EVENT: Re:think, the annual convention of the Advertising Research Foundation (ARF), which represents every aspect of the marketing in- dustry, including advertisers, media companies, advertising agencies, associations, academic institutions, and research firms — in the United States and around the world.
2011 MEETING (MARCH 21–23): Re:think 2011, the ARF’s 75th Anniversary Annual Con- vention, will be held at the New York Marriott Marquis in Manhattan, and is expected to draw more than 3,000 attendees.
CHALLENGES: For Heather James, the ARF’s senior vice president and chief marketing officer, Re:think’s host city is a blessing and a curse. “How do you break through the clut- ter?” James said. “This is the leading city in the world, and [the meeting is] in Times Square, the home of the best advertising. And how do we keep our attendees fully surprised, delighted, and engaged in the conference experience?” The ARF’s program director, Rachael Feigen- baum, summed up the challenge in one word: “Competition.” She added: “There’s so much out there from different organizations. We think this is the conference to be at, but we still face competition for dollars [and] for time.”
VALUE ADS: A perennial challenge for the ARF is how to compete with New York City.
INITIATIVES: The ARF plans on cutting through the clutter in part by playing up the content offered throughout Re:think 2011 — including in the exhibit hall, which is called the ARF Insights Zone, where diamond-level sponsors will occupy a 25' x 30' space in each corner. “They can have a theater-like struc- ture,” Feigenbaum said, “more of a learning environment, and present case studies of what they’ve been working on.” There will also be a separate theater on the show floor for educa- tional presentations. And, James said, GM will bring an electric car to the Insights Zone, and discuss how the vehicle was developed and marketed — something new for an organization focused on continued on page 27
THERE’S A MEETING FOR THAT? PEZ in Our Time
PEZ COLLECTORS GATHERINGS: Every year, PEZ Collectors News organizes two shows for PEZ dealers, traders, and hobbyists — the Northeast PEZ Collectors Gathering, in Stam- ford, Conn., and the PEZ in the Sun Collectors Gathering, in Myrtle Beach, S.C. More than 500 people attended this year’s Northeast show at the Stamford Plaza Hotel & Confer- ence Center on April 8–10, which showcased the staggering diversity of PEZ dispensers (1), including exclusives that cost as much as $2,400 (2) and auto-themed merchandise for the event’s annual “car show” (3), and offered a home for the world’s PEZ heads (4).