Obviously, the Walla Media crew was out in full effect. After a great flight in, courtesy of the always-awesome Virgin Airlines (insert affiliate link here), we were off to the Paramount Hotel right off of Times Square.  This place has an incredible lobby, bar and is attached to an express Dean and Deluca…but if you want to know the real story (i.e. rooms, rates, service…), check out our Yelp review on this to follow…but I digress.

Our first night in the Big Apple we hit a spot on the lower east side, Spitzers Corner, recommended by our good friends over at SpireVision who graced us with their presence all night. After some really wonderful eats, we did a drop by the Pommes Nightclub, saw some old friends and met some new ones. Then, off to our friendly neighborhood and always affiliate-hot spot strip club, Flash Dancers. This was our own Tinamarie’s very first visit…where was Gene when we needed him?! For everything this place is, and well, isn’t…somehow, a fantastic amount of business always manages to happen over bottle service and a stack of bills. We had the fortune of being out with some of our favorite mailers and amidst the chaos, ended up also meeting a variety of heavy-hitting affiliates. Some whom were sad to have lost our AOR Dish campaign when it was pulled from various affiliate networks months back, and were completely stoked to discover that we’ve not only still got it, but that it’s stronger than ever!

Hitting the Javits “in-the-middle-of-no-where” Center on day one, there were a few changes we noticed from shows gone by. ad:tech is always a more traditionally professional show than say an Affiliate Summit, but this year it seemed particularly stuffy. Maybe it was all the suits or the packed house on day one. Volume certainly seemed up from last year. All the usual players were in the mix of exhibiting, less Facebook, which was an interesting observation. Some of our favorite stops were: C2M (nothing like a keg to attract some foot traffic!), W4, many direct advertisers and a few stops at different ESP booths, which gave us some great ideas. We also got to run into the gentlemen over at Flex Marketing, Frontline, Sir Ad Hustler, Ian Fernando and Michael Pomposello. That’s the best thing about these shows – the run-ins, getting to hang with your friends and the ability to strengthen relationships across the board. Mostly though, we were in meetings off the floor since as everyone knows, it’s next to impossible to get cell reception and coordinate from under ground.

Walla Media was pleased to be a sponsor for this show’s Mailer Meetup at the Lott that evening. This is a relatively new organization run by Tracy Cohen and Erin Garcia from Ocean AdVenue. The group was founded as a means to provide mailers a platform to engage with one another. These events are geared toward serious mailers who are looking to gather new information, swap tips, and build their businesses.  The last event hosted at ASE was an intimate affair and was incredibly successful. The value was very clear. This Meetup was a significantly different scene, held in a larger venue with louder music and a few keynote speakers.  Though the guest list was heavily audited to keep Affiliate Managers and networks out, unfortunately there are still far too many small-time pubs that are unable to contain their A.D.D for 5 minutes to listen to someone who has things to say that they could actually learn from and a network or 2 that couldn’t put their agenda on hold for the evening. Such a shame. Having speakers at a networking event is already a challenge and with an open bar for an hour prior, it’s even tougher. One of the speakers was rudely talked over by certain members of the crowd to the point that he couldn’t finish his presentation. That being said, Eric Neuner of SpireVision stole the show with his insightful presentation on current affairs and the future of email marketing. We ended up meeting a lot of really cool people at this event who are looking for what we are – quality, long-term partners. Since the relationships we develop at events like this will play an integral part in our success as we continue to build up our internal mailing operations, we consider them very important and are quite pleased with the overall results. The folks over at Mailer Meetup threw a solid event and we know that all the feedback they receive will only help them strengthen the events and the showing in the future.

After the Meetup, we hit the Gansevoort Hotel bar called Plunge, which is essentially the Standard of downtown LA, with a WAY better view…of the Empire State Building. Very cool spot. Amazing company. Whiskey. I think. Got booted out around 3 a.m….imagine that! So, on to a local pub for after hours and then what better way to end the night than an after-after hours pizza grub session? ‘Nuff said.

The last day of the show was significantly slower. Could have been due to the torrential downpours or the ever irritating lack of cabs at prime travel times, but the committed made it out, and we managed to make it a productive day.  However, after a few hours as the crowds continued to dwindle, we moved business to the W Hotel bar, which was a great spot to chill, sip and talk shop. As a huge chunk of conference goers stayed there, it was an easy base to run into a lot of clients.

Dinner this night was unreal. Our gracious partners over at Channel Clarity are not only devilishly hilarious eating companions, but also foodies and wine enthusiasts, so it was a huge treat all the way around at Chef Boulud’s. Being the grounded, family-loving, amazing bunch these guys are, they decided to call it an early(ish) night, by NY standards…and so we were off to meet our next group for hours of fun spread between the Gansevoort, a couple underground spots in the Meat Packing District, a little Justin Barr action and again a late night, technically early morning nosh of pizza fired-up to order and the best cannoli in existence.

Sure, there were some shortcomings and oversights, and there’s always room for improvement, but overall this was a fantastic ad:tech NYC and a huge one for Walla Media. We loved the networking and time spent with our quality partners. We look forward to meeting those of you that we haven’t yet and are crazy excited about scaling business with each of you. Internally, expansion of our email and media buying capabilities put a lot of new opportunities on the table. Looks like 2011 is going to be a killer one for Walla Media and its clients. So let’s have some fun, do some amazing business and make a lot of money together. After all, that’s what it’s all about.

Happy follow-upping trails until we meet again at Affiliate Summit Vegas!

Tovah Simon has a dual background in advertising and psychology, with an emphasis in marketing/strategic planning. Her experience in email marketing and mailing, specifically in campaign optimization, targeting and analysis gives her a unique ability to more deeply understand publishers’ needs and wants. Always an entrepreneurial spirit with creative vision, Tovah has a passion for networking and bringing new opportunity to the table. With a Midwestern work ethic, keen eye for detail and passion for online marketing, Tovah has played an instrumental role as Director of Performance Media; helping successfully scale two affiliate networks from the ground level. Her focus within Walla Media will be on the continual expansion of prosperous, long-term relationships with quality advertising and publishing partners as well as on fostering the best sales team in the space.

Want to get in touch with Tovah and congratulate her? Reach out and say hi!

Tovah Simon
tovah@wallamedia.com
Direct: 818.444.3038 ext 7835
SKYPE: Tovah.Simon
AIM: TovahSimon

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