4, 2021) adopted the slogan: Connected Impact!

Naturally, a GSMA spokesperson already confirmed that the global health situation is constantly being monitored and that if the situation prohibits a physical event in early 2021 then the event will move toward the all-digital format, which is also being worked on at the moment.

With this grim scenario as the backdrop, the Audio & Loudspeaker Technologies International (ALTI - https://altiassoc.org) EXPO was swept away along with InfoComm 2020, its anchor event. And while Barry Vogel remains at the helm of ALTI after it transitioned into a new organization - formerly the Association of Loudspeaker Manufacturing & Acoustics (ALMA) International, it has not been an easy time. I recently asked Vogel for his thoughts during these uncertain times. The Speaker Building Workshop that proved so popular at the EXPO needs hands-on participation so that is off for now, but Vogel has some other innovations up his sleeve. One idea is to merge Menlo Scientific's Whiskey Tasting event that proved popular at past ALMA events into ALTI's schedule.

Vogel says: "Timing is everything. Imagine assuming control of a venerable association with a nearly 60 year history in the midst of a global pandemic? But our mission is the same. The route to get there has changed. The mission has always been to offer outstanding value to our members through education, networking, and in creating unique business opportunities. COVID-19 has put in-person events on the back burner. And until we can confirm another 'real' ALTI-EXPO, we made a commitment to developing online resources, webinars, live chat sessions, and collaborations with other parties in order to keep our members engaged and doing business. After all, even now there is business to be done!"

Vogel added, "A new ALTI program called Incubator, designed to help inventors, entrepreneurs and innovators to turn ideas into opportunities is now in dvelopment. By bringing expert consultants, marketing and branding experts, financing and management people together under a single umbrella, ALTI is able to put the knowledge and talent needed to succeed at the fingertips of a start-up. In the short term, ALTI will be presenting webinars and chat sessions for members and students." Longer term, hopefully ALTI-EXPO 2021 will return on June 13 -14 in Orlando, FL. That event will signal the association's 60-year anniversary. And Vogel is also committed to confirm events involving ALTI to take place in Europe in 2021.

What about the COVID-19 vaccine? I hope for the best, but this may not be the magic solution. A reality check is that HIV/AIDs has been around for 40 years, but we still don't have a vaccine nor one for SARS. The flu vaccine has been in widespread use since 1945 but you still need to get a shot (or two) every year. Widespread viruses mutate into different strains. Each year, new vaccines need to be tweaked for the latest virus strains. The more depressing news is that even after 75 years of development, the flu vaccines only provide immunity for about 50% to 60% of the people- so you can have been vaccinated yet catch the flu - and also be contagious. 

But let's be optimistic. If all goes well with vaccines, the shows schedule for May 2021 onward may have a chance at something beyond virtual webinars. But even in the best case models, promoters are aware that attendance will likely be a fraction of the 2019 numbers. During the transition year of 2021, expect "brick and mortar" events to still have a much lower density of booths and attendees. And I suspect the bigger risk might be getting to the shows in the first place.

Mid-April 2021 shows, such as AXPONA in Chicago, IL, are still on the fence, and we are hopeful that the High-End show in Munich, Germany, in mid-May might be workable. By June 2021, ALTI EXPO and InfoComm have the potential for in-person trade shows. And by September, CEDIA and RMAF, both canceled this year, ought to be back in action by 2021.

Yet beyond safety risks from all directions, as J. Martins already pointed out, the most deadly elephant in the room is event Value Proposition. "A trade show is an event where companies and entrepreneurs can launch, demonstrate, and promote their latest products and services. Shows, fairs, exhibitions, or expositions are promoted to connect sellers with buyers - and that's why most trade shows have access reserved to professionals and industry members."

"So, trade show and event promoters just need to find a way to expand this unique value proposition - generating a balanced RoI - from an alternative, online model, knowing they are temporarily unable to produce a trade show, attract people from all over the world, and sell thousands of square meters of show floor. They can do exactly what a trade show or event is intended to do: promote networking and business opportunities. It was never about square meters," Martins concludes.

You can read the complete text here (recommended). I leave this note with a final comment, I hope to see many of you over a whiskey at the ALTI-EXPO next May.