CABDA to host education focused Industry Summit at Walt Disney World

The organisers behind the CABDA Expo in America have announced a new industry summit to be held early November next year.

Set to take place at Walt Disney World in Orlando, the conference-style summit is a different recipe for CABDA, which typically organises trade shows, of which there are now three legs running in Q1 of 2020. These take place in Chicago, San Diego and New York.

“We need to be at the forefront of educating our industry. The clinics we host at our expos are great for quick hits, but we need a deeper dive,” Show Director Jim Kersten said. “Also, it’s hard to host programming for manufacturers and sales reps when they have their hands full working their booths.”

With specific tracks for corporate attendees, shop owners, and managers/employees. Kersten hopes to allow conference attendees to tailor the sessions they attend to fit their needs.

“We really think our ‘choose-your-own-adventure’ format is going to be a big hit with our attendees. It allows folks to pick and choose sessions based on what matters to them,” Kersten said.

The Inaugural CABDA Summit is titled “If It’s broken, Let’s Fix It!” and will feature speakers from other industries, as well as branding and customer service experts from the Disney Institute, the professional development and external training arm of The Walt Disney Company.

“We have a ton to learn about customer retention and improving retail interactions from our friends in the Cosmetics, Powersports, and Automotive industries.” Kersten said. “If our industry is going to survive, we need to evolve. And we must look everywhere we can for the means to improve.”

Conference attendance includes a catered breakfast and lunch each day, networking breaks, nightly cocktail receptions, and a finale keynote dinner that ends with dessert served under the fireworks inside of the Epcot Park.

The two-day conference takes place on November 2nd and 3rd, 2020 at the Walt Disney World Swan & Dolphin Resort. Attendees and their families will have access to discounted theme park tickets, as well as extended theme park hours.

Registration for the CABDA Industry Summit will open in early 2020, with notification on these very (web)pages. Registration for the three trade shows is live here.

• CABDA West takes place January 15-16, 2020 at the Del Mar Racetrack outside San Diego.
• CABDA Midwest takes place February 12-13, 2020 at the Schaumburg Convention Center near Chicago.
• CABDA East takes place March 11-12, 2020 at the Meadowlands Expo Center in Secaucus New Jersey.