Below is the second installment of our trade show roundup with thoughts and recommendations for some of the key conferences for online marketers.
Internet Retailer – Internet Retailer currently hosts two key shows each year – the Web Design & Usability Conference which was just held last week in Orlando, and the larger Internet Retailer Conference & Exhibition in June. This year’s main conference will be in Chicago from June 8-11. If you are actively involved in web design, the February show would be valuable to attend. For more general retail info, I am a big fan of the June show. It draws a huge crowd (great for networking and exhibiting), and there is a ton of great content. Our clients also rate this show highly for value and time well invested.
Shop.org – Shop.org hosts several conferences throughout the year. The best known and largest of all the online retail shows is the Shop.org Annual Summit in the fall. This show has frequently been held in Las Vegas , but it’s moving to Dallas for 2010. The change is unfortunate as I predict they are going to take a hit on attendance. The Mandalay Bay venue in Las Vegas was much loved and Dallas pales by comparison. The Shop.org shows have the reputation of being extremely retailer-focused, as opposed to eTail which is more vendor-focused. Shop.org has retailer-only days and retailer-only events. But despite their somewhat heavy-handed non-vendor stance, there are many sponsorships available to vendors, although some (like the vendor-hosted tables on retailer-only day) come with a pretty hefty price tag.
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I am frequently asked which of the industry trade shows are worth attending. While PM Digital can’t attend every event, we do have better visibility to these shows than most, so below is the first of two installments that cover our thoughts and recommendations on the ever-expanding online marketing conference landscape.
Because PM Digital has a heavy penetration of retail clients, we attend many conferences in the retail category as will be evident in this roundup. The list below takes into account that there are generally three reasons to attend trade shows: 1) networking, 2) keeping current, and 3) investigating new technologies.
eTail - eTail hosts two big shows each year. eTail West (which starts today) is the larger and runs from February 22-24 in Palm Desert; eTail East will be held in Baltimore from August 9-12. I personally love the timing of the February eTail show since it’s the first big event after the holiday season. People have had a few weeks to relax and breathe, but they also recognize that now is the time to launch new initiatives in order to maximize the next year-end holiday. Attendees are definitely looking and researching at this conference.
A common criticism of the eTail shows is that it seems partial to vendors rather than retailers, and this manifests itself in sessions that occasionally sound like paid commercials. Many of the session panels include vendors, and there are some big keynote slots given to vendors (and as a vendor, we are aware that there is a cost to speak at this show as well as some of the other events). I once left a multivariate testing session and found one of the companies represented on the panel was also the manning the exits with one-sheeters. I haven’t seen anything that blatant happen in a while but it’s a good example of how eTail developed its vendor-first reputation. The August eTail conference is very convenient if you are on the East Coast, and I’ve found it attracts a high-level retail attendee. It is much smaller than the West Coast show.
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PM Digital will be at a few of the upcoming retail and search engine marketing shows. If you’re going to any of these, we’d love to see you. Please stop by!
Here is the information on where we’ll be:
February 22-24, we will be at eTail West 2010 in Palm Desert, CA. Our booth is #11.
March 2-4, we will be at SMX West in Santa Clara, CA. Our booth is #310.
March 10-12, we are a sponsor at the Spring NEMOA conference in Boston, MA.
March 22-26, we will be at the Search Engine Strategies conference in New York City. Our booth is #215.
As with every conference and exhibition we attend, our focus is clear…to learn more about the industry trends, and to see our clients and business partners. If you are unable to attend any of these shows, we’ll be sure to pass along any insights or important information we learn from each conference.
Safe travels and hope to see you there!
Until now, cable companies held a lock on “triple play” as a marketing phrase to indicate a consumer’s package of digital services, including phone, traditional cable and Internet access. Alas, social media has emerged as a (welcome) new threat to multi-channel marketing’s status quo and should be allowed to grab the “triple play” title (after all, cable has added a 4th play anyway — high-definition — with speculation of a 5th play in 3-D still to come).
Take the Lupus Research Institute’s Shady Ladies gala last Saturday night in Wellington, Florida. The goal was to stir awareness for a deadly disease that mostly affects young women. The evening event included dinner and good fun but, also, had silent and live auctions for celebrity sunglasses (Bruce Springsteen and Patti Scalfia, the Kardashians, Tom Bergeron of Dancing with the Stars fame, Beyonce etc.), as well as a few fashion pieces.
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February 24, 2010 2:11 pm
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