The Challenge

The grocery industry is constantly evolving, creating a financial challenge not only for independent stores, but also national and international chains. Today's customers have moved to online orders and meal kits, and store owners need to stay up-to-date on trends, maximize existing resources, and know when to lean on fellow associates. In this climate, the National Grocers Association (NGA) sought to put on an event that supported and educated attendees and facilitated open and honest discussions about today's realities. They also needed to find a keynote speaker who could talk about where policy is headed and the possible effects that new policy changes could have on the industry and each of their organizations. 

In addition to needing strong programming to hit on timely industry issues, NGA had also previously dealt with a production company that wasn't great at keeping VIPs and talent in the know and on time, and were looking to remedy this.

The Solution

The LAI team helped NGA develop programming schedules that addressed specific issues head on, from the entrepreneurs who talked about their individual trials to the event's keynote speaker, General Michael Hayden—the former director of the CIA and former director of the NSA who is exclusively represented by Leading Authorities speakers bureau—who talked about the effects of policy changes on business, attendees felt inspired and informed.

The most rewarding part? NGA told us their attendees and speakers felt that the LAI team's suggestions, direction, artistic vision, and scenics led to one of the best, most productive, and smoothest events that they have hosted in memory.  

The three dividions of Leading Authorities, Inc.—LAI Live, LAI Video, and LAI Speakers Bureau—partnered together to help CEO Update host a day-long event for Washington, DC-based CEOs aimed at connecting members with trending ideas, experts, and one another. CEO Update wanted to create an intimate, high-end experience that was conducive to sharing ideas, discussing concepts, and connecting those concepts back to attendees’ day-to-day. Here’s how we did it.

Every year, LAI Live and LAI Video—two of the three divisions within Leading Authorities, Inc., partner with the CEO Update team, a prominent news and c-suite jobs publication for the association sector, to produce CEO Update’s annual Association Leadership Awards luncheon event in Washington, DC, recognizing and honoring three senior executive association leaders, who are nominated by their peers and ultimately selected by an independent panel.

LAI Live recently teamed up with an organization known for having a good sense of humor, CropLife America, and helped bring their vision of a 1970’s talk-show to life.

You don’t need a large budget to develop a tribute to an individual who has made a profound impact on an industry with over 30 years of service. You just need a few key ingredients, like a witty script, solid attention to detail, and a true cast of characters!

This conference was like none before, built for the young scholars molding our country for the better and for the future. National Society of High School Scholars is committed year over year to acknowledging and to devoting resources to a network of over 1.5 million high school students. Each year NSHSS hosts this Scholar’s Day conference to showcase the important work the scholars do inside and outside the classroom for their peers, schools, and communities. The LAI Live team had the easy task of making the conference reflect these esteemed values.

Events are experiences, which is why LAI Live works hand in hand with our clients to build conference themes and programming from the ground up. This year, we teamed with NAF to produce NAF Next, a dynamic professional development conference that brings together education, business, and community leaders to address some of the biggest challenges facing education and the economy.

How did we help our client's annual convention that continues to grow and thrive, stay on the cutting edge of engagement? We started in the foyer!

At LAI Live, we are always up for a good challenge and that is exactly what came to us via our friends at The Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM).

See how we embraced the theme and took on the challenge of combining politics and sports into a traditional meeting environment.

Whether designing a conference, producing an executive summit, or helping clients commemorate large milestones, LAI Live leaves no stone unturned with our world-class Production Management & Producing services.

For its celebratory 50th anniversary annual convention, The Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN) aimed to create a conference experience for attendees that was set apart from business-as-usual.