Bill Bass, Keith Wardell, and Power Forum Panel Top the Marquee at 2008 Annual Conference for Catalog & Multichannel Merchants (ACCM)

February 25, 2008 — Catalog, Internet, and multichannel professionals will want to take note that the 25th Annual Conference for Catalog & Multichannel Merchants (ACCM) today announced conference keynoters and a marquee affair. ACCM 2008, co-produced by the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) and Multichannel Merchant, is a four-day conference and exhibition taking place on May 19-22 in Orlando, FL.

“We’re proud to bring ACCM attendees the expertise of these exemplary market leaders,” said Angela Eastin, group show director, Penton Media. “Keynoter Bill Bass is a retailing role model, living up to the ideal that paying textile workers a fair wage lets apparel customers ‘look great while doing good.’ Keynoter Keith Wardell urges marketers to pay attention to the customer trying to reach them, rather than the indifferent one who is sitting on the couch.”

“In addition, a team of marketing masters will unravel ‘The Mystique of the Multichannel Customer — What Engages Customers and Prospects?’ to aid marketers in determining who those tuned in consumers are,” Eastin continued. “Melissa Dowling, editor-in-chief of Multichannel Merchant, will moderate this spectacular panel, which will be one of the highlights of our Intensive Day on Monday, May 19.”

Beginning with Monday’s signature event, the world’s largest conference for catalog, Internet, and multichannel merchants will bring conferees:

Brunch and Power Forum:

“The Mystique of the Multichannel Customer —

What Engages Customers and Prospects?”

Monday, May 19, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

“Do you know what customers really want and what makes them buy from your brand vs. your competitors?” Melissa Dowling, editor-in-chief of Multichannel Merchant, plans to ask panelists as she moderates this noteworthy event. And for these panelists, it’s their day job to know the answer. Topics to be discussed include Web 2.0 technologies, magazine-like print catalog creative, buy online/pickup in-store fulfillment, the role that blogs, special offers, and free shipping play — and much more.

The all-star panel will feature Lauren Freedman, president of the e-tailing group; Terry Flynn, president of the Gibraltar Group; and Milton Pappas, executive vice president of corporate marketing and e-commerce for Redcats USA.

Bill Bass, CEO, Fair Indigo

Tuesday, May 20, 8:45 to 9:45 a.m.

In 2005, Bill Bass and the other founders of Fair Indigo hoped that Middle America was ready to buy fair-trade clothing, according to a New York Times article introducing his company. Three years and millions of dollars in online, retail, and catalog sales later, the color of Fair Indigo — “the first mainstream clothing line made in accordance with fair-trade practices” — has turned out to be green.

Bass, the chief executive officer of Fair Indigo, was previously the senior vice president of Lands’ End and the former vice president/general manager of Sears Direct. During his Tuesday morning keynote, “Style with a Conscience: The Making of a Multichannel Company,” Bass will explain how he followed his conscience to a lucrative new marketing opportunity. The secret? Customers feel good about buying competitively-priced clothing from a company that pays its workers a living wage and benefits — not just the legally mandated minimum.

Keith Wardell, Author, “Marketing Out of Control”

Wednesday, May 21, 8:45 to 9:45 a.m.

Author Keith Wardell believes that many marketers fail to realize that customers are taking the initiative everyday to visit websites, dial call centers, and visit retail stores. They’re making the effort. But many marketers are still ignoring them and, instead, reaching out to the apathetic, television-watching couch potato. The “Marketing Out of Control” author will try to steer marketers right during his keynote, “Four Transitions: Profiting from a Consumer Controlled Marketplace.”

The combination of unlimited choice and the ability to find anything and everything quickly has shifted the power from marketers to consumers, Wardell will emphasize. On any given day in America, consumers perform almost two billion website visits, 200 million inbound calls, and 600 million retail visits. This is a total of 2.8 billion consumer initiatives per day. Using his 30 years of experience improving marketing efficiencies, Wardell will help ACCM attendees figure out how to translate that consumer initiative into sales.

For additional information about ACCM 2008 or to register, please visit www.accmshow.com.

ACCM provides complimentary registrations for editorial staff of media outlets covering multichannel marketing. To request a press registration, please email pressregistration@the-dma.org. For information about the requirements for press credentials, visit http://www.the-dma.org/press/pressevents.shtml. For additional information or queries, please contact pressregistration@the-dma.org or 212.768.7277, ext. 1208.

About Multichannel Merchant

MULTICHANNEL MERCHANT helps executives manage all facets of their businesses by providing superior analysis of successful strategies across all areas of multichannel marketing — print, catalogs,
e-commerce, merchandising, operations, retail, and more. It’s the one source that helps professionals capitalize on opportunities in their core businesses, and integrate strategies to maximize their successes in each channel. MULTICHANNEL MERCHANT’s franchise includes MULTICHANNEL MERCHANT magazine; the Annual Conference for Catalog & Multichannel Merchants (ACCM); MULTICHANNEL MERCHANT Weekly, List & Data Strategies, and Searchline e-newsletters; www.multichannelmerchant.com; the Annual Multichannel Merchant Awards; and much more.

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