SEMA News—January 2021

ETTN Lunch & Learn Delivers Distance-Learning Experience

When ramping up for the 2020 SEMA Show, the Emerging Trends & Technology Network (ETTN) initially planned to host its annual in-person Lunch & Learn, but once the Show was cancelled and SEMA360 was put into play, ETTN pivoted and moved ahead with plans to present a virtual version of the popular event.

From the get-go, Lunch & Learn was designed to serve as the culmination of a year-long series of Facebook Live Chats. According to ETTN Chair Ian Lehn, the Live Chats were aimed at providing members with distance-learning opportunities during the pandemic. Each session was presented by a different subject-matter expert.

“During this time when we’ve been forced to stay within our own walls and our normal business activities are limited, we wanted to provide members with an educational series they could binge watch and that would give them a roadmap on how to get product to market,” Lehn said. “What made our Live Chats unique was that we were not just presenting one-off topics. It was a series, with each one building on the next. Our goal through the course of the year was to have subject-matter experts present ideas on how to bring products to market, using topics such as product ideation, innovation, prototyping and marketing alignment.”

Engaging With Industry Pros

To carry the theme forward during SEMA360, ETTN invited two presenters who had participated in the Live Chats. Tom Burden is the inventor of Grypmat and the winner of the 2017 SEMA Launch Pad competition; Rod Emory of Emory Motorsports is known for Outlaw Porsche 356 custom conversions. The third speaker, Bob Morreale, is president and founder of The Tuning School, a leader in high-performance tuning training, and Kelleigh Ash of KW Automotive North America served as moderator.

Burden spoke about the important role that research and competitive analysis play during the product-development process. Emory focused on the complex processes and innovation his company employs in developing and testing prototypes and bringing products to market. Morreale addressed the importance of learning and understanding the basics of electronic fuel injection and the hands-on resources offered by The Tuning School.

“SEMA360 gave us the opportunity to bring the SEMA Show to technical professionals and industry engineers who would otherwise not have the opportunity to attend the Show in person or be part of Show content,” he said. “That was ETTN’s overarching goal. Through SEMA360, these folks had the capability to be involved and gain value for their businesses.”

So what’s in store for 2021?

“ETTN plans to roll out a new Live Chat series on another topic, building on the success of our first season,” Lehn said

Stay tuned for more information, or contact Nicole Bradle, SEMA council director, via email at nicoleb@SEMA.org.