On this episode of the podcast, I was joined by Daniel McKinnon who is the Executive Vice President of Exhibitions and Events at MHI the host of ProMatDX this year. You may or may not know that MHI is the great organization that puts on both Modex and ProMat which are some of the largest tradeshows in our industry and now due to the pandemic they will be taking ProMat virtual with a new experience called ProMatDX. Daniel and I discuss what ProMatDX is, what it will be like and some of the great benefits attendees will be able to enjoy.

Key Takeaways

• ProMat has a special place in my heart as that was the first big thing I did when the podcast started and helped to get a lot of exposure to the podcast not only on the listener side but also on the guest side so I was a little sad to hear that ProMat would not be happening in person this year. However, after my discussion with Daniel, I am confident that ProMatDX will still be a great experience. The platform will be all virtual and you will still have tons of opportunities to connect with sponsors, see product demos and enjoy great educational sessions. Daniel discusses how difficult the decision was to go virtual due to the great gathering that happens at ProMat but ultimately MHI still wanted to provide something for the industry to connect which is how ProMatDX was born.
• The virtual experience will allow you to be set up with those sponsors that the virtual system believes will be a good fit for you which is a big help in figuring out how to navigate and where you want to navigate to. While the virtual setup itself will not be “live” it will still look live with pre-recorded videos and at the end of the sponsors’ presentations, there will be live Q&A sessions that will allow for attendees to not only interact with the sponsors but also interact with other attendees. I love that this component will still exist because you often get a chance to pick other industry peers’ brains on the show floor so this will recreate that in a virtual way.
• As we have heard on a few different podcast episodes during this pandemic there have been some positives that have come out of trying to pivot and get creative. With ProMatDX that is no different, Daniel and I discuss what future shows will look like. Daniel discusses how the ability to do virtual will allow for a more hybrid component to the in-person ProMat’s and MODEX’s which will give some flexibility to individuals who might not be able to make it in person. One thing is for sure, everyone is incredibly excited for 2022 to get back to in person and I am sure the show will be incredible because of it.

Listen to the episode below and let us know if you’ll be attending in the comments.