DMA's 2007 International ECHO Awards Bring 'Best of the Best' Campaigns to DMA07

September 4, 2007 — Cheers will reverberate on Tuesday evening, October 16, at Chicago’s historic Union Station. That’s because it’s an ECHO of an evening — a chance for the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) to honor “the best of the best” direct marketing campaigns during its 2007 International ECHO Awards. The awards will be presented during DMA07 Conference & Exhibition, which will be held October 13–18 at Chicago’s new McCormick Place West.

Howie Mandel will host the Tuesday evening gala, where attendees will be feted with a reception, dinner, and a night of dancing. Not to be missed, however, is the awards ceremony that promises to be a night of suspense for those who submitted the record number — 1,124 — of campaign entries, more than half of which were submitted in new media categories.

“New” advertising media comprises more than half of this year’s ECHO entries, with 650 broken down into the following categories:

· Web Development: 225 entries

· Web Advertising: 198 entries

· Email and Instant Messaging: 197 entries

· Mobile: 17 entries

· Search: 13 entries

While ECHO Award guests may come for the accolades, they will want to stay for the laughter. Mandel, the “Deal or No Deal” emcee and comedian, who is no stranger to handing out prizes, will do so this time for talented marketers from around the globe. The ECHO-winning campaigns will showcase outstanding strategy, innovative creative, database techniques, and exceptional results.

Now in its 78th year, the ECHO mark of distinction is the only international award symbolizing excellence in direct marketing creativity, marketing strategy, and response results. The ceremony that first took the stage in 1930 keeps pace with ever-changing techniques and technologies. Today, the ECHO program recognizes every type of media used in multichannel direct marketing campaigns. This year, DMA expanded it to include five new advertising media: e-mail and instant messaging, mobile, search engine marketing, Web advertising, and Web development.

To learn more about DMA’s International ECHO Awards, visit www.dma-echo.org.

About DMA07 Conference & Exhibition

DMA07, the largest gathering of direct marketing professionals, is DMA’s annual conference and exhibition. DMA07 will feature more than 150 educational sessions, plus roundtables, case studies, white papers and research reports. DMA07’s exhibit hall will feature more than 500 exhibiting companies. For more information, or to register for the six-day multichannel marketing event of the year, please visit www.dma07.org or call 1.800.293.7279 or 330.425.9330.

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