More About our Featured Keynote Speaker, Anne Holland

March 16th, 2006

We’re fortunate once again to be able to welcome to this space Bob McCarthy as our special guest blogger. As many of you know, Bob was president of the New England Direct Marketing Association (NEDMA) in 1992-1993, and is a partner with his wife, Sheryl, at McCarthy & King Marketing, Inc., a small, Milford, MA-based marketing communications firm specializing in direct mail and direct response advertising.

This week, Bob writes about Anne Holland, President and Publisher of Marketing Sherpa, Inc., the Featured Keynote Speaker and star attraction of NEDMA ‘06.  Here’s Bob…

I am the first to admit that when it comes to web and email marketing, I’ve never been ahead of the curve.

As long-time direct mail guy, I always thought I was doing pretty well just keeping that curve in sight.

I’ve never doubted the power of on-line marketing. It’s been pretty clear from the start (whenever that was) that this medium (if you want to call it that) was going to change marketing forever. You’d have to be a fool to ignore it.

But getting out in front of the technology – well, that’s another matter entirely.

That’s why you have to admire Anne Holland, who will be the Featured Keynote Speaker at NEDMA ‘06, It’s a Brave New World, the New England Direct Marketing Association’s Annual Conference and Exposition, June 14-15 at Bentley College.

Anne Holland is president and publisher of MarketingSherpa, and a true pioneer in internet marketing.

For those of you who don’t know, MarketingSherpa is a New England-based market research firm that publishes benchmark guides, buyer’s guides, how-to reports and (my favorites) case studies on the use of internet marketing.

Some 173,000 advertising, marketing and PR professionals read MarketingSherpa’s publications every week. The publications accept no advertising so you can be sure the research you get is unbiased.

If you’re not already a subscriber, I recommend it. Their newsletters are free and packed with all kinds of practical, real-life information. But be warned: their newsletters are addictive. To learn more, go to www.MarketingSherpa.com.

Now back to Anne Holland …

What makes Anne such a great speaker for the NEDMA conference is that she herself started off in direct mail subscription selling.

Before joining MarketingSherpa as a start-up, she was Head of Marketing for Phillips Business Media, a $100 million publishing company that once used direct mail almost exclusively to market its many publications.

But in 1995, Anne helped launch one of the world’s first profitable subscription websites for two of Phillips publications, Interactive Marketing News and MIN New Media.

And our world of direct marketing has been changing ever since then.

Anne’s presentation title is a long one – “Web DM 2.0: New Internet Direct Response Tactics – What’s Proven and What’s Still Just Hype?” – but I think it’s exactly we all want and need to hear as we enter this “second generation of web marketing.”

“Just when you thought you had the internet under control,” she tells us, “new marketing tactics started exploding again.”

“There’s Tier B search marketing, podcasting, RSS, desktop applications, triggered email campaigns, the ‘new’ flash intro, multivariate (taguchi) testing and more.”

Attend Anne’s keynote, and you’ll learn what’s really working, what’s just hype and what you really need to stay away from. You can also expect some research-based advice for email and search marketers who are looking for quick tips to bring their results up a notch.

If you haven’t heard Anne Holland speak before, come prepared. This internet pioneer is well known as a dynamic speaker who will grab your attention and give you more information than you can handle. Get ready to take notes.

Thanks, Bob. Your contributions to this blog are appreciated. If anyone else out there wants to be a guest blogger, too, please don’t hesitate to speak up. We are seeking news and information from anyone who has anything to do with the conference — speakers, sponsors, exhibitors, etc. So if you have something to say about NEDMA ‘06, It’s a Brave New World, this is your opportunity. This is your blog.

Entry Filed under: Speakers