RoundTable Discussion
Our RoundTable discussion held October 8, 2020, shared the the key findings from our Pulse tracking data and implications for the election, followed by a discussion on the future of in-person business events. With so many organizations working remotely, business travel stalled, and in-person meetings/events/trade shows canceled the question is when (if ever) will business events start again? What’s the future and meetings innovation look like? How are businesses adapting? We heard from two industry insiders:
Don Neal, CEO, 360 Live Media, is an event strategy, marketing and design agency that helps businesses maximize the impact of their events and transform them from in-person to virtual sessions. Don addressed the rapid transformation of events from live to virtual, sharing how businesses are adapting/innovating and if these virtual/hybrid events will stick.
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John Schreiber, Head of Business/Events for Las Vegas Visitor and Convention Authority, leads Las Vegas’ business events, trade shows, and conventions. As the largest business destination in the world that hosts some of the biggest in-person events such as the Consumer Electronics Show, Las Vegas is on the front lines of the future innovation of business events and travel. In our Roundtable John addressed the importance of hybrid events, but also the need to get back to in-person when safely possible to do so, sharing what he’s seeing/hearing from Meeting Planners, Business Executives, destinations, and travel industry executives.
Pulse Data
With the presidential election just weeks away, our biweekly tracker took a look into some of the drivers, influences and coalitions of the election. Following are some of the key storylines from our tracking data:
- Hope and Optimism Up: For the first time since the pandemic began, there is a large positive shift in values; more Americans are feeling that values such as concern for others, pride, self-esteem and accomplishment are getting better.
- Americans Nervous About Outbreaks: After a few months of decline, more people are beginning to expect a second shutdown as result of new outbreaks. Despite this, a majority still think the government needs to take a balanced approach that considers strengthening the economy, and they are showing by their behavior (increased business travel, going back to school/work, and returning to social life) that they are trying to live with the virus.
- Enthusiasm FOR Trump Erodes Considerably: Biden’s lead over Trump has expanded in the latter half of September. Two weeks ago Trump had a clear advantage of being a candidate voters wanted to vote FOR rather than AGAINST. That advantage has disappeared.
- Most Want to Wait on Supreme Court Nomination: Over half of Americans believe the Senate should wait to confirm a new Supreme Court justice until after the results of the Presidential Election are known. When selecting a nominee for the Supreme Court, past judicial decisions are seen as the most important factor, religion, race, gender are less important.
Our reports with the latest tracking data, charts, and storylines from our biweekly national omnibus survey, the Heart+Mind Pulse, can be downloaded using the following links:
Data Source: Heart+Mind Strategies fielded a series of questions 9/30-10/1/2020 via an online survey.
Sample: n=1,006 US Adults 18+
Topics: We explored attitudes, feelings, and actions with respect to the COVID-19 crisis and upcoming presidential election. This provides a quick look at the key storylines we uncovered by quickly digging into the data set.