Battling the Fear Economy

Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, Nov, 2001 by Joe Hagan, Jillian Ambroz

Others are looking at videoconferencing technology as an alternative to sales meetings. For larger business conferences, Yahoo recently rolled out some new conference services that use multiple windows on the computer screen, allowing users to view Power Point slides, agenda information, biographical information about the speakers and other materials they might otherwise view in person. Yahoo sells the conferences in blocks of five, each offering eight hours of streamed media for up to 1,ooo people, for $350,000.

As for the longevity of the psychological fallout, Gardy says companies can expect the effect on people's work lives to last three months. After that, he says, employees who still seem to suffer should be referred to a professional counselor. Ultimately, he thinks that companies can expect longer-term effects to begin showing up six months from now, when deeper issues will emerge. "It's very, very difficult to measure," he says. "We try to make it a science, but it's not. We don't know, long term, what we're looking at. Nobody knows the long-term impact."

KEEPING THE SHOW ON THE ROAD

FILLING SEATS AT CONFERENCES ISN'T EASY IN THE WAKE OF SEPTEMBER'S TERRORIST ATTACKS. BUT HERE ARE SIX MARKETING MANEUVERS THAT JUST MIGHT HELP. BY SUSAN THEA POSNOCK

Free airfare anyone? Looking for a great deal on luxury hotel accommodations? The trade show industry is using some enticing tactics to lure attendees back into convention centers in the aftermath of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The Direct Marketing Association went so far as to dangle free air or train fare with every new registration to its 84th Annual Conference & Exhibition in Chicago. It even volunteered a rebate on the $I,500 price of admission if attendees don't "improve their bottom line by ro times the cost of the registration fee."

Of course, most publishing events can't afford quite as big a carrot. So while that show is bringing its audience in, the Magazine Publishers of America (MPA) and the American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME) will take its show to its audience. Originally scheduled for Phoenix, from October 2I to 24, the American Magazine Conference was moved to New York City in order to kickstart the registrations that all but stopped after September II. The NYC location also helped stem cancellations, says Nina Link, president and CEO of the MPA. "Everyone was feeling really challenged about being away for three days," she says.

Plus, the move preserved AMC's all-star lineup. At press time, headliners Oprah Winfrey, Jack Welch, Jerry Levin and Martha Stewart were all still on the speaker list.

For those publishers who couldn't move or reschedule their fall shows in the weeks after the attacks, collecting cancellation insurance may be the only option. But others, anxious to hold on to much-needed Expo earnings, are determined that the show go on. If that's your approach, the following pointers may help you coax your audience back into travel.

1. PUMP UP DIRECT MARKETING PROMOTION. Money may be tight, but this is not the time to be frugal with the marketing budget. People are going to need more persuading than ever, so pour on the promotion, says industry consultant Michael Hough. "You have to say to people, 'Don't stay home."'