NADA to Become Virtual Event Next Year
The National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) has decided to go digital to combat the coronavirus pandemic, canceling plans for what would have been an in-person event held at the end of January. Plans now include a virtual, mid-week conference starting on February 9th, which organizers agree will be far better than a bunch of people enjoying themselves at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans over a long weekend.
Truth be told, there wasn’t much of a decision to be made. New Orleans may have decided it’s ready to open up restaurants, retail outlets, and giant shopping centers to the public but trade shows and bars have proven themselves bridge too far. While locals have accused the city of using COVID-19 as an excuse to gentrify certain areas of the city, drunks have a penchant for forgetting social-distancing rules. NADA would have brought in thousands of dealers and vendors, many of whom would be engaged in frequent bouts of close-range talking between beers. That’s to say nothing of the forbidden romantic entanglements (cheating) your author is just going to assume happens.
“If the show were to be this month, we would be prohibited flat-out from doing it,” NADA CEO Peter Welch told Automotive News in an interview, adding that there was no real way to predict how the state would be looking just a few months from now.
“Our driving concern here is that the decision to have it in person is probably not going to be made by us,” he continued. “It’s going to be made by government proclamation.”
NADA Chairman Rhett Ricart has explained that the event will be using Freeman, a company it already has a stable history with, to produce the show in a virtual environment. “They have an electronic platform that looks very robust; they’re familiar with us,” added Welch.
While retention rates are assumed to be substantially lower than that of a physical show, organizers feel the digital space will draw in far more eyes overall. There are a few bugs left to be ironed how, however.
From AN:
NADA is still in discussions with Freeman and another company called Directions AV to figure out the best online approach for hosting general sessions, Welch said. Some events, such as the Time Dealer of the Year Award, will resemble traditional presentations but in a digital format.
NADA envisions franchise meetings will follow their typical 90-minute time frame, with 60 minutes of presentation and 30 minutes of question-and-answer. But automakers will have more flexibility with who presents, how and from where.
For the exhibitor portion, the digital show is being built out to resemble a convention hall. “It’s pretty slick software they have for these things,” Welch said.
Exhibitors will be able to pay for different levels, with varying capabilities and features. The price to attend the virtual show is $199 for a dealer/manager member. Before the switch, the early bird price was $390. Refunds will be issued for the difference, and full refunds will be made to those who opt out of the virtual show.
Having gotten a little dealer feedback, most seem to understand the reasoning behind the changes but aren’t overly thrilled with the new format. One store manager asking to remain anonymous suggested that having face time was invaluable and noted that most of the virtual events he attended in 2020 were dull and felt like a poor use of his time. “I believe health and safety is important but nobody is getting what they want or need from these online events,” he said.
[Image: GLF Media/Shutterstock]
A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.
More by Matt Posky
Comments
Join the conversation
Who can be surprised? Any way you slice it, we're going to be in mask-wearing, social distancing, no indoor events mode for at least the next 10-12 months. No sane person would attend a multi-day indoor event right now, and not in the immediate future. NADA has recognized reality, the only surprise can be that it took them so long to do so.