The 14th International Retail Design Conference, the premier educational and networking event for store designers and visual merchandising executives, will be held Sept. 3-5, 2014 in Miami Beach at the legendary Fontainebleau resort. Shortly, the VMSD editorial team will begin planning the conference program and is inviting industry experts to submit proposals for presentations at IRDC 2014. If you are interested in speaking or suggesting a possible topic and speaker for IRDC, the instructions below explain how to prepare and submit a proposal.
About IRDC
Now in its 14th year, IRDC offers a unique educational and networking experience for store-design professionals. Targeted specifically to the retail-design community, IRDC provides three days of inspiration, education and conversation. Approximately 400 design professionals from across the US and abroad attend. Our program includes thought-provoking keynote presentations geared to a design audience’s interests, industry-specific breakout sessions devoted to trends and pressing concerns in the industry, and case studies highlighting recent, innovative store openings and renovations.
Note that we receive more proposals than we can accommodate in our program, and so not all suggestions can be accepted. Some of the factors we consider in reviewing the submissions include originality, timeliness and relevance of the topic to our retail design audience, “buzzworthiness,” speaker credentials, speaker presentations skills, and absence of commercial interests. Design and architecture firms are strongly encouraged to co-present with one or more representatives of a retail brand; solo presentations from design firms are rarely selected. Presentations that have been given previously, particularly at other retail industry events in the US, are usually disregarded.
For more details on IRDC and on the types of sessions/presentations we’ve done in the past, go to IRDConline.com, where you’ll find a full lineup from last year’s conference.
Please note that vendors, manufacturers and suppliers are not eligible to speak at IRDC. Attendance at IRDC is limited to retail organizations and independent design firms. Vendors are only eligible to participate in a sponsorship capacity. For more information about sponsorship opportunities, contact Murray Kasmenn at murray.kasmenn@stmediagroup.com or at 770.578.2577.
Submission procedures
Please follow these instructions carefully when submitting your proposal.
Submissions should be emailed to megan.baughman@stmediagroup.com. To ensure your proposal reaches the right person, put “speaker proposal” in the subject line. The body of the email must include:
- The speaker’s name, title and organization.
- Proposed title of the presentation or session.
- An overview of the topic, including a list of talking points to cover.
- A description of the type of visuals that would accompany the presentation. (Visuals are very important.)
- A description of why this topic is of interest to IRDC’s specific market: in-house and contract retail designers and visual merchandising professionals.
If you have video, audio and/or a list of references that demonstrate your speaking experience, these are enormously helpful.
All proposals must be received by March 5, 2014.