ASI Moves Ahead, Virtually
Friday August 14, 2020 | Filed under:
Here’s what I love most about our industry: the support we offer each other during the toughest of times. ASI Show® just announced the cancellation of our Chicago trade show and the move of our big shows in Orlando and Fort Worth to the second quarter of 2021. Almost immediately, we heard from industry friends who assured us we’d done the right thing, as hard as it was to pull the plug on this fall’s Chicago show (watch my announcement on YouTube).
It was a decision we struggled with, frankly, for weeks, trying to balance the needs of suppliers and distributors who’d told us they wanted and needed a trade show against the relentless march of the coronavirus. In the end, we knew only one thing really mattered, and that’s the health, safety and well-being of everyone in the industry.
As a result, we’re moving ASI Orlando to April and ASI Fort Worth to May, with details coming soon. ASI’s 2021 Chicago show will be held as planned next year, on July 27-29.
For now, we’re concentrating on expanding our virtual events, which we started hosting almost as soon as stay-at-home orders became an unfortunate reality.
A big one will be a virtual Education Day, free for ASI distributor members, on Thursday, October 15, from 1-4 p.m. ET. It will be very similar to our in-person Education Days, with the same great content and expert instructors, but with an emphasis on new and emerging markets carved out by recent shifts in the marketplace.
Registration opens soon, so look for our emails and please sign up.
By the end of 2020, ASI Show will have delivered over 40 new virtual events to members, including our ongoing events: ASI Show at Home Presents: The Joe Show LIVE, online every other Tuesday from 10-10:30 a.m. ET; The Joe Show LIVE Canada; and fASI Virtual.
Registration is already open for another big virtual event, the October 22 ASI Power Summit Live, which for the first time will be free for members, providing the same networking, discussions and learning opportunities as our exclusive in-person event.
We’re also working on events that will bring together small groups of suppliers and distributors, as well as a virtual version of our popular fASIlitate, allowing top suppliers and distributor members to meet one-on-one in a private setting, safely, online.
As much as I love our big trade shows – seeing everyone, meeting with old friends for drinks and dinner, checking out all the new products – there’s simply no safe way to host one right now, or in the near future. Even if travel quarantines magically disappear, I don’t believe a large trade show would produce an effective ROI for distributors and suppliers who are literally counting every dollar, every investment, as they work to remain healthy, both physically and as a business.
If the last five months have proven anything, it’s that none of us know what lies ahead. Whatever happens, ASI will continue to be here for the industry and our members – online, on the phone, in Zoom meetings, however we can continue to meet – providing the latest news, business strategies, informative webinars and top-notch education.
We’ve also beefed up our ESP® business platform, adding more features, more products and more product info than ever, giving distributors a constantly updated tool to find the best supplier products to help their clients succeed.
Stay safe and keep in touch (virtually!), everyone. And thank you for your continued support and belief in ASI. Together, we can do anything.