July 21st, 2010 | 
Author: As I cruised through the crowd at the PIMA 2010 MidYear Meeting looking for new faces to introduce myself to, I ran across a new guy who had just stepped into the conference. Looking at his name tag, Craig had the “Prospective Member” white ribbon. Cool. A ‘younger’ guy, Craig had a nice way about him – smart, professional, confident, clean cut, articulate. Great. After finding out a little about how he came to know about PIMA, where he was from, and what line of business he was in, he asked me, “What to you do, Mike? What is WebWisedom?” “I’m helping PIMA members understand the Social Web and how to leverage it for marketing results.” Then he said a very significant thing, “Great! Just the person I want to ask: What’s the hash-tag for the conference?” WOW! WOW! WOW! So mark the date: 07/15/10 6pm, opening session of the 2010 MidYear Meeting – the first time someone actually asked ME about Twitter!!! And yes, he was a Gen-X’er.
Relative to the new two-meeting format, netnet, PIMA is doing its best to be a good steward of precious resources. I’d be interested in Comments (below after the pictures), but the new “MidYear Meeting” we just experienced had a record attendance for a summer meeting. So whether you are an Agency, a Company, or a Business Partner, there seemed to have been plenty of people to talk to and network with. My observation – there seemed to be a good mix of decision-makers and influencers as well. From the Business Partner perspective, I felt there was good buzz in the Exhibit Hall on both Friday and Saturday. I loved the indoor/outdoor places to have private conversations as well. Any other thoughts? Please Comment below, start a thread on the PIMA Linkedin Group page, or drop an email. Feedback is always welcome.
Lastly, I recorded some sound bites from the speakers at the conference (with their permission). When I get a few spare minutes, I will relay the recording via podcasts… some compelling content to consider.
As normal, I took a few pictures at the event. Wanted to share two here. One is of the “Best of PIMA” winner – significant because it went to a Broker (Aon) for a Social Media Marketing campaign. The other is of the Panel gathered to discuss the impacts of PPACA. This was a phenomenal trio of industry wizards who spoke extremely clearly about the potential adverse consequences of PPACA, about how similar legislation has failed in MA, and about the very real possibilities for the ultimate destiny of the bill. I’ve got some sound bites from that as well.
Cheers! Comments welcome. What did you think of the conference?
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One other thing… I really liked Kelly McDonald's talk on the Latino's and Gen-Y. Tons of useful stuff. Especially appreciated the anecdote about the Cinco de Mayo campaign in Miami!!!
Hi Mike:
Great perspective… a few other observations. On Thursday evening, I arrived early and attended (uninvited) the New and Prospective Member reception, and was shocked to see as many 50 new folks. This is an important metric for PIMA. I remember my first New Member Reception and was one of just 10. This is an important change, and the leadership should be congratulated. This was also the first Meeting under the leadership of Jim Gallagher of USI. I love Frank Fimmano and yet Jim brings a different and energetic spirit to the event. I can't wait to help out in the months and years to come. Thanks Mike for all you did to join and introduce us. PIMA is unique organization where you can't avoid being introduced. Please don't ever lose this differentiator.
Thanks… David Plate
David, thanks for the Comment. I heard a few people mention the benefits of the Northeast location as well. A big percentage of the membership locates in the Chicago-to-Boston, K.C.-to-D.C. quarter of the country. So a location in the thick of that territory bodes well in the context of restricted travel budgets. As you say, kudo's to leadership.
I thought the meeting overall was great, particularly since it was the initial conference reflecting the new format. Obviously there will be tweaks in the future, but the PIMA CEO and other leadership are certainly cognizant of the needs/wants of the members and will strive to deliver on those expressed desires. I thought the networking opportunities were particularly good at this meeting, and made several important new and/or renewed contacts.
I thought the new format worked very well, and the content provided by the speakers and panels was fantastic. The high level of attendance and the 'buzz' at the conference are signals of success.
I liked being given license by Kelly McDonald to be authenically dorky. The juxtapostion of Rob McGinnis' and Pat Wedeking's messages — the affect of life insurance on a large group and on one family — was very powerful. And Marv Feldman's follow up the next morning with the tools and resources created by the Life Foundation should help all of us sell more policies. There was much, much more, and something of value for all I'm sure.
@David — thanks for the props, but I know I'll never match Frank's eloquence. ; )
PIMA certainly has strong leadership and does a great job of gathering input from members to provide value for all participants. It's great to hear feedback on the speakers as well as the time we took to do "member introductions".
As usual, I left the meeting feeling quite excited about the opportunities to help people improve their marketing efforts and the potential to be more involved in the future!
Denise, I agree about the networking. As the size of the crowd grows, the need for more time to network and meet new people seems to be an important issue…
Jim, agreed on the life insurance stories. I also thought the presentation about <code><FONT COLOR="yellow">http://www.lifehappens.org/</FONT></code> was extremely powerful. And Rob McGinnis's story about 9/11 and Cantor Fitzgerald was unforgettable.
Stephanie, Kudo's to you, Lisa, and Tony for a terrific conference. THANKS!
I liked the pace of the event … fewer sessions, more time to network. And I think the content of conference was as strong and relevant as any I've attended.
Hi, Mike:
I am glad you found the meeting productive. It was a great experience for me to be involved in the planning process. It also enabled me to meet some great & talented folks that I'd not have met otherwise.
I had never attended MarketTech, so it was good for me to experience the feel & flavor of that format as well.
It was the 1st summer/marketTech "combo" meeting &hopefully we've laid a solid foundation for this style of meeting that future tri-chairs can build upon.
Thanks for asking, Lisa