As I previously mentioned, I manage the marketing for two divisions in my company: USA and FPO. Both streamline back office operations and financial/accounting applications with business process solutions (centered around data capture), but FPO is freight-focused. The bulk of its services involve billing automation for LTL carriers. This week, I attended a meeting in Palm Desert, CA on behalf of FPO.
The event was the American Trucking Association‘s (ATA) 2013 Leadership Meeting. This is an opportunity for us to gain quality face time with our clients and their partners, who often have potential to be our partners as well (maybe even clients).
As an Allied Member of ATA, we have a strategic plan for exposure through a variety of the association’s events. As part of that plan, we sponsored a special luncheon featuring Stuart Rothenberg (Rothenberg Political Report) as a guest speaker. In addition to the typical sponsor recognition, a 1-page promotional flyer I created was placed on each of the chairs of the luncheon.
One of the best things about attending an event where my work is disseminated is gaining feedback from the recipients. As a semi-newbie to this company, I see opportunities like these as a chance to research the audience. The feedback I gained on this trip is consistent with Uncle Eddie’s request in Vegas Vacation: “Don’t go skimpy on me.” You see, part of the fun of copywriting is figuring out how to add enough meaning to your message while minimizing character count. My strive to be succinct overpowered ‘Messaging 101,’ and I simply left people confused. Lesson learned.
All in all, I think the event went well for us, not to mention Stu was a great selection as our guest speaker. He nailed it on the head when he described the audience as a “Fox crowd,” but he wasn’t afraid to touch on the inner-turmoil brewing within the Republican party. As a young conservative, I greatly appreciated him shedding light on that issue to several individuals who (how do I put it?) put the O in the GOP.
(Left to right: DDC FPO President Art Zipkin, President of ATA Former Governor Bill Graves, Stuart Rothernberg, DDC FPO VP of Sales Chad Crotty, Me)
The ATA is a solid group, and I admire their dedication. They care as much about the future health of the trucking industry as Jason Russell cares about saving the child soldiers of the LRA. It is nothing less than inspirational.
In addition, they are pretty darn good at picking out locations for their events. This meeting was held at the JW Marriott Desert Springs. It truly was an oasis, nestled between mountains, desert and gorgeous golfing green with palm trees piecing it all together.
One of my favorite moments was during the first night of the conference. After the opening reception, Art, Chad and I went to grab dinner at a waterfront restaurant (complete with firepits) called Rockwood Grill. While Art and Chad talked business, I took a mental break., watching the sunset and sipping on Rockwood’s in-house craft brew. Just then, the black swans swam past me, within an arm’s reach.
(Seriously – What resort restaurant do you know that has its own craft beer?)
No matter how gorgeous the resort was, however, I could not deny my inner explorer. For one afternoon I managed to sneak off on an Adventure Hummer tour of the San Andreas Fault and the Joshua Tree National Park.
There are plenty more where those came from, but I’ll spare you the scrolling. In summary: The desert is just as magical place as the top of Pike’s Peak or the shores of Cocoa Beach. Often it is overlooked as a barren wasteland, but sand and rocks can hold more excitement than one might think.
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