Tempo Awards give CADM’s DM Days & Expo a whole new beat SYNERGY’S THE THING this year at the Chicago Association of Direct Marketing’s annual DM Days & Expo. There are the Tempo Awards; there’s Mike Ditka; there’s even a new location: the Chicago Hilton and Towers.
2001 marks the return of the Tempo Awards presentation to DM Days. For more than 20 years it had been held as a separate event.
“In the early days, the awards were given out [at] Chicago’s DM Days,” says Tempo chair Sid Liebenson, executive vice president and director of marketing at Chicago-based agency DraftWorldwide. “We’re trying it this way because there are synergies there. People who go to the Tempos might now also go to DM Days. And while the creative crowd goes to the Tempos, other DMers might not go if it’s an extra trip.”
Because the two events catered to “slightly different groups,” there “wasn’t a tremendous overlap in attendance,” Liebenson explains, adding that CADM also sees recombining the two events as a way to attract more visitors to both the Tempo Awards and DM Days.
“Attendance at the Tempos is pretty good,” he claims. “But it depends on the agencies that win the awards. If one agency dominates the field, that equals poor attendance. And we can’t control who wins.”
Liebenson describes this year’s field as a “good stable” before going on to say about DM Days: “There’s been a little falloff in attendance in general, but nothing significant.”
There’s the possibility of having more than 100 winners, he points out. There are 17 categories, which can be divided into creative and marketing. Each of them can have first, second and third place winners. If there are too few entries, categories may be combined; if there are too many, categories may be subdivided. More likely, some divisions might not have enough submissions, or those submissions may not have high enough scores to win. Furthermore, the entries are limited to campaigns from the Midwest in general and Chicago in particular.
In addition, there was a concerted effort to increase the number of entries this year. The amount did increase, providing what Liebenson calls “critical mass in every category.”
However, combining the Tempos with DM Days isn’t the only innovation for 2001. This year the Tempos will debut a special honor: the interactive award, named for Jay Gondelman, a longtime figure in Chicago direct marketing who was responsible for CADM’s early adoption of online use and services.
The award will be given to acknowledge innovative use of interactive communications. It will go to one of the winners in the three interactive categories, which are for Web site, Internet display advertising (banner ads) and e-mail marketing.
The Tempos will be given out Tuesday evening, Feb. 6. Liebenson believes the awards program will help generate attendance and interest in Wednesday’s follow-up session about the Tempo winners. He will be moderating the special session with Tempo judge Suzanne Ridenour, president of Chicago agency Ridenour & Associates.
“There was a kind of disconnect when the session was held months later,” Liebenson notes ruefully.
Another Chicago DM Days partnership involves Mike Ditka, who’s as well-known nationally as a football player, coach and television commentator as he is regionally as an entrepreneur and restaurateur.
In addition to being Wednesday’s luncheon speaker, Ditka is the centerpiece of a special VIP package. Participants “enjoy a private reception with Da Coach,” as the brochure describes it.
“We’ve always had VIP tables with additional wine or something,” Liebenson says, noting that the Ditka package does have some special features. VIP registrants will get full conference privileges for 10 guests or employees, a reserved table in front at the Ditka luncheon, and a private reception with the former coach after the lunchtime event – not to mention the extra wine.
CADM’s kickoff session speaker is no stranger to ubiquity. The tireless author Seth Godin will speak Tuesday morning about his five rules of permission marketing and will help set the theme of this year’s DM Days (“Where traditional DM and e-commerce converge”).
The keynote session on Wednesday morning is titled “Customers Rule! Strategies for Finding, Keeping and Delighting Customers.” The panel will discuss customer relationship management using traditional and new media.
The two-day event includes breakout sessions and an expo. Breakout sessions are grouped under such headings as integrated direct marketing; direct mail creative; production and fulfillment; database marketing and analysis; teleservices; customer relationship management; e-commerce; Web strategy and e-mail marketing.
The grand finale is a special 4 p.m. performance Wednesday, Feb. 7 by Chicago’s well-known comedy troupe, The Second City.
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