How to Throw a Party

Too much DMA madness! Too many parties, too many free drinks, too many people that you haven't seen for years that you need to catch up with. But, as always, there's a lesson to be learned :)

And, that is--make every dollar count.

So far this conference, we've had the pleasure of attending many parties thrown by the small and the large firms that we do business with. The common themes: generous open bars, nice settings, gracious people trying to facilitate business discussions or thank their customers/partners for business enjoyed throughout the year.

And, then we attended the party to end all parties! Hosted by Direct Group, they threw a shindig I'll never forget! We were greeted outside of the W Hotel lobby by gorgeous hosts and hostesses dressed in full evening get-up. It truly felt like red-carpet treatment. We were handed a martini immediately and personally escorted to the elevator and up to the penthouse ballroom where the party was held.

Once inside, the first person we saw (gasp) was Jerry Rice (you know -- the greatest wide-receiver ever)! He was there to sign autographs, dance a little, and generally be a cool guy to hang with. We had many pictures taken with this Super Bowl stud and we were promised an autographed football to be sent to us along with our photos. We then see the glittery dance floor, filled with silvery-dressed Dancing with the Stars types.

There was an awesome dessert buffet and a great bar. The Direct Group team went out of their way to greet and mingle with guests. Attention was paid to the detail, such as their logo burning in candles in the sand at the beach on the lake across the street from the W.

OK, so why am I gushing about this party. First off--JERRY RICE! No, seriously. This party stood out because they went the extra mile. Not just with expenses--all of those parties cost a pretty penny. It's just the attention to detail that they paid and the focus that was placed on each of the attendees to ensure that they had a fabulous time. All of this causes me to believe that this type of attention is also paid to each of their customer relationships. The perfect message for a DMA party.

Lesson learned: As you are setting your marketing budgets for 2008, keep an eye on how those important dollars are allocated. You can get a bigger bang out of each marketing dollar by focusing on the details of your marketing goals. By paying attention to the details, you will more than likely reach -- if not exceed -- your goals. This will make you look like a Superbowl Hero within your own company!

Kudos to Direct Group for providing us with the wonderful party -- and the valuable lesson!

Also, a shout out to our fellow blogging friend, Ron Shevlin, who invited us to his lovely party at Epsilon, too. Ron is just as witty and intelligent in person as he is on his Marketing ROI blog. Thanks Ron!