How sparsely attended the DMA annual conference will be is anybody’s guess. The DMA said 550 exhibitors are signed up-down from 600 in New Orleans last year-but wouldn’t give over the tally of attendees registered.
Exhibitors were told 10,000 attendees were registered, and 3,500 exhibit staffers. Anecdotal evidence strongly suggests those numbers may be high, and sources said people were canceling through last week.
“My guess is the actual turnout will be about half that,” said veteran list and interactive direct marketer Reggie Brady of Reggie Brady Marketing Solutions.
Last year’s total, before terrorism, anthrax and a down economy haunted marketers’ every move, was a rollicking 13,000.
A ClickAction survey of its clients on Oct. 5 merited 90 responses. “Of those, only 12 said they were going to go,” said Geoff Smith, director of client programs. “Based on that, we cancelled a cocktail party we were having on Sunday night.”
Some have undoubtedly cancelled out of fear, and companies-particularly those in the New York area-are sensitive about staffers’ unwillingness to fly. Greenwich, CT-based Boardroom gave its employees the option of staying home. But only one out of nine did, said Brian Kurtz, executive vice president.
Other companies, struggling in a down time, can’t spare employees or travel expenditures. “I predict people will stop in, do their business and go back to work,” said Smith.
Still the DMA Show is the biggest direct marketing event of the year, and too important to miss, said industry insiders. IBM suspended its travel freeze to send a handful of managers from the East Coast to Chicago, said IBM’s Dan Flack.
MarketsOnDemand has as many RSVPs to its party on Sunday at the House of Blues as it can handle. Exhibitors expect to be busy.
“About 75% of the clients we initially thought were going will be showing up,” said Jay Schwedelson, corporate vice president at Worldata & WebConnect. “I think everyone is going into this with somewhat milder expectations than they had before Sept. 11, but they are hopeful and excited.”
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