By Alan Wolf, YSN
Confession: Back at the 2018 AVB Summit in Nashville, it took this writer a couple of days to get the lay of the land at the sprawling Gaylord Opryland hotel and convention center.
Getting around this month’s BrandSource Convention will be a lot faster — no need to even leave your chair, as the entire event will be conducted online. Still, you’ll want to make sure you don’t miss any part of the jam-packed agenda, whether its show-special Stampede deals and Fast Cash offers; region meetings and one-on-one vendor chats; the virtual booth Expo; or strategic keynote addresses by CEO Jim Ristow, CMO John White and Merchandising VP Chad Evans.
To help you make your Convention rounds, the AVB Events Team has created the following online navigation and networking guide; use it as you would a map of the Gaylord Opryland … only this one’s easier! (Also check your email for a schedule of next week’s Convention prep trainings.)
Attendee Directory
Available to all attendees, the Attendee Directory (below) will help you locate fellow dealers, vendor reps and AVB staff members during the show, and provides basic contact information for any Convention attendee.
Breakout Rooms
All Virtual Meeting Rooms (below) have multiple features to keep you engaged. On the grey panel on the right, you can toggle between Info, Attendees and Chat features. The Info tab will list all details for that specific meeting, along with any important documents or files the meeting host would like shared.
The Attendees tab provides a complete list of all attendees currently in the meeting room with you. From there, you can also select the button at the bottom of the grey panel, “Create A New Meeting Room,” if you would like to break off into a one-on-one meeting or smaller group discussion.
Lastly, the Chat feature, located on the left side of the screen, allows you to interact with and instantly message the group of attendees in the meeting room.
Notifications
Keep up with the Event Notifications to stay ahead of what’s happening and what’s coming up at the Virtual Convention. Found in the Main Menu and under the Bell icon in any conference room (see images, below), Notifications will help keep you on track for all your scheduled meetings. Inside a conference room, Notifications will also let you know when a new document has been shared, and if you have any unread messages or files.
Event Materials
View documents like the Show Guide or Show Specials Book all in one place. The Event Materials tab, located in the menu on the left side of the screen, will house any important documents or files that will help inform and update you on the event.
For those who haven’t yet registered for the 2020 Virtual Convention, there’s still time. Visit AVBevents.com to register, see the agenda and get answers to frequently asked questions. The AVB Events Team is standing by to answer any other questions or assist you with your setup. You can reach them at EventSupport@avb.net
BrandSource is a nationwide buying group for independent appliance, mattress, furniture and CE dealers, and is a unit of YSN publisher AVB Inc.
