Conference Circuit: E3 Sets a High Score for Associations

The video game industry’s most important tradeshow will be brought to you live, courtesy of an association.

E3  (opens in a new tab), the world’s most prominent event for the video game industry, will be held in Los Angeles from June 10-12. And as always, the Entertainment Software Association’s annual event is rolling in with huge hype and anticipation, whether it be for new game announcements; the continued one-upmanship of Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo; or whatever industry secrets may be revealed.

For members of the association world not born with a controller in hand, the conference nonetheless offers an interesting example of an organization on the cutting edge of new media, from the standard  (opens in a new tab) social media outlets  (opens in a new tab) to a Twitch live-streaming channel  (opens in a new tab) that will be tackling the daily proceedings.

Unfortunately for E3, it looks like its name is already taken on Instagram  (opens in a new tab), offering yet another reminder to reserve your association’s name on whatever platforms may emerge as mainstream successes.

Nonetheless, a look at the event’s history  (opens in a new tab) is also a glimpse at the way major conferences have evolved in recent years: from its debut in 1995 with a mix of public and industry attendees to its adoption of televised broadcasts and forays into live-streaming online.

The Week Ahead

June 9-12: The nation’s experts on fire protection will kindle a series of events at the National Fire Protection Association’s Conference and Expo  (opens in a new tab) in Las Vegas.

June 8-13: Overlapping in Vegas with the NFPA conference will be the 19th annual conference of the Association of Professional Piercers  (opens in a new tab).

June 8-11: Good public relations management is a crucial component of any travel association’s war chest, and who better to learn your best practices from than the Public Relations Society of America? PRSA’s 2014 Travel and Tourism Conference  (opens in a new tab) is on tap in Tampa, Florida.

Down the Line

June 27-28: If you don’t know a single thing about the  olive oil industry, let alone the wide variety of olive oils out there, let the Extra Virgin Alliance expand your palate during its Seminar for Buyers and Culinary Professionals  (opens in a new tab) in New York City. Just prepare for a few lousy-tasting oils.

“There will be many more good than bad,” Alexander Kicenik Devarenne, cofounder of EVA, said in a statement. “But people have to try bad oils in order to understand the technique, mechanics, and vocabulary of olive oil tasting.”

(Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)