For the past two years the event industry has been faced with incredible challenges due to the ever changing times. Although they have been through many challenges the event industry has moved forward forging a new future across all aspects of life and business. We meet with Josh Liberman to explore what he has seen in events already and what he is hearing from 2022.
Video Transcription
Josh Liberman
Harry Harry
Harry Brelsford
Joshua. Good. Good. Thanks for joining us. Happy New Year.
Josh Liberman
Thanks, sir. I also have a little bit of a head cold, which I hope is not asymptomatic COVID. But I hear ya take a test. So I guess I’ll find out. If I something more interesting.
Harry Brelsford
We’re all dropping like flies. Well, hey,
Josh Liberman
not drop your, your,
Harry Brelsford
you’re always a good resource given your side hustle and event photography, about events, what’s on the books, what’s on the books for you in 2022, because you you go to a lot of events at any given year.
Josh Liberman
Well between the MSP stuff, the speaking and the photography, it adds up on a normal year at least 25. I don’t know if we have a normal year coming up. But the first thing on my calendar that hasn’t been canceled because we did lose IoT SSA and Phoenix next week, might the first thing on my calendar is going to ask you show in Houston, in the middle of February. And that may be the only event in February that I see so far. Their last show in Anaheim last month was very, very well attended. And it came off very well. And it was the most normal feeling show and quite some time. Of course, there were some wearing masks and some more concern than others. But it was the closest thing to normal life experienced in two years. So that’s in Houston in middle of February. There’s also a show that I’ve not yet attended from MSP Alliance, in the middle of March that I might be at and I’m on the comp TS security cybersecurity council. So we have a Marshall event to go I don’t know where that is yet. And then ASCII in Kansas City.
Harry Brelsford
ASCII he has a lot of events this year. I
Josh Liberman
they always have eight in the United States, at least for years. Yeah, I mean, not in 2020. Let me rephrase that. But their typical cadence is eight US events in a Toronto event. And that’s been true for most of the last five years.
Harry Brelsford
Yeah. Yeah. Cool. Are you hearing any big events that are not going to pop this year? And again, I, I I’m just asking you now you’re hearing any any big the big events? Like, for example, I’m pretty sure Lenovo accelerate is a virtual event this year. That’s typically May, and it was typically live neither Orlando or Las Vegas. I thought I saw something that it’s going to go virtual hearing any of that.
Josh Liberman
Yeah, I haven’t actually heard about it. I haven’t been to one of their events in a few years. I think the last one I did do was in Orlando. But and probably three or four years ago was heard. I haven’t actually heard that. It’s going virtual. And I’m not seeing that yet. But it’s it’s early to say and they’re certainly a very conservatively run company. No, I haven’t heard a lot of that yet. Of course the the huge wildcard is always dat o con. And I know that they were terribly frustrated having to go virtual last year, not to mention, you know, the year before where we simply all accepted it. I don’t know, exchanges. Another midsize show that I I know that they’ve done some hybrid stuff with both virtual and real life that I went to the last show they did. And it was a real live show next gen in Anaheim last October. I don’t know it’s too early for us to tell where this is all going. I would say that folks that have the second half of the year nailed down, such as it by design Cassia, the exchange show in Denver, various ASCII shows channel future shows, channel pros those second half of the year guys, they don’t have to make these calls yet. But it’s important to realize that these companies typically have a drop dead date that’s at least a month to three out from their show. So they have to put they have to play the market so to speak that the COVID market and they may have to figure out in March what they think is gonna happen in May or June. And that’s where it gets tricky.
Harry Brelsford
Well and that’s exactly what and I’ll end on this that’s exactly what happened with an event we’re participating in so it Expo is a large show in Fort Lauderdale and it was to be February 8 through 11th. And we were going to have a co located experience called the Canna Tech Expo pretty excited about that. Late last week a month out. They TMC had to make a tough decision and postpone till the third week of June for a number of reasons One was obviously the Delta, the army Omicron variant in Florida, in particular Florida’s had their challenges. And then the other was we had conversations about there was some real disappointment about the attendance and participation at CES last week. Oh, yeah.
Josh Liberman
Yeah, I didn’t go. I have a friend who never misses it. I didn’t go because it wasn’t a strong enough draw for me to take any risks. And I have a wife that’s still a little bit are still immune compromised. And I’m more careful than I maybe not as careful. I should be more careful than I used to be about that. Yeah, I created that was very lightly attended. I don’t consider ces to be an IT industry show. No, I agree. I understand the overlap. But I wouldn’t ever. I don’t even think I try to write off that cost. The years I go. What I would say is that I think you’re talking about that June 20. Week for moving your IT Expo. I was actually planning to go to that. I don’t know if you knew. But I know people out there and I haven’t been in a while and it’s enough of a destination that even it was gonna go. And then now now that I hear when it’s re scheduled to I’m disappointed because that’s the week of Cassia connect. And I’ll be involved in that.
Harry Brelsford
Yeah, this is June 22. Through 24.
Josh Liberman
Yeah, it’s their event is the 20th through the 23rd. And that’s it. Yeah, I agree. I will probably be doing photography there. I did last year, but I don’t know that for a fact. I certainly don’t want to make any claims on their behalf. But I’ll probably be out there. Yeah, it’s tough. I mean, it’s hard enough to have the industry events not overlap each other, much less once they have to pivot reschedule. I know. You know, IoT SSA just had to reschedule from January to September. Is that remember late September. Yep. Oh, boy.
Harry Brelsford
We’ll talk to you next time. Thank you. All righty. Bye bye.
