Concepts TV Production wins a GOLD CINDY Award in the recent International CINDY Competition for MaxiClimber!
Concepts TV Productions wins a GOLD CINDY Award in the recent International CINDY Competition for MaxiClimber!
Industry pioneer will be honored on September 18 during the Moxie Awards Gala at the Wynn Las Vegas.
WASHINGTON, D.C., June 10, 2014, The Electronic Retailing Association (ERA) announced that Collette Liantonio, president of Concepts TV Productions, will be honored with the esteemed 2014 ERA Lifetime Achievement Award. She will be recognized during a special presentation at the Moxie Awards Gala on Thursday, September 18, 2014, 7:00 p.m. 9:30 p.m., at the 2014 ERA D2C Convention at the Wynn Hotel, Las Vegas.
The Lifetime Achievement Award is awarded to a deserving member whose work has had a visible impact on the industry and has been acknowledged as doing so by other colleagues in the industry and the public at large. Liantonio will join past honorees: Jeffrey Knowles, Kevin Harrington, Katie Williams, Billy Mays, Earl Greenburg, Rob Woodrooffe, Tim Hawthorne, Greg Renker, Joe Segal, Suzanne Somers, Mike Levey and Ron Popeil.
‚“Collette Liantonio is an innovator in every sense of the word. She has not only helped to elevate direct response marketing through her creative contributions, but as a highly successful entrepreneur and thought leader, she has helped pave the way for women to grow and prosper in this industry. We are proud to name Collette as this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award recipient,” says ERA President and CEO Julie Coons.
‚“I am honored and humbled to be this year’s recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award,” says Liantonio. ‚“As a pioneer of this industry, it has been a great privilege to be a part of the DRTV revolution, and to work with so many talented clients and vendors whom I now view as family. I am proud of our history and excited for our future.”
A native of Brooklyn, New York, Collette Liantonio earned her BA in English from Fordham University and her MA in Directing from New York University. Liantonio also attended Harvard University’s Owner/President Management Program. She is a licensed speech and dramatic arts coach, experienced in all aspects of public speaking and directing. After launching Concepts TV in 1983, many of her direct response commercials and infomercials became advertising legends, such as Ambervision Sunglasses, Topsy Tail, The Abdominizer, Bedazzler, Pajama Jeans, Contour Pillow, and The George Foreman Grill. Concepts TV is the recipient of more than 150 awards. Her infomercials have featured Montel Williams, Joe Namath, Jim Cramer, Wayne Gretsky, Arnold Palmer, George Foreman, Fabio, and dozens of other celebrities.
Recognized as ‚“One of the 25 Most Influential People in DRTV,” Liantonio was ranked one of the Top 150 Leading Women Entrepreneurs by New Jersey Monthly. In 2013, her company was ranked as one of the nation’s 500 leading entrepreneurial companies by DiversityBusiness.com. Liantonio was honored by the Girl Scouts of Northern New Jersey as one of their Women of Achievement in 2014. She serves on the Editorial Advisory Committee for Electronic Retailer magazine, and has served twice on the Electronic Retailing Association’s Board of Directors.
She is also a member of the Women Presidents’ Organization, the Woman’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) and the Women-Owned Business Enterprise for New York City (WBE).
For more information about the Moxie Awards Gala or to purchase tickets, please visit http://www.retailing.org/moxies/.
About the Moxie Awards
The ERA Moxie Awards Gala is direct response marketing’s premier celebration, honoring the best campaigns of the year. Moxie's famous posh blue carpet will welcome guests for a grand entrance. The Gala features live music, exceptional dinner and superb company. For more information, visit http://www.retailing.org/moxies/.
About the 2014 ERA D2C Convention
The Electronic Retailing Association’s 2014 ERA D2C Convention is the 21st annual show where the industry’s top technology innovators, manufacturers, buyers and marketers meet to learn about the hottest trends in the direct-to-consumer marketplace and meet with partners and potential customers to seal critical business relationships. The event will feature nearly 4,000 attendees and 120 exhibitors, a variety of education sessions on industry-related topics and expansive networking opportunities, as well as a wide variety of events on the tradeshow floor. For more information, please visit http://www.retailing.org/d2c/.
About the Electronic Retailing Association
Representing a more than $350 billion market, the Electronic Retailing Association (ERA) is the only trade association in the U.S. and internationally that represents leaders of the direct-to-consumer marketplace, which includes members that maximize revenues through electronic retailing on television, online and on radio. ERA strives to protect the regulatory and legislative climate of direct response, while ensuring a favorable landscape that enhances e-retailers’ ability to bring quality products and services to the consumer. For more information about ERA, please visit www.retailing.org.
The Kick-off Party, sponsored by Lockard & Wechsler Direct and hosted at the rooftop lounge of San Diego’s swanky Hotel Andaz on April 28, started the week’s networking opportunities. It was the third annual ‚“party before the show,” and led nicely into the next morning’s sold-out golf tournament, which featured breakfast, on-course beverages, fun and games at various holes, and an awards lunch. Golf attendees also showed off their charitable sides, kicking off the Expo’s push to promote Someone Cares, a San Diego-based charity that provides support for the homeless. By the end of the show, Expo attendees had donated more than $2,000 to the cause.
Following the Keynote Address, All-Access Badge holders enjoyed the Opening Night Party in the Sapphire Foyer and Terrace of the Hilton San Diego Bayfront. On April 30, attendees were treated to a first-class time at the Venable Justice League Party. Later in the evening, All-Access Badge holders became true networking superheroes during the poolside Masked Marvels Celebration, sponsored by Imagine Fulfillment Services (IFS) and Icon Media Direct.
‚“It was another fabulous Response Expo,” says Mark Sullivan, vice president of direct response and paid programming for Viacom Media Networks. ‚“From Viacom’s perspective, it may have been our best one yet!”
‚“We are on our way to closing a sale with a prospective client I’ve been calling on for more than 20 years,” says Collette Liantonio, president of Boonton, N.J.-based Concepts TV Productions and a 2014 DR Hall of Fame inductee. ‚“He’s nearby us in Edison, N.J., but he’s always stuck with radio until we met again in San Diego. We do great business at Response Expo.”
At the same time, the Invention Home Inventor Pavilion welcomed the creators behind more than 70 new products looking for one shot at DR success, driving plenty of visitors to their end of the Expo Hall.
With a number of major TV and cable network groups setting up shop inside the Hilton, from the ground-level pool area through the second-level lobby bar and all the way up to the Expo level on the fourth floor, a palpable vibe permeated the Hilton, no matter where you looked.
‚“You have to become a chief connection officer,” Billick said during a 60-minute presentation including a wide-open Q&A session. ‚“Remember, people don’t care what you think until they know you care.”
Steve Netzley, CEO of Carlsbad, Calif.-based Havas Edge, which sponsored the keynote, says, ‚“As with the keynote speakers from past Expos, Coach Billick’s lesson about how he was able to build a successful organization and culture was insightful. I’m proud to have been a part of bringing another wonderful presenter to Expo attendees.”
The week’s nine educational sessions, which drew more than 550 attendees on April 30-May 1, mixed top marketers, including the Direct Response Marketing Alliance’s 2013 Marketer of the Year finalists themselves, and the key TV network partners who help drive direct response campaigns. Two of those network sessions, one featuring representatives from Viacom Media Networks, Turner Broadcasting, A&E Television Networks and Discovery Communications and another with speakers from DISH Network, DirecTV and Comcast 360, saw standing-room only crowds.
On May 1, a panel made up of six of the inductees to the Direct Response Hall of Fame shared the wisdom of decades of success with a lucky group of attendees in the panel session. At the ceremony itself, the sextet, Chickie Bucco, Tim Hawthorne, AJ Khubani, Collette Liantonio, Tony Little and Katie Williams, was joined by fellow inductees Gary and Mary West and Suzanne Somers. Billy Mays, who passed away in 2009, was saluted with both a moment of silence and a warm round of applause.
‚“Response Expo was awesome,” says Kevin Lyons, CEO & founder of Opportunity Media in Huntington, N.Y. ‚“Billick’s keynote speech was excellent, and the DR Hall of Fame event was spectacular.”