Some of the attendees and exhibitors who participated in Monday’s opening day of Expo Direct-2-You experienced some challenges. The issues were immediately addressed, the root problem was identified, and the related technology issues were resolved by early Monday afternoon.

Last night, PPAI’s Director of Business Development and Expositions Ellen Tucker, CAE, issued an email to update exhibitors on the action taken. A similar email was sent to distributor attendees this morning. The exhibitor email read, in part: For those of you who may have experienced challenges, we are happy to report that SAGE has identified the root cause and resolved the related technical issues. By the end of Monday, more than 5,000 people were successfully navigating the platform. With record-setting pre-registration numbers, tremendous Day One attendance volume and an engaging, interactive upcoming schedule, PPAI Expo Direct-2-You is poised for a successful final three days of the show.”

The email also noted that more than 17,000 distributors are now registered for Expo Direct-2-You, PPAI’s first live, virtual show, and that show hours would be extended an extra hour today, Wednesday and Thursday with exhibits closing at 5 pm CT. “We’re looking forward to Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, which we expect to be incredibly strong business days,” the email said, adding that PPAI is reaching out to distributors who attended Monday’s event to encourage their return on the remaining three days of the show. The email also sincerely thanked the nearly 500 exhibiting companies for their continued support of the Association and its efforts to bring the industry together.

A similar email was sent to distributors this morning who had attended Monday’s show, reassuring them that the technology challenges had been addressed and resolved, and that the show hours had been extended to 5 pm CT today through Thursday.

Tucker and PPAI President and CEO Paul Bellantone, CAE, also appeared on D2U Live this morning to further discuss how PPAI addressed the issues, the solutions that have been implemented and to assure an improved experience on the platform for attendees and exhibitors alike.