Courier Weekend 2003 at the Downtown Marriott in Philadelphia - September 12-14, 2003 - may well prove to be the most beneficial conference you’ve ever attended. If your delivery firm has suffered from the recent depressed economy - or is just ready to kick it up a notch - our Marketing Magic’s focus is just what you need to boost business, motivate yourself and your staff and set your sights on a business boon!
Marketing is a tool that should educate prospective clients and compel them to respond. Large or small, your company needs a multi-faceted marketing strategy. Come to Courier Weekend 2003 and discover the vital elements of marketing from experts in the field. We have so many components to cover with this exciting topic, you’ll have to bring others from your company to cover every seminar!
Please join us on Friday, September 12, at the
opening reception from 6-7:30pm in the exhibit hall. Meet the vendors,
as well as old and new friends! Registration begins at 4:30pm outside
the exhibit hall.
On Saturday, the exhibit hall opens with a continental
breakfast at 8am. Seminars begin with the Keynote Address at 9am
and continue until 5pm (see the seminar descriptions below), with time
for delicious lunch and a quick snack break, both in the exhibit hall.
From 5-6:30pm, another reception in the exhibit hall will bring Saturday's
event to a close.
The exhibit hall opens at 9am on Sunday, with
coffee and tea. A special, eye-opening and
unprecedented state-of-the-industry event is scheduled for Sunday morning,
followed by a deluxe brunch. Courier Weekend 2003 concludes at noon.
1:00-5:00pm: Showcase Site Tours
2:00-5:00pm: Exhibitor Set-Up
3:00-4:00pm: Editorial Advisory Board Meeting
4:30-7:00pm: Registration
7:00-8:30pm: Welcome Reception, Exposition & Networking
Saturday, September 13, 2003
8:00-10:00am: Registration
8:00-9:00am: Continental Breakfast
8:00a-7:00pm: Exposition Open
9:00-9:15am: Welcome and Presentation of
Courier Magazine's 2003 Mercury Award
Keynote Address
9:15-9:45am
Award-winning marketing professional Julie Liedman will tell you
how to steer your marketing efforts toward growth and prosperity.
“Marketing comes in many forms, and the old rules don’t apply any more,” notes Courier Weekend’s keynote speaker. “Even if you are the biggest or best in your field, no one will know the story of your business, its products and its services … unless you tell them. With a little imagination - and a lot of drive - you can convey the messages and images you want to the people who need to receive them.”
Julie Liedman is the principal of The Write Stuff,
a full-service communications and desktop publishing company in Philadelphia.
Before founding the company in 1997, she was editor in chief of Business
Philadelphia magazine. She was named a 2000 Woman of Distinction by the
Philadelphia Business Journal, the Forum of Executive Women and the National
Association of Women Business Owners. Among her many professional
awards is the 2002 Apex Award for Publication Excellence.
9:45-10:45am
The Art of Schmoozing!
Networking is one of the most important reasons to attend any conference
and Courier Weekend affords many opportunities for making valuable
industry contacts, while exchanging business cards and strategies.
But what about networking in your hometown? Claudia Post (Diamond
Transportation Group; Philadelphia, PA) explains the importance of making
contacts to market your business and shows how to “schmooze” your business
to success.
Breakout
Session I
11:00a-12:00pm
Yellow Pages Advertising
Print and on-line
Yellow Page directories can help attract and retain new customers.
Learn from Verizon Information Systems advertising expert Paula Hynes how
to make this important form of advertising pay off for your courier company
- while you save money in the process!
Promotional Products in the Marketing
Mix
The garments and T-shirts
your drivers wear ... the signage and graphics displayed on your vehicles
... the premiums, incentives and specialty items you give to customers
and business prospects should be major tools in your advertising arsenal.
Learn how to add marketing muscle, promotional punch and pizzazz
to your media mix in this powerful seminar! Speakers Vince Cahill
and his wife, Claire Hunter, wear many hats: Principals in The Colorworks,
their company produces T-shirts, garments, exhibits, decals, banners, signage,
promotional products and advertising specialties. As president of
VCE Solutions, Vince also provides consulting services to Fortune 500 and
other companies operating in the analog and digital industries.
12:00-1:30pm
Breakout Session II
1:30-2:30pm
Marketing 101—Making Money—Not Deliveries
Are your ICs looking to do less work ... for more money? Are your
customers willing to give you more work — if you give them a "better deal?"
What's a courier company executive to do if he or she wants to grow
the business? This interactive seminar with Steve Zinck (All Canadian
Courier Corporation; Toronto, Canada) and Keith Kirk (Eveready Express;
East Rutherford, NJ) will show you how to inject business into your
courier company.
Business to Business Telemarketing
Gerry Sulc (LA Express; Los Angeles,
CA) will boost telemarketing as he explains how it can keep you in touch
with your clients and enable you to pitch six to eight clients per hour!
Gerry explains how you will get results within 6-8 weeks … even if you
don’t close a sale with the initial phone call.
2:30-3:00pm
Breakout Session III
3:00-4:00pm
Internet Marketing
Learn the tricks of Internet marketing from Lewis Yildirimturk
(Affordable Web Design, Inc.; Manassas, VA). He will reveal the
secrets of making the Internet work for you … and the benefits your courier
company can reap.
Making News for Your Company
In addition to publishing Courier Magazine, Bruce Joffe
is a professor of communications at George Mason University and heads
a full-service public relations firm. Bruce will reveal the elements
of a newsworthy press release and review dozens of opportunities for getting
valuable news coverage for your business. “The best part of publicity
is that it’s free,” he says. “All it takes is knowing what news directors
are looking for and then providing them with the information in a format
they can use.”
4:15-5:15pm
Marketing Techniques that Work!
Bringing together
all the best techniques that have worked within their companies, our dynamic panel will share case studies of
successful marketing strategies that worked
for their courier companies. Denise Buchman (Maryland Messenger; Baltimore, MD) will lead the panel, accompanied
by Larry Schwartz (Baron Messenger; Miami,
FL), Bruce Ross (ExpressAir Messenger; Costa Mesa, CA) and Cary Ehlers (Bonded Messenger Service; Milwaukee, WI).
Reception & Networking
5:15-7:00pm
9:00a-12:00pm: Exposition Open
9:30-10:30am: Special State-of-the-Industry Program
10:30a-12:00pm: Deluxe Brunch & Networking
12:00pm: Courier Weekend 2003 Conference Concludes
Seminar times are tentative and may be subject to change. Please check back again for the latest information about our programs.
Football Fans
The Philadelphia Eagles host the New England Patriots at the new Lincoln Financial Field at 4:15pm on Sunday, September 14. Lincoln Financial Field is minutes from downtown Philadelphia, via I-95 South. You'll have plenty of time to participate in Courier Weekend's Sunday morning events before heading off to the game.