Guest Blogger Alexandra MacAaron Previews the New Technology Track

Logging in this week as our special guest blogger is Alex MacAaron, Creative Director and self-proclaimed “Queen B” of Plan B Communications, a direct marketing creative agency located near Boston. 

Of course, Alex is a past president of NEDMA (’03-’04) and our current Director of Communications.  She also happens to be making an appearance at NEDMA ’06, conducting an all-day (9 AM-4 PM) creative workshop on June 14 with her Plan B colleagues, Walter Bumford and Dave Gordon. 

Alex is the recipient of dozens of advertising industry awards, including numerous regional awards as well as national/international honors such as three DMA Gold ECHO Awards; the BPME Gold Award for Broadcast Promotion; and the “Best of Show” Silver Microphone award for a jingle package.  She has taught at several local universities and frequently lectures for various regional and national associations.

She is also the co-author (along with Donna Baier Stein, another past president of NEDMA) of the book, The New Marketing Conversation, which is available for purchase here.  

You’re on, Alex…

I was asked to contribute to the NEDMA Conference blog, and I confess I’ve procrastinated. 

You see, I’m just not feeling my usual level of confidence.

Okay, I admit it.  I’m suffering from “Conference Envy.” 

You know, that sinking feeling when you realize that someone else’s conference is … well .. a bit better endowed.   My sense of inadequacy isn’t from lack of experience.  After all, I Chaired two highly successful NEDMA Conferences myself, 1998 and 2003.  And, I welcomed Conference attendees as NEDMA’s President in 2004.

But this year is different.  Bigger.  Better.

For example, I’ll start with the New Technology track.  I go to a lot of conferences (NEDMA, of course, but a slew of others too).  And I’ve sat through a lot of ho-hum sessions on New Media before.  After all, “New Media” has been a marketing industry buzzword for nearly 20 years now.  (So, hey, how “new” can it really be?)

That’s why I liked the title of Thom Kennon’s New Technology session right away.  “Discover Really New Media – And What to do With It.”  Thom founded one of the first interactive agencies and has worked with the American Red Cross, Toyota, Dell and D & B.  He should be able to tell us “What’s New” – and I mean, “What’s Really New.”

The next session in the New Technology track will be led by author and consultant David Meerman Scott.  He’ll share with us his practical – and it sounds like invaluable – knowledge about “How to Turn Online Visitors into Buyers.”   His examples range from The Wall Street Journal and UPS … to Aerosmith.  Rock on!

And, finally, the last session of the New Technology track will be an in-depth case study that also – my apologies to Steven Tyler and the boys – rocks.  ExactTarget’s Joel Book will walk us through “How Liberty Mutual Uses Email to Build Profitable Relationships.”

So, I hope I’ll see you at NEDMA ‘06.  That’s it for now.  I have to leave for my Conference Envy support group.

Add comment March 22nd, 2006