PMA celebrates anniversary of Virtual Town Hall and returns to SXSW
The Produce Marketing Association will mark its one-year anniversary of its weekly Virtual Town Hall series with a special South by Southwest edition on March 24 at noon Eastern.
“Our Virtual Town Hall series has become a weekly signature touchpoint for our members to gain insights to drive their business and connect with each other,” PMA CEO Cathy Burns said in a news release.
“I am incredibly grateful to every panelist and attendee over the past 12 months for sharing their knowledge and perspectives with our community, as well as the PMA and Center for Growing Talent teams for their ability to pivot and create new value and experiences.”
The Virtual Town Halls were initially created to help the industry address the multiple layers of disruptions created by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the release.
The series featured experts from in and outside of the industry including industry veterans like Bruce Taylor, Tim York, Joe Don Zetzsche and Adrielle Dankier along with U.S. Department of Agriculture representatives, data experts from Euromonitor International and more, the release said.
The first Virtual Town Hall attracted almost 700 attendees and by the second week, the participating members had grown to almost 900, according to the release. Through 48 Virtual Town Halls, more than 6,750 individuals across the global retail, foodservice and floral supply chains have joined a PMA Virtual Town Hall, according to the release.
PMA has created a video recap of the year of Virtual Town Halls that can be viewed here.
Over time, the Virtual Town Hall topics evolved from the urgent needs during the COVID-19 crisis to more future-facing topics such as the coming edition on Culture Updates from SXSW, according to the release.
“PMA continues its work to connect the produce and floral communities with the world and along with our members, deepen our understanding of culture and its impact on our industry,” PMA chief strategy and membership officer Lauren M. Scott said in the release.
“Themes of embracing change, the evolution of societies and spirit of creativity permeated throughout the SXSW conference this year. It’s clear that culture does not stop because of a global pandemic ... it’s defined by it.”
SXSW is billed as a “destination to discovery” and typically takes place each year in Austin, Texas. For the past several years, PMA has attended and hosted an activation that invites consumers to explore the Joy of Fresh and all of the delightful and healthy aspects of produce and floral, according to the release.
This year, the event was held virtually and several PMA members attended educational sessions to learn, listen and report back on the conversations that are happening. The March 24 Virtual Town Hall, the release said, will be an opportunity for those members to share back the cultural and consumer trends that will continue to shape the U.S. and the industry.
Participants in the SXSW Virtual Town Hall include:
- Jan DeLyser, vice president of marketing, California Avocado Commission;
- Craig Slate, president and CEO, SunFed;
- Adam Cooper, senior vice president of marketing, The Wonderful Co.;
- Christina Ward, senior director of global marketing, Sunkist Growers;
- Elena Ozeritskaya, founder and managing director, Fresh Insight;
- Erin Esensee, BLOOMS Business Unit Director, H-E-B;
- Marc Oshima, co-founder and chief marketing officer, AeroFarms; and
- Lauren M. Scott, who will be the moderator of the session.
