NEW YORK — The Direct Marketing Association's annual conference and exhibition will be renamed DMA·05, DMA president/CEO John A. Greco said yesterday during a press conference at the DM Days New York 2005 Conference & Expo here at the Javits Center.
The annual show for direct marketers will be held Oct. 15-19 at Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta.
Subsequent annual conferences will continue to feature the year during which they occur in the name instead of the number of years that the DMA has been presenting the show in an attempt emphasize how current and up-to-date the conferences are, Greco said.
“The name change reinforces the fact that we're presenting topics that are at the forefront of 21st-century marketing,” he said.
The new name will be featured in direct mail sent to four groups of marketers the DMA is targeting for attendance at the show: loyal repeat attendees, past attendees who haven't returned in recent years, prospects who may be aware of the show and prospects who have never heard of it and don't think of themselves as direct marketers.
The name change follows this week’s announcement that the DMA has undertaken a rebranding program with the help of brand consultancy Landor Associates, PR agency Burson-Marsteller and ad agency Wunderman. Greco said yesterday that he expects to share with DMA·05 attendees where the DMA is in the rebranding process and what the plans are going forward.
Other show-related news included that the DMA International Echo Awards ceremony will return to its original format of an evening gala at the upcoming show. The ceremony will be held Tuesday, Oct. 18, and will be hosted by comedic actor Wayne Brady.
Greco also emphasized that the upcoming conference will have a significant focus on interactive marketing and offer programming for marketers at every stage of their career.
DMA*05 will have more than 550 exhibitors and more than 50 sessions. Keynote speakers include best-selling authors Marcus Buckingham and Seth Godin as well as Jill Griffin, president of the Griffin Group.
Also in Atlanta, the Direct Marketing Educational Foundation will present Richard and Mary Cabela with the 2005 Edward N. Mayer Educational Leadership Award and Acxiom Corp. with the Corporate Leadership Award.
Chantal Todé covers catalog and retail news and BTB marketing for DM News and DM News.com. To keep up with the latest developments in these areas, subscribe to our daily and weekly e-mail newsletters by visiting www.dmnews.com/newsletters
