Electronic Retailer - October 2011 - 9

INDUSTRY REPORTS

Views from the 2011 ERA D2C Convention

See more photos from the 2011 ERA D2C Convention at www.flickr.com/photos/electronicretailing/collections/

Strong Turnout in Las Vegas for ERA’s D2C Convention
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Familiar faces and new networking opportunities greeted nearly 3,700 attendees at the 2011 ERA D2C Convention, the direct response industry’s must-attend event of the year, which returned to the Wynn Hotel on Sept. 13-15. Industry professionals came to Las Vegas ready to make business connections, attend educational sessions and network at special events and on the Show Floor, ERA did not disappoint, going above and beyond in providing attendees with on-trend educational tracks, dynamic receptions and two packed exhibit halls. Here are some of the highlights from the three-day event.

Education
The show kicked off Tuesday, Sept. 13 with Education Day. Attendees were able to choose from three educational tracks – Direct Response Success, Digital Marketing Intelligence, and Operations and Profitability. There was also a 90-minute panel session for inventors. For the second year and back by popular demand, ERA hosted a bonus session titled “Direct Response 101.” The session, which presented a “soup to nuts” overview of the industry, was moderated by Stacy Durand of Revenue Frontier/Media Design Group. She was joined by speakers Sam Gorewitz of Ignite Media Solutions, Nicolas Gutierrez of LiveOps, Tony Kerry of Script to Screen, Nancy Lazkani of Icon

ERA President and CEO Julie Coons moderates the Premier General Session: The Future of Television with, from left, John Barnes of Mercury Media, Kevin Svenningsen of Nielsen, Mike Fitzsimmons of Delivery Agent and Aaron McNally of Google.

Media Direct and Kristy Pinand-Dumpert of Concepts TV. Panelists offered an industry primer on marketing, production, media buying and telemarketing. “The one thing if you’re new in this business, don’t approach it as, ‘I’m going to reinvent the infomercial,’” Durand said. The Direct Response Success track provided a wealth of information beginning with “Introducing Mainstream Companies and Brands to Direct Response,” which focused on how DR marketers can explain the value of direct response to traditional brands and retailers. The track continued with “Kids’ Products Don’t Sell! MYTH Obliterated,” which pulled back the curtain on some of the biggest secrets behind successful campaigns for kids products, and “Just the Tip of the Iceberg: How DRTV Can Help Drive Increased Retail Sales,” a session that taught attendees how to plan for and transition a DR success into a retail success. Rounding out Track 1 was “The 30-Minute Multichannel Workout: Maximizing Your Revenue on the Phone and on the Web.” The session looked at some of the new ways that marketers engage with customers on the phone and the web. Track 2 – Digital Intelligence – kicked off with “You Are What You Tweet,” a session about the legal do’s and don’ts of social media marketing. In “Tools and Metrics for Developing a Truly Integrated Marketing Campaign,” attendees learned about some of the revolutionary tools available to DR 9

Photos by Jacob Andrzejczak

October 2011 | electronicRETAILER

Electronic Retailer - October 2011

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