Boston–Sure, the economy has been brighter, but catalogers aren’t letting the downturn keep them from the 18th Annual Catalog Conference. In fact, at press time attendance was slightly ahead of registration for last year’s conference, which was held in San Francisco. More than 5,000 attendees are expected to be on hand, visiting the nearly 500 booths and sitting in on the 100-plus seminars and workshops.
“The fact that we’re tracking ahead of last year’s conference leads me to believe that catalogers more than ever need to be here to gain whatever insight and techniques they can from the conference and their colleagues to make it through the downturn in the economy,” says Marilyn Harrington, general manager for Intertec Exhibitions, a sister division of Catalog Age, which is cosponsoring the show with the Direct Marketing Association.
Key events taking place at the ACC, which runs through Thursday, June 7, include the first-ever Catalog Power Forum (Tuesday, 3:45 p.m.). Catalog Age editorial director Sherry Chiger and W.A. Dean & Associates’ Bill Dean will moderate a discussion among executives from Newport News, Brylane, Fingerhut, Black Box, and CatalogCity.com. The forum will also refer to statistics from the DMA’s upcoming State of the Industry Report and Catalog Age Benchmark Surveys.
Tomorrow morning’s keynote speaker, Applied Minds cochairman Bran Ferren, will discuss “The Art of Storytelling” and its importance in business. DMA president/CEO H. Robert Wientzen will provide the opening comments, beginning at 8:45 a.m.