To adapt CMAA’s core components for their leadership/legislative conference to the virtual arena, our team at LAI chose a tech platform that could accommodate functionality for general sessions (with LAI speakers David Wasserman and Ryan Estis), education credits, and a trade show component. Our designers created beautiful graphics and an event design that elevated the platform’s look & feel, and our web builders built out the website in a way that was clean and user-friendly. Since many attendees were new to the virtual environment, we worked with CMAA to create and distribute step-by-step instructions and access tips prior to the event so participants felt comfortable navigating this new world.
CMAA Leadership/Legislative Conference: A Virtual Experience
When the Club Management Association of America (CMAA) needed to create a new, virtual event experience for their Leadership/Legislative Conference, they sought out our team at LAI Live to build out and produce the multi-day event – equipped with general sessions, breakout experiences, an exhibit hall, and an awards ceremony!
Building a Beautifully Crafted, Easy-to-Navigate Platform
Managing an Action-Packed Agenda
LAI Live prepped and managed the pre-recording (with help from our LAI Video colleagues) and livestream production for the entire CMAA 2-day agenda – with breakout sessions, guided networking breaks, and one general session each day. It was important to CMAA that attendees were fully aware of their session schedule, so the LAI Live team ensured that participants received notifications, as well as reminder emails that apprised them of the day’s agenda. As mentioned above, the sessions also provided the option to receive educational credits, so the team needed to select a platform that could accommodate attendance tracking to determine who was eligible to receive them.
Creating Opportunities for Connection
Our team got creative to develop multiple ways for event participants to interact, engage with each other, and build connections. Understanding the need to break up the content in a virtual setting, baked into each day were video networking breaks - built around content or activities and equipped with a moderator to facilitate conversation among the group. For example, one break was a CMAA-led chair yoga experience to keep attendees moving and engaged. We also developed an exhibitor showcase, where participants had the ability to pre-schedule appointments with exhibitors, connect 1-on-1 via video, and even watch exhibitor-led demos.
Adapting When Natural Disaster Strikes
What happens when you have a plan, a back-up plan, and a natural disaster strikes both out? Our team found this out the hard way when the partner AV company was faced with a slew of storms that caused them to lose power… and back-up power… during CMAA’s Idea Fair awards program. But ever the problem solvers, our LAI producers worked quickly to devise a plan: recording the small piece of lost content, picking up the program where it left off, and allowing for the recording to be accessed later by attendees. Acting fast and thinking on our feet, the show ended up being just 3 minutes behind schedule. While you can never be too prepared for the virtual event world, being adaptable and creative when presented with factors outside of your control is key.
Maddie Abram is the Director of Marketing Events at Leading Authorities. She spends her days supporting the marketing team by managing events and on-site logistics…
Elizabeth has over 10 years of experience working with LAI customers in all aspects of our business. She maintains production schedules, manages workflow and tracks…
With over a decade of experience designing a wide variety of engaging visual media solutions, Benjamin McGeever brings a refined eye and a fresh approach to…