PCMA Convening Leaders 2022 Goes Hybrid in Vegas

December 20, 2021

The PCMA Convening Leaders 2022 annual convention will be coming in-person to Las Vegas in January, as well as keeping a digital option for remote attendees.

After going mostly digital in 2020, the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) Convening Leaders annual convention is coming back as a hybrid on Jan. 9–12, 2022. The in-person convention will be held at the Caesars Forum in Las Vegas, where a wide variety of headliners will deliver keynotes. Among them are Co-Creator and star of the hit comedy series Schitt’s Creek and LGBTQIA+ activist Dan Levy; Author and Former CEO and Chairman of PepsiCo Indra Nooyi; Head of Innovation at ORT Schools and CEO of Asteroid Technologies Mateo Salvatto; and NYU Marketing Professor and best-selling author Scott Galloway.

All will, in one way or another, be addressing the convention’s theme, “Where to Next?”. The convention is centered around the three “C”s — community, content and commerce.

Community: In addition to keynotes, PCMA intends to deliver on community by providing a safe place for event and meeting professionals to gather in person after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Among the networking opportunities will be a range of receptions designed to provide purposeful connections by bringing people together based on areas of shared interests. PCMA also is planning a series of Deep Dive sessions where participants can share best practices, solve common challenges and learn with peers in topic-based conversations. As always, the convention will also feature a host of fundraisers for the local community and the industry, including Hospitality Helping Hands, which will include a book drive for local literacy programs; and Party with a Purpose, a big dance party that raises funds for the PCMA Foundation, PCMA’s social impact programs and the Youth Advocate Programs Las Vegas. For the fitness-minded, there will be the popular 5k fun run/walk, proceeds of which go to the PCMA Foundation; a yoga-based fundraiser; and an “Orangetheory” HIIT class.

Commerce: The 2022 event will include in-person and digital activation experiences designed to generate leads for industry suppliers, help them connect and tell their brand story, and showcase their products and services through an experiential platform. Potential buyers will be able to participate in hands-on demos of technology and hear the latest research from innovative brands and destinations.

Content: Not surprisingly, the program is packed with pandemic-related topics, from how to best recruit, manage and upskill staff in a post-pandemic world to incorporating mental health and wellness into your own career journey. There also will be a number of sessions on how audiences have changed, and how to engage those audiences more effectively through event design and technology. Business management also is on the agenda, with topics ranging from driving sustainable value creation to growing events and audiences to improving working relationships with both event partners and team members.

Health and Safety Protocols

Because we are not yet living in that post-pandemic world, Convening Leaders also will have several COVID-related safety protocols in place. PCMA has partnered with Safe Expo to curate an onsite health and safety plan. As of Dec. 17, PCMA will require all in-person participants and staff to upload proof of COVID-19 vaccination prior to the convention through Safe Expo’s secure vaccination verification portal; on-site testing also will be available, though participants who choose that route will have to pay for it themselves. Masks will be required during all indoor convention activities.

The association says it will continue to monitor the current CDC guidelines and update its plans to meet any new requirements.

PCMA Convening Leaders 2022 Digital Option

For those who can’t attend the in-person event, there will be a digital option available for a reduced cost. Included will be access to the keynote sessions; the live educational sessions also will be available on demand within 24 hours of the on-site presentations and accessible for 60 days post-event.

PCMA also says the digital experience will be interactive so online attendees can “participate, connect and interact with a group of seasoned pros and emerging leaders in the business events industry from wherever you are in the world.” This will include live interviews with thought leaders and facilitated discussions on industry hot topics, as well as small group chats and a digital behind-the-scenes experience exploring the making of PCMA Convening Leaders 2022.