BURBANK, Calif.—The Hollywood Professional Association’s annual February gathering is adapting to the global pandemic, announcing that the HPA Tech Retreat will be a virtual event in 2021.
The move, like nearly all other major conferences since March, is a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. HPA Tech Retreat plans to take on the subject directly, saying that a key component of the virtual event will be tackling the impact of the global pandemic on the media landscape.
HPA has also announced the opening of its Call for Proposals that will make up its main program and breakfast roundtables.
Main program proposals can cover a variety of topics, but HPA’s program lead Mark Schubin is stressing a focus on how technology has helped the industry overcome the impact of COVID-19 and the role it will play in adapting to new industry challenges and opportunities. Schubin also notes new rules to the presentations, including any presentation or panel lasting a maximum of 20 minutes (bigger topics could be split into multiple presentations) and that any selected presentation is to be prerecorded and delivered before the event. Main program presentations must be marketing-free content.
Breakfast roundtables, meanwhile, can be on just about anything, including marketing content. There is no vetting process for breakfast roundtables, per HPA, and will be available until the maximum number of tables is reached.
HPA is accepting proposals from now until 5 p.m. PT on Nov. 20. Proposal submissions should be sent to media.mark.schubin@gmail.com.
“Despite the challenges presented by the COVID pandemic, we are going to make sure that this HPA Tech Retreat continues to engage, inform and connect in its usual jaw dropping way,” said Seth Hallen, president of HPA. “This year, more than ever, the discussion and deep knowledge is exactly what our community needs and seeks. Your input is what has always made the HPA Tech Retreat program unlike any other event, and I encourage you to submit for this year’s program—the industry needs to hear from you.”
For more information on HPA Tech Retreat 2021, visit www.hpaonline.com.
