June Newsletter 2024
EDPA on Capitol Hill for Legislative Action Day 2024
On March 30th, a group of 130+ event industry advocates from 25 states gathered for ECA Legislative Action Day on Capitol Hill for 110 Congressional meetings. EDPA one again had the largest contingent of members with 40 individuals representing our association and industry.
This year’s ECA Legislative Action Day focused on two of ECA’s top public policy priorities: helping the industry attract and train its next generation workforce and further reducing visa wait times for international exhibitors and attendees looking to come to U.S. exhibitions, conferences, and trade shows.
Thank you to Tommy Goodwin and the Exhibitions and Conferences Alliance for organizing such a successful event. Also, a huge thank you to all the EDPA members who took time out of their busy schedules to participate.
SAVE THE DATE – EDPA ACCESS 2024!12/3/24-12/5/24
EDPA will be hosting our 3-day annual conference December 3rd – 5th at Hyatt Indian Wells Resort & Spa in Palm Springs, CA. Lock it in your calendars now so you don’t miss out on this key industry event. Registration and event details will be coming later this summer. We look forward to seeing you there!
FIT STUDENTS & PINNACLE PARTNER
For their 2024 sponsored project in the spring semester, the students of the Graduate Program in Exhibition and Experience Design at FIT, collaborated with Pinnacle, an experiential marketing agency, on a student project in experiential design. For this project FIT Graduate Exhibition and Experience Design students presented concepts for an experiential pop-up to the Pinnacle’s Creative Director, Adam Carnes.
Assignment
Pinnacle and SHM were seeking proposals for experiential activations to drive brand awareness, social media engagement, and press coverage of their AFEELA prototype to encourage pre-orders. Students designed an experiential activation for deployment to key cities in target markets: Los Angeles, Austin, and New York City. Their projects encompassed:
Site-specific design—location and design recommendations for at
least 1 key cityEvent programming—schedule of events for 1 week of activation programming
Visitor journey—visitor journey narrative describing engagement with product & key messages
Brand experience—communicate AFEELA messaging experientially
Campaign plan—suggest approach for engaging audiences beyond the physical event footprint
Sustainability plan— communicate how activation experience will support sustainability initiatives
All projects combined exhibit features, interactive experiences, and narrative-driven education to engage audiences with AFEELA’s key messages of Coloring Mobility, Ultimate Entertainment, Hospitality, and Sensing Technology. Proposals that creatively utilized non-traditional spaces and fostered meaningful interactive experiences received special consideration. Additionally, students were encouraged to suggest original approaches to broaden AFEELA’s engagement through digital content, such as videos, social media, and metaverse activities.
Pedro Motta, Presentation Techniques Instructor, said that the challenge this semester was “that it’s a new brand and a new company and there are no official guidelines and official images that represent the brand so this was an opportunity for students to generate completely new ideas, completely new thought processes that would be able to tell this new story of Sony and Honda to bring this new product called AFEELA to life through mobility and through entertainment and sustainability.”
Adam Carnes explained that “the project was largely defined by unknowns: a new brand, product, and industry. Each student filled the void with a unique vision and distinctive voice, their solutions grounded in the tenets of experience design: audience, story, and environment. It was truly inspiring to participate.”
“Working with the real world experiential design agency, such as Pinnacle is very different from the usual classroom setup where you don’t have an actual client. It’s very interesting to have an experience of tackling experiential marketing opportunities provided by big brands, global brands, like Sony Honda Mobility. It’s been very fulfilling to design something that, I hope, is up to their branding standards,” said Aian Raquel, FIT EED ’25 student.
EDPA Foundation Update
EDPAF’s Scholarship Program has become synonymous with the word opportunity in our industry. EDPAF scholarships are available to the family members of industry employees, and over the years, they have helped countless students pursue their dreams of higher education. While it is not a requirement, the EDPAF always hopes these bright young minds will come to the face-to-face marketing industry with their big ideas.
This year, we are excited to announce a first in our scholarship program. Let’s learn about Isabell’s story. She will be the first scholarship winner to attend both EDPAF’s affiliated programs.
Isabelle Morin (she/her) is a passionate Marketing Communication & Design graduate from Bemidji State University. She is now advancing her education in the Exhibition & Experience Design Graduate program at the Fashion Institute of Technology. Drawn to the creative aspect of brand storytelling, she discovered her passion through BSU’s Exhibit and Experience Design courses, which seamlessly blend marketing, technology, experience design, and storytelling. Currently, she excels as a Marketing Project Manager for a water softener company, contributing to the design of water treatment packaging, online marketing material, and in-store brand storytelling.
Her recent achievements include leading a team to design a new shelving system that secured a multi-million-dollar partnership with Lowe's and being honored as the American Indian Student of the Year at BSU. Isabelle enjoys spending time outdoors, planning immersive trips for her family, and collecting postcards. Congratulations, Isabelle, and on behalf of the EDPA Foundation, thank you for charting a new path!
While expressing her gratitude for the opportunities the EDPAF has helped provide, Isabelle wants membership to know, "I am thrilled to build upon the exhibition design skills I honed at Bemidji State University as I embark on this exciting journey at the Fashion Institute of Technology this fall. The curricula from both institutions complement each other beautifully, and I am eager to explore the opportunities in NYC.”
Stay tuned for more remarkable stories of EDPAF scholarship successes.
The 30th Annual Randy Registration is Open!
On Thursday, September 26, 2024, the RSMGC Foundation, the EACA, and the EDPA Foundation invite you to participate in the 30th Annual Atlanta Randy Smith Memorial Golf Classic at Chateau Elan in Braselton, GA.
The Randy, as known across our industry, will benefit families in the exhibition industry who have suffered severe tragedies or face insurmountable medical expenses. The commitment of The Randy is to provide financial and emotional support to all past and present recipients and their families.
Date: September 26th
Course: Chateau Elan in Braselton, GA.
Register: https://rsmgc.org/atlanta/
EDPA Upper Midwest
Event Title: 51st Annual Upper Midwest EDPA Golf Outing
Date: Thursday, August 15th
Location: Theodore Wirth Golf Course at 1301 Theodore Wirth Pkwy, Minneapolis, MN 55422
Time: 8:00am CST Registration, 9:00am Shotgun Start, 2:00pm Lunch & Social Hour
Description: Join us for the 51st Annual Golf Outing, Lunch and Social Hour, hosted by the UMEDPA on Thursday, August 15th, 8am shotgun start in Minneapolis. If you're a competitive golfer, just enjoy playing the game, or want to catch up with industry friends, the event has something for ALL!
Registration link: Click here to register
EDPA Midwest
Event Title: Chicago Randy Golf Outing
Date: Monday, July 29th
Location: Itasca Country Club - Itasca, 400 E Orchard St, Itasca, IL 60143
Time: 11:40am CST (group photo), 12:00pm CST (shotgun start)
Event Description: Join us for the 21st annual Chicago Randy Golf Outing! Whether you're a competitive golfer, just enjoy playing the game, or want to catch up with your colleagues on the course, this event has plenty of fun options for you. More information is available on the event website.
Registration link: Chicago Randy Link
EDPA Great Lakes
Event Title: EDPA/ESCA/EIC Sustainability Guidelines Webinar
Date: **Tentative** Thursday, August 1st
Location: Online Webinar
Time: TBD
Event Description: A review of the recently released EDPA/ESCA/EIC Sustainability Guidelines
Registration link: To Come
EDPA Northwest
Event Title: Office Productivity
Date: Monday, July 15th
Location: Online Webinar
Time: 10:00am PST
Description: Heidi Mills is a Professional Organizer and a former member of both the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) and the Association of Personal Photo Organizers (APPO). She will be joining us for our bi-monthly webinar on July 15th and will be focusing on 3 topics all relating to productivity and how we can work to reduce the stress of information constantly coming in:
Time Relationship
Desktop Clutter
Email
If you have any stress or feel overwhelmed and not sure where to get started, join our webinar!
Registration link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/905774565107?aff=oddtdtcreator
EDPA Southeast
Event Title: Get Out of the Gutter, for a good cause!
Date: Thursday, August 22nd
Location: Bowlmor Lanes at 2175 Savoy Drive in Atlanta, GA
Time: 4:30 – 8:30pm EST
Event Description: Join the SE EDPA Chapter for the 17th annual team bowling event to help support the Randy Smith Memorial Golf Classic! Sponsorships Available – Check out the website!
Registration link: Event Website
EDPA Texas
Event Title: Texas EDPA July Trivia Night
Date: Wednesday, July 10th
Location: Zoom
Time: 4:00 - 5:00pm CST
Description: Monthly trivia game hosted by TEXAS EDPA. 20 Multiple Choice Questions, lots of fun and banter. Winner takes home a $50.00 Amazon Gift Card (sponsored by Classic Exhibits) – Every month is a different challenger – July’s challenger is the Midwest Chapter!
Registration link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82368665493?pwd=bFFiamd4Mng0Rm1aT0xHOTV5eGt4UT09