Valentine’s Day, Giving Back, and Live Learning: NADA Show 2020 Day 1 Recap

Published February 15, 2020

Author

Sheryll Poe

Consultant

More than 20,000 attendees representing the best and brightest of the automotive retail industry were feeling the Las Vegas love this Valentine’s Day as NADA Show 2020 and the concurrent American Truck Dealers (ATD) Show kicked off at the Las Vegas Convention Center on Friday, February 14.

NADA Show brings the entire industry together for the world's largest automotive retail conference and expo. Thousands of dealers and managers, OEM execs, allied industry and international guests connect with their peers and learn about the latest industry innovations. Over the course of four days, attendees will discover 500-plus exhibitors, more than 60 workshops, dealer franchise meetings and an impressive list of keynote speakers.

Giving Back and Puppy Love

NADA doubled down on its support of local organizations in cities that host its annual show, donating $50,000 to the Nellis Support Team, a nonprofit organization supporting the 30,000 airmen and their families at Nellis Air Force Base, Creech Air Force Base and Nevada Test and Training Range in southern Nevada. This is the second donation in three years that NADA has made to the organization.

Speaking of repeat performances: service dogs from Canine Companions for Independence (CCI) will take over the Expo floor on Sunday, February 16, as NADA Foundation and KAR Global auction off a VIP, all access, “Epic Experience” package for the 104th running of the Indianapolis 500. Proceeds from the auction benefit the NADA Foundation’s Frank E. McCarthy Memorial Program, which supports CCI, a non-profit organization that pairs highly trained assistance dogs with people with disabilities.

We chatted with CCI volunteer Janice Mullins, and CCI canine, Lorax, to learn more about this perennial crowd favorite.

Education Comes into 2020 Focus

With more than 120 education sessions, attendees to NADA Show 2020 will dive into every trend, issue and update affecting dealerships today.

Throughout the day, top industry experts joined NADA hosts on the NADA Live Stage in the Main Hall to offers solutions to build dealership success. Highlights from the Friday sessions included an Intro to NADA Analytics with NADA’S Chad Royston, Orbee Auto’s Daniel Kim, Cox Automotive’s Jason Jager. LinkedIn’s Mariel Lasala discussed why the social platform is a gamechanger for auto dealerships.

Meanwhile, the first in the Distinguished Speakers series featured a session by best-selling author and digital expert, Erik Qualman. Using practical research, Qualman outlined the five habits that drive success and happiness for employees, partners and customers in today’s highly digital, WiFi world.

New this year to NADA Show: the Digital Super Track. This series of workshops helps attendees get hyper-focused on the ever-changing digital trends and tools that are a critical part of the modern dealership business.

Watch this video to get a preview of some of the other workshops and educational opportunities at NADA Show 2020. And be sure to download the NADA Show mobile app to learn about more of these expert-led sessions.