Florida, Indiana AGs Headline Promotion’s Biggest Show

Florida Attorney General Bob Butterworth, the man who threw a legal monkey wrench into the operations of magazine subscription sweepstakes, and his Indiana counterpart, Jeffrey Modisett, headline promo Expo ’99, set for the Navy Pier in Chicago Sept. 14 to 16.

In February 1998, Butterworth filed suit against American Family Publishers and its business partners, opening the floodgates for dozens of other municipalities to follow his litigious lead. Modisett heads the Mail Solicitation Subcommittee of the National Association of Attorneys General that is overseeing the establishment of new rules and guidelines for conducting sweepstakes.

The AGs will lay out the problems they have with misleading direct-mail sweeps offers, and explain how actions against those operations might affect traditional sweepstakes promotions. Following their presentations, Butterworth and Modisett will participate in a discussion with a panel of experts in sweepstakes and promotion law.

promo Expo, presented by promo Magazine and Intertec Exhibitions, is the world’s largest conference and product showplace for marketing executives seeking the latest in promotional tools and techniques. More than 2,000 marketers are expected to fill session rooms and an exhibit hall where 300 companies will display their products and services.

promo Expo is also the site of the World PRO Awards of Excellence, the only worldwide competition for top promotion campaigns. Winners will be revealed before an international crowd at the World PRO gala reception in the Navy Pier’s Grand Ballroom on the opening night of the show. Competition co-sponsors promo and the Association of Promotion Marketing Agencies Worldwide received a record 500-plus entries for judging in 1999.

promo Expo ’99 features the largest offering of workshops and seminars in the history of the event. A brand new workshop called Consumer 2000 Day debuts on Tuesday, Sept. 14, presented by promo sister publication American Demographics, the nation’s leading chronicler of consumer trends. During the day-long conference, speakers such as McCann-Erickson brand strategy director Joseph Plummer, McGraw-Hill research vp Charlotte Frank, and Columbia University admissions director Eric Fierda will provide insights on Generation X families of the future, kids in the year 2010, the 60-million strong Y Generation, and Baby Boom retirees.

Internet College returns to promo Expo after its sold-out debut last year. On hand to bring attendees up to date on online consumer habits and Web marketing strategies, as well as to present recent case studies, will be Yahoo direct chief Jerry Shereshewsky, CDNow promotions manager Matt Fischer, and MyPoints.com ceo Steve Markowitz.

The ever-popular promo U features a new format in Chicago this September. After hearing the promotion design techniques and tips of pros such as J. Walter Thompson creative director David Ferris and Andrew Jergens Co. vp-marketing Heather Dupre, the student body will be split up into “account groups” to create campaigns using identical criteria.

More educational opportunities than ever before await Expo ’99 attendees. Twenty-five concurrent sessions will cover the gamut of promotion marketing issues and topics, from tie-ins, co-marketing, and couponing to budgeting, creativity, and trend-tracking. Owing to the requests of past attendees, promo Expo organizers this year add clinic sessions to the roster. These mini-seminars will have hardened veterans offering basic rules and guidelines for devising premium promotions, negotiating for entertainment properties, designing loyalty programs, and more.

As at promo Expos past, the bulk of concurrent sessions will feature the doers – brand marketers from a host of consumer and product service companies – sharing lessons learned and presenting detailed case studies of recent promotions. This year’s cast represents such names as Kraft Foods, Oldsmobile, Warner Bros., Warner Lambert, and General Mills.

Also new at Expo ’99 is the Agency/Client Chat Room, where account leaders from some of the nation’s top promotion marketing agencies will sit down with their clients and recount the ups and downs of successful partner relationships. Companies represented on the panel include promo Agency of the Year Upshot, The Zipatoni Company, Seagram, and Eveready.

For full details on all promo Expo ’99 programs, plus information on how to register for promotion marketing’s big event, check out the show guide on the following pages.