2007 MIMA Summit Attracts Record Attendance - Interactive Marketing Is No Longer a Side Show

Minneapolis, MN, November 1, 2007 – http://www.mima.org – The Minnesota Interactive Marketing Association (MIMA) received record attendance for its 5th Annual Summit with registration up by 82% from the previous year.

The Summit, sponsored by Larkin Hoffman Attorneys, was held on Oct. 3 and drew a total of 650 attendees, including interactive and marketing professionals, designers, strategists, and technical staff, as well as a tenured speaker line-up including Google, Yahoo, 37signals, ZAAZ and Pew Internet & American Life Project. Attendees delved into topics ranging from the convergence of online media to the latest developments in web analytics, email marketing and user experience design.

“This year’s Summit really made us realize how much interactive marketing is growing and how much MIMA has been a part of raising industry awareness,” said Kristina Halvorson, MIMA president. “As Google’s Jim Lecinski said in his presentation, digital is no longer a side show.”

According to a recent Forrester Research report, U.S. interactive marketing spending is expected to triple over the next five years, reaching $61 Billion by 2012. Interactive technologies are expected to infiltrate all media channels, dissolving the barriers between traditional and interactive marketing.

This integration was one of the key messages of the 2007 Summit. The “Let’s Talk” theme encouraged attendees to network and focus on the need for communication and a more integrated approach to marketing.

Attendees overwhelmingly said that the Summit was successful, with post-event surveys showing that 94 percent of attendees thought the Summit was “good” to “excellent.”

“That success extends beyond the Summit itself,” said Halvorson. “The discussions, the networking, and the education that went on during the Summit will ripple through the community. That collaboration is the ultimate measure of success for MIMA.”

Despite the growing need for interactive marketers to support emerging online strategies, the MIMA Summit is the only annual interactive marketing conference nationwide. Over the last five years, the MIMA Summit has become the premier interactive marketing event in the Midwest, attracting more industry attention each year.

For a complete list of speakers and sessions, visit http://summit.mima.org/07/. Podcasts of all the sessions are available online at http://www.mima.org/resources/articles.asp?articleID=52

MIMA hosts monthly educational events. Register for the next event, Web Analytics: Testing & Optimization on Nov. 14, 2007, at www.mima.org

About MIMA
Founded in 1998, the Minnesota Interactive Marketing Association (MIMA) is a networking and professional development forum for interactive marketing professionals. Members include professionals from all disciplines of design, media, promotions, content development, product development, publishing, marketing, usability and experience design. http://www.mima.org