Looking Ahead To CETW This Week

November 4, 2013 by Dave Haynes

I have not been to CETW for a couple of years – mostly a scheduling thing that saw me somewhere else. But I am heading over to Buffalo tomorrow afternoon and down to JFK for two days at the trade show in New York.

I tend to go to DSE for the trade show floor and rarely get up into the education area. No time. CETW is smaller and I don’t tend know anywhere as many people, so there’s normally more time to park my butt and listen to some of the educational sessions.

Ones I hope to take in:

The opening keynote by the tech director at SXSW.

Session on how a high-end furniture retailer went multi-platform (can’t bring myself to use “omni-channel”)

Another one on customer retention that includes a VP from Mall of America, which does something like 400 events a year.

I should probably go to the one at 3:15 Wednesday they have me blabbering at … I’m probably going to focus on work Pat and I do with Lexus US.

There’s a guy from the Control Group talking design on Day 2. Cool company. Look ’em up.

And the Global VP for consumer engagement from Dunkin Donuts is talking in the afternoon on how they use utilizes a “myriad” of customer engagement technologies to drive traffic, business, engagement, and loyalty.

It’s a very different crowd from DSE on the show floor and there are all kinds of companies unfamiliar to me. I can’t get 20 feet at  DSE without ending up in a chat with someone, so it will be nice to wander a floor without worrying too much about getting stuck with people I’d just as happily dodge. On the other hand, I’ll probably have free time to catch up with people I DO want to spend time with.

If you are going and do want/need to meet and chat, let me know.