Economy, Anthrax, Fear of Flying Hurt 2001 DMA Show
A friend who just got back from exhibiting at the annual DMA conference phoned in to report, “No announced attendance number has been released yet. Sunday was nearly useless with a 1pm start time on a beautiful day in Chicago. Traffic was briefly near normal on Monday, otherwise you could have thrown a bowling party down the empty aisles. Exhibitor’s complaints included lack of paid attendees, hard to reach chairs for impromptu meetings, and spaces where exhibitors had cancelled at last minute were simply left blank so some aisles look very barren. The snacks provided were beyond belief they were so bad. McCormick Place has no restrooms in a conveinent location – one had to walk a block or two to go to a rest-room. And the food hall was an abomination.”
Normally a DMA show gets 12,000-15,000 attendees including paids, exhibitors and free hall pass folks. This year’s numbers probably dipped below half of that. A combination of the economy, anthrax, fear of flying, etc. hurt this grand old show. Reportedly the folks who did show up were mostly high level, which makes sense — if you’re cutting back your budget only the top people get to go to shows.
InfoUSA a party at the House of Blues featuring KC & the Sunshine Band. My friend said, “Seeing a 50 year old man running around on stage with a little too much booty and shaking it, was a wake up call for many of us.” However he gave high praise to the AIM party, which was one of the best as always.
Categories: Uncategorized
