This week I will be attending Kelsey Group’s 30th Yellow Pages Conference called Directional Media Strategies. This year’s conference is held at the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress in Orlando, Florida. I will be staying at the Sheraton Safari Hotel and Suites. I have had the opportunity with Yellow Pages Group, representing YellowPages.ca, to have attended all the Kelsey Conferences since 2006. During that time I have formed some incredible relationships, both business and personal. I am looking forward to this particular conference for the following:
1) The mood in the Yellow Pages industry is changing and changing positively. Towards the end of 2006 and 2007 the mood at these conferences was more doom and gloom as opposed to positive. However, since the Interactive Local Media conference in 2008 (this year it is held in December in Los Angeles) and the conference earlier this year, the mood in the industry seems to have shifted. There is lots of innovation happening and the future of local search is very exciting as IYP’s look to evolve to the growing demands of consumers.
2) Some very exciting panels this year. My experience with the Directional Media Strategies conference is that of the three conferences held per year, this tends to be the one that is least exciting. However, this year is shaping up to be different and I am very much looking forward to this conference. Sessions I am looking forward to include; Global Yellow Pages: A Prescription for Future Success, The Yellow Pages App Store: Securing a Mobile Future for Yellow Pages, Vertical Case Studies: Lessons for Yellow Pages Publishers, Mobile Search & Yellow Pages: The Business Model, and Print Yellow Pages 2013: Critical Changes to the Core Product and Video — Evolving a Must-Have Offering to name a few.
As always my conference will be extremely busy with sessions, meeting with potential partners and entertaining. Best way to contact me during the conference is through my LinkedIn Profle or send me a comment on my blog.