IDEA: Information Display and Entertainment Association

PLEASE NOTE: The deadline for submitting proposals for the 2010 conference has passed. Please consider submitting your proposal for our 29th Annual IDEA Conference, scheduled for July 10 - 13, 2011 in Kansas City.

Organization Profile: Founded in 1983, the Information Display and Entertainment Association has been the leading professional association for members of the Game Ops industry for over 25 years. Through its various offerings, the organization seeks to foster, cultivate and maintain the high professional, educational, creative, and technical standards of its members in all areas of game presentation. Additionally, IDEA provides a forum for the encouragement and promotion of free and voluntary discussion and exchange of ideas and information among its members.

Conference Profile: The annual IDEA Conference is the premier, trade-only event for the game operations segment of the sports industry. The nucleus of the conference is the educational seminars where attendees explore educational programming specific to their individual needs. In addition, the Allied Member Showcase and Networking events provide buyers and sellers the opportunity to meet a relaxed environment.

Educational Program: The education program consists mainly of concurrent 1.5 to 2 hour breakout sessions serving a total seminar attendance of more than 300 people, with approximately 40 attendees per breakout. A limited number of user groups are available in the Allied Member Showcase and conducted by the Allied member. Additionally, the general session addresses items of interest to all attendees.

Provide IDEA members with opportunites for practical and up-to-date information and training on topics of interest to IDEA members.
Provide industry-focused networking opportunities
Provide members who have subject matter expertise and services the opportunity to increase their exposure in the IDEA community and interact with IDEA members
Provide high quality, knowledgable speakers to the Annual IDEA Conference
Facilitate the professional and personal development of our members

Dates/Location: July 10 - 13, 2011 (Sunday-Wednesday) / Kansas City, MO

Requirements: Speakers are expected to:

Provide high quality educational presentations
Engage attendees through audience participation and discussion
Coordinate with staff regarding any special equipment needs
Provide a picture, presentation outline and biography
Present topics that are subject specific and in NO WAY advertise your company or services
Ensure the session is not perceived as an infomercial
Be paid members of IDEA, in good standing
Offer their presentation on a complimentary basis, no presenters are financially reimbursed for their service

Speaker considerations are based on the ability to provide seminar(s) from the topic headings listed in the table below.

Speaker Promotion: IDEA uses various promotional vehicles to publicize the annual IDEA Conference and exposes featured speakers to more than 200 IDEA member organizations. Promotions may include pre-conference direct email, website highlight, the Official IDEA Conference Program and post-conference pieces/features.

Audience: Seminar attendees include representatives from professional and collegiate sports venues and suppliers to those entities. IDEA membership consist of 87% of the major professional leagues (MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL) as well as minor league, Canadian and Japanese professional leagues and over 30 NCAA Division I universities. Most attendees hold a position of mid-level management with the authorization to buy and/or make purchase recommendations.

Process: IDEA relies closely on the direction and recommendations made by the IDEA Conference Content Committee in securing speakers. This committee identifies seminar topics, reviews speakers and helps to manage this educational curriculum on a volunteer basis. Our CCC Chairperson or committee members may contact you for additional speaker or topic information. IDEA is unique in offering speaking possibilities to the members of IDEA, thereby increasing the value of membership for our Allied members.

Volunteer: Potential speakers may volunteer online using the Speaker Proposal Form. Proposals should include:

Contact Information
Speaker Bio
Indication of seminars in which you are interested in presenting
Brief outline or description of topics you would cover in your presentation

Please contact us should you require additional information or further clarification.

We appreciate your review of this proposal request and your interest in serving our valued membership.

Call for Proposals