DMA07 Pre-Conference Keynoter John Adams to Sell 'Smart Advertising' to Marketers

DMA’s Annual Conference & Exhibition Set for Oct. 13–18 in Chicago

New York City, July 9, 2007 — The Martin Agency makes advertising look so easy, even a caveman could do it. But a real campaign is far more complex, and agency Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John B. Adams, Jr. will provide the clues during his keynote address during DMA07’s Pre-Conference, which precedes DMA07 Conference & Exhibition at McCormick Place West in Chicago, IL, October 13–18.

Adams heads the Richmond, VA-based advertising agency that spawned the GEICO gecko and those urbane cavemen. In his keynote presentation, at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, October 14, titled “Smart Advertising...It’s More Than Just the Campaign, It’s the Numbers: The Power of Direct Response Campaigns,” Adams will explain how his company keeps an eye on the numbers while still designing and implementing thriving, creative multichannel campaigns.

“We’re thrilled to have John Adams reveal to direct marketers how his campaigns evolved into a tectonic force, catapulting The Martin Agency into the sphere of multimillion-dollar campaigns, including its new Wal-Mart account,” said Paul McDonnough, DMA group show director. “It’s no wonder the agency has won a quintet of ‘Agency of the Year’ honors from Adweek. Adams leads The Martin Agency’s more than 20-year commitment to direct response campaigns, a language and process now being championed by chief marketing officers everywhere.”

Adams brings insights on the language and power of direct response campaigns that he practiced with clients such as UPS, Hanes, Discover Financial, Olympus, Coca-Cola, ALLTELL, and the US Department of Homeland Security. His agency has won numerous DMA International ECHO Awards during the years, including the Diamond ECHO in 1999. The Martin Agency was the recipient of the Direct Marketing Educational Foundation’s (DMEF) 2006 Corporate Leadership Award.

Headquartered in Richmond, VA, The Martin Agency (www.martinagency.com) is a fully integrated, national advertising agency with offices in Richmond and New York City, serving a wide range of clients since 1965.

In 1997, Adams became one of a handful of advertising people to be inducted into the Virginia Communications Hall of Fame. Additionally, he and his partner Mike Hughes were named as the Outstanding Industrialists of the Year in 2000.

Adams has served on the boards of The United Way, the American Cancer Society, the Salvation Army, Virginia Historical Society, and the Boy Scouts of America. He now serves as a trustee for the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and serves on the Board of Visitors for Longwood University. Adams lectures on marketing and business issues throughout the United States.

About DMA07 Conference & Exhibition

DMA07, the largest gathering of direct marketing professionals, is DMA’s annual conference and exhibition. DMA07, which will be held October 13-18 in at Chicago’s McCormick Place West, 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. To register or for additional information on the six-day multichannel marketing event of the year, please visit www.dma07.org or call 1.800.293.7279 or 330.425.9330.

About Direct Marketing Association (DMA)

The Direct Marketing Association (DMA) (www.the-dma.org) is the leading global trade association for business and nonprofit organizations that use and support multichannel direct marketing tools and techniques. DMA advocates standards for responsible marketing, promotes relevance as the key to reaching consumers with desirable and appropriate offers, and provides cutting-edge research, education, and networking opportunities to improve results throughout the end-to-end direct marketing process.

Founded in 1917, DMA today represents more than 3,600 companies from dozens of vertical industries in the US and 50 other nations, including a majority of the Fortune 100 companies, as well as nonprofit organizations.

In 2006, marketers — commercial and nonprofit — spent $166.5 billion on direct marketing in the United States. Measured against total US sales, these advertising expenditures generated $1.93 trillion in incremental sales. Last year, direct marketing accounted for 10.3 percent of total US gross domestic product (GDP). Today, there are 1.7 million direct marketing employees in the US alone, whose collective sales efforts directly support 8.8 million other jobs. That accounts for 10.5 million US jobs.

The Power of Direct: Relevance. Responsibility. Results.

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