Perhaps it was the permeating smell of popcorn, perhaps it was the punchiness associated with the waning hours of a conference, but on Wednesday morning and early afternoon the exhibit hall at the 36th Annual Direct Marketing Days Conference in New York had a definite carnival air about it.
Take MarketTouch, whose booth took peach kitsch to an extreme. Hailing from Alpharetta, GA ("The Peachtree State") the data hygiene firm laid on the motif thicker than granny’s cobbler. Giveaways included peach-shaped squeeze stress balls and peach sucking candies, comment cards were on peach-colored paper, decorations included a blow-up of a 33-cent stamp featuring a peach and corporate business cards features a scratch-and-sniff peach icon.
Or perhaps it was the anonymous booth siren on the third floor exhibit hall, who, loopy at the end of the conference, took to calling out, barker style: "E-mail marketing--you KNOW you want to know about it!" to all passersby.
And what’s a midway without prizes? Whitehat.com featured one of the niftier giveaways that didn’t involve a sweepstakes: a T-shirt with a "No Spam" circle-and-slash logo. But the Tempe, AZ-based e-mail marketing firm faced stiff competition for best premium from The Listworks Corp., Pleasantville, NY, where booth staff were having way too much fun demonstrating the combination pen/bubble blower/chirping toys they were giving away.
One had to feel sorry for Champ Direct Mail Printing, Bridgeport, CT, positioned next to Burlington, KS-based Williams Direct. Williams was giving away plush "Pet Izits," small, tribble-like toys that squeak when squeezed. Champ Direct booth attendants graciously claimed not to be disturbed by what must have been three solid days of squeaking. Hey, Williams Direct, didn’t the Izits have eyes last year?
Finally, what’s a midway without food? Commercial Envelope Manufacturing, of Deer Park, NY, had some of the largest cookies ever seen at a marketing convention (think "flying disc" size). It also had account executive John N. Knoesel, who took one look at a direct marketing trade reporter and observed "You’ve got a little notebook, just like the real press." We love you too, John.
