Expo Hall Reverberates With Deals and Excitement
Expo Hall Reverberates With Deals and Excitement
By Thomas Haire 
SAN DIEGO, With more than 3,300 attendees, Response Expo’s show floor was the center of the action during the event at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront on April 29-May 1. Attendees mixed and mingled for two days in the Expo Hall, which featured a bevy of prominent booths including those of Thill Logistics and Dial800, as well as the new Masters of the Digital Universe Pavilion, sponsored by Manatt Phelps & Phillips. For the fourth straight year, the New Product Pavilion showcased soon-to-be successes as well as top DR hits, while three networking lounges on or near the show floor helped fuel traffic.
‚“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.”
The New Product Pavilion, powered by Top Dog Direct and located in the center of the tradeshow floor, saw a substantial amount of foot traffic, as did the Bloody Mary Bar and Coffee Bar (presented by Litle & Co. and Response), which offered complimentary coffee and bloody marys to attendees.
Just outside the Expo Hall on the Sapphire Patio, LifeBrands, Rovi, O’Currance and West Direct sponsored the Beer and Wine Garden, which featured food for purchase, as well as complimentary beer and wine. And on Wednesday, April 29, All-Access Badge holders were treated to a complimentary lunch, courtesy of Applied Perceptions.
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.
‚“It was great to see the agency/network community in full force at the Hilton this year, it was the buzz of the show,” says Tim Silvia, director of sales, direct response, for New York-based Comcast Media 360. ‚“From our point of view, the proximity of attendees allowed for many unplanned yet productive meetings.”
Adds Brian Norris, director of national advertising sales for DISH Network in New York, ‚“Response Expo was one of the best yet this year. So many on my team commented on how well run the event was. We were thrilled to be at the Hilton this year and are committed to doing the majority of our meetings there in coming years.”
