You can’t be everywhere at once and cloning technology isn’t quite there yet, so for this year’s annual DMA confab, Direct Marketing News editors put their brain matter to work to determine the don’t miss, must-see sessions, events and keynotes.
DMA2010 Kick-Off Party
Date: Saturday, October 9
Time: 7 pm
Where: Ruby-Skye, Union Square
Why: Cocktails! DMA is once again hosting its kick-off party. Attendees network and mingle at this Union Square-based nightclub. Trivia: The club was once the site of a USO Club, The Stage Door, and hosted the 1958 premiere of Alfred Hitchcock’s noir masterpiece Vertigo.
DMA En Español: DMA – ICEMD – ALMADI Certificate Course
Date: Sunday, October 10 – Tuesday, October 12
Time: Consult conference program on site for exact times and location.
Why: No habla Ingles? No problemo. This is a three-day master-class program presented entirely in Spanish to provide attendees with practical information on effective direct marketing communications, relationship marketing and CRM, and digital marketing, with a particular focus on the Spain and Latin American markets.
Bridging Entertainment, Technology and Marketing
Date: Monday, October 11
Time: 8:30 – 10:25 am
Why: Watch Mad Men lately? The relationship between brands and the entertainment industry has grown to a new level of sophistication. James Cameron, director of sci-fi epic Avatar, kicks off Monday’s keynote panel, along with Ensemble CEO and media guru Scott Donaton and Ehtisham Rabbani, VP of product strategy and marketing for LG Mobile. The three will reveal how they created a strategic relationship with great results around Cameron’s blockbuster film about blue aliens.
A New Direct Medium Called… Television
Date: Tuesday, October 12
Time: 4:15 – 5:15 pm
Why: Interactive TV is an emerging marketing channel for brands. While it’s not there yet, David Verklin, CEO of Canoe Ventures, will reveal how marketers can leverage addressable television and infuse the basic 30-second spot with all the power of direct marketing’s targeting capabilities.
Maximizing Social Media ROI
Date: Wednesday, October 13
Time: 8:45 – 9:45 am
Why: Want the Glengarry leads? IBM marketing pros promise to reveal the ways IBM uses digital marketing in conjunction with traditional channels to deliver key influencers and hot prospects. This b-to-b session, led by Pam Evans, global digital marketing manager, IBM Software Group, and Ken Godfrey, manager, strategic eMarketing capabilities at IBM Corp., will detail IBM’s use of search, social media and software tools across the marketing cycle.
Delivering on Customer Expectations with Behavioral Messaging
Date: Wednesday, October 13
Time: 8:45 – 9:45 am
Why: How are today’s customers behaving? Find out about the current consumer climate from an industry expert. Monica Sullivan, VP of marketing at Harrah’s Entertainment, leads this session on how companies can make the most of their customer behavioral data. She should know: Harrah’s has CRM and loyalty all figured out. In fact, the casino’s CRM approach is so sophisticated that it has a “customer valuation patent” that enables the marketer to create customer segments based on the value of purchases in its gaming, retail and dining properties. Sullivan will be joined at the dais by John Rizzi, CEO of e-Dialog another direct marketing industry veteran.
