For the first time this year, The Great Ideas Summit is moving out of Miami Beach. But direct response marketers looking for a midwinter escape need not despair—ERA’s annual conference is headed to sunny, subtropical Orlando, Fla., Feb. 22-24, 2016.

The Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress Resort will host this year’s Summit. Situated on more than 1,500 acres, the luxury hotel is a tiny slice of paradise, with four bars, two pools with 12 waterfalls, a racquet club, four golf courses, a spa, and more. It also offers spectacular meeting facilities where DR marketers can meet, learn, and conduct business.

The Great Ideas Summit is where decision-makers go to share best practices, close deals, and implement new strategies. More than 800 people are expected to attend, and 60 percent will be senior-level executives. Almost one-third (32 percent) will arrive in Orlando from other countries, and 59 percent of them from Europe. The Great Ideas Summit also attracts some of the brightest new minds in DR, with 21 percent of 2014’s attendees first-timers.

“We always look forward to being part of The Great Ideas Summit,” says Steve Heroux, CEO and president of Hampton Direct, Inc. “It is always a great opportunity to meet all of our key third-party partners, as well as our international marketing partners from around the world. And what a great event to develop new partnerships!”

Learn from the Best

ERA will offer six Masters Series sessions during the show, each an in-depth examination of a topic crucial to DR marketing success today, including omnichannel marketing, the membership economy mobile marketing, claims substantiation, industry advocacy and more.

First up on Tuesday, Feb. 23, “Manage Product Reviews to Listen to the Voice of the Consumer.” Session moderator and DNA Response CEO Ranjit Mulgaonkar and seasoned marketing experts John Bonfield (Direct Holdings Global), Lindsey Carnett (Marketing Maven), Andrew Farrar (HandsOn Consulting, LLC), and Shail Prasad (TeleBrands) will address how product companies can implement effective review management strategies to better engage consumers and protect brand reputation.

Next is “Mobile vs. Desktop Advertising: Cost, Reach and ROI” with Bob Buch, CEO of the ad platform Manifest. In spite of fast growth in traffic, mobile lags in terms of ad spend, and Buch will offer case studies, data, and metrics showing how mobile can deliver.

Following the keynote, Randal Shaheen (Venable LLP) and Ivan Wasserman (Manatt) will convene to offer “Matching Claims to the Evidence: Brainstorming With the Experts.” Along with best-practice advice, the panel will invite attendees to present actual product claims to help prevent their campaigns from being called into question by regulators.

Closing out the afternoon is “The Membership Economy and Direct Response,” a one-hour session led by Robbie Kellman Baxter of Peninsula Strategies. What does all of the membership economy mean for direct-to-consumer companies? Kellman Baxter will explore this question in an engaging, lively presentation. Attendees will learn how to acquire new customers for free by harnessing the power of superusers, apply membership principles to build loyalty and engagement, and much more.

On Wednesday, Feb. 24, the education continues with “Multi-Touch Attribution Insights for Digital Marketing.” Adrian Vender of Internet Marketing, Inc., will explore best practices using Google Analytics and Convertro multi-touch attribution technology to uncover important insights across the entire digital customer lifecycle on your website.

And rounding out the show is “How to Use Conversion Rate Testing to Grow Your Revenue and Profits.” During this one-hour session Keith Lovgren of DataInclusion.com will show attendees which tools they should use, the most common mistakes and how to easily avoid them, how to build out a testing roadmap, and how to measure success.

Hit the Links

Orlando isn’t only the home of Disney World; it’s also one of the world’s premier golf destinations. Immediately ahead of The Great Ideas Summit on Monday, Feb. 22, ERA invites attendees to participate in a golf tournament at the new Grand Cypress Golf Club, an 18-hole course reminiscent of Scotland’s St. Andrews. The tournament starts at 7:30 a.m. and space is limited; members can take advantage of special pricing of $149 per person, or $475 for a foursome.

The fun doesn’t stop there. The Hyatt Grand Cypress offers lots of outdoor activities, and ERA’s Membership Director, Jim Perrus, will lead morning runs each day of the show. ERA will also host cocktail parties on Monday and Tuesday nights with light appetizers and good company.

Join ERA in sunny Florida this year, and make the deals that will make your business. For more information and reservations, visit www.retailing.org/greatideas.

Great Ideas at a Glance