During the opening keynote at Springtime Expo, which was held on April 28 at Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C., American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) announced a new event for the association industry called Xperience Design Project (XDP). The new design thinking format will be a two-day, business event for association professionals and industry partners to co-create solutions around shared challenges in the meetings industry. The inaugural Xperience Design Project will be held May 23-24, 2017, at Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland.
“We are excited about XDP because it will be a game changer for the association industry. It will provide attendees and industry partners the opportunity to discuss topics together and create innovative and effective solutions,” said ASAE President and CEO John H. Graham, IV, FASAE, CAE. “The event will be 100 percent interactive, allow for one-on-one conversations, and build important relationships, so our members and industry partners can elevate how they conduct business as well as implement their meetings.”
XDP will have various formats, including The Lab, Connections and Business Exchange. On day one, attendees will participate in The Lab, an immersive, interactive learning experience around six key topic areas, and Connections, an evening social event. On the second day, attendees will hear key takeaways from each of the six topics and take part in the Business Exchange, a series of one-on-one conversations with industry partners.
ASAE partnered with 360 Live Media, a D.C.-based marketing and experience design agency, to develop the concept of the new event. ASAE and 360 Live Media went through a three-part development process that included research, experience strategy and design, industry co-curation and branding of XDP.
“We are honored to partner with ASAE in developing the vision, strategy and experience design for XDP. This will be a transformational experience for the association community, and it will showcase and advance ASAE’s leadership in innovation. We can’t wait to launch XDP with ASAE in May 2017,” said Don Neal, founder and CEO of 360 Live Media.
ASAE is a membership organization of more than 21,000 association executives and industry partners representing 9,300 organizations. Its members manage leading trade associations, individual membership societies and voluntary organizations across the United States and in nearly 50 countries around the world. With support of the ASAE Foundation, a separate nonprofit entity, ASAE is the premier source of learning, knowledge and future-oriented research for the association and nonprofit profession, and provides resources, education, ideas and advocacy to enhance the power and performance of the association and nonprofit community. For more information about ASAE, visit asaecenter.org.
