Electronic Retailer - October 2012 - 8

YOUR ASSOCIATION, YOUR BOTTOM LINE

BY JULIE COONS

An Industry Comes Together

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The Electronic Retailing Association (ERA) had quite an eventful summer, especially for our government affairs team. Those of you who have been following the developments in the Streamlined Sales Tax battle know that state tax collectors and their big box retailer allies have poured $10 million into a campaign trying to force you to collect sales tax on purchases in states where you do not have a physical presence. However, ERA and many of our members’ ongoing and steadfast lobbying efforts successfully thwarted the big box retailers’ intense summer legislative campaign. Members of Congress championing this legislation have indicated that they plan on pushing for passage again this year. It is our understanding that this effort will begin again in earnest during the lame duck session of Congress after the elections in November. As currently written, this legislation is unacceptable and would place a significant burden on ERA’s membership. In order to get our side of the story out, ERA along with the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), American Mail Catalogers Association (AMCA) and Netchoice launched a coalition, called TruST (True Simplification of Taxation), which can be found at truesimplification.org. This online resource center enables anyone interested in learning more about this issue to sign up for updates, find us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter. TruST provides a collective industry position on the minimum changes needed before a national online sales tax regime should even be considered. Advocacy, however, wasn’t the only item on the agenda this past summer. Last month, ERA closed the book on another successful D2C Convention in Las Vegas. During the three-day event, we hosted nearly 3,500 attendees and 170 exhibitors and sponsors. We kicked off your three-day conference on Tuesday, September 11, with a full day devoted to education. More than 75 industry thought leaders, representing 15 different sessions, addressed some of today’s most challenging issues – from learning how to produce a high-quality

DRTV campaign on a limited budget, to understanding the mobile roadmap that will drive DR sales. The first day ended on a high note with the Keynote Presentation by Jamie Naughton, speaker of the house at Zappos.com. She shared great insight into the Zappos.com company philosophy. According to Naughton, the key to building a successful brand is understanding how to effectively deliver happiness to both your employees and customers. The Keynote was followed by the always packed D2C opening reception, where the industry’s leadership mingled with familiar colleagues and exchanged business cards with new faces. On Wednesday and Thursday, there was plenty of action taking place on the D2C show floor. Exhibitors highlighted the latest DR products on the market, while others selected the conference to announce important company news, including product launches. Once again, the D2C show floor was packed with attendees doing business, attending the many networking events on the floor, having lunch with colleagues, listening to education sessions and seeing what the many inventors who attend D2C have to offer this year. What better way to top off this year’s D2C Convention than with our star-studded Moxie Awards Gala? ERA rolled out the blue carpet as guests, dressed in their evening best, gathered to enjoy dinner and applaud this year’s award winners. Two notable highlights of the evening were the Lifetime Achievement Award presented to Kevin Harrington, chairman and founder of As Seen on TV, Inc., and the DR Icon Award presented to celebrity talk show host Montel Williams. Thank you to the ERA Moxie Awards Committee and congratulations to all the winners! It was an amazing night! On a personal note, thank you to the ERA Board of Directors, D2C attendees, exhibitors, sponsors and partners for making the 2012 ERA D2C Convention another great success. And, be sure to mark your calendars for the 2013 ERA Convention, which will take place September 24-26, again at the Wynn Las Vegas.

Last month, ERA closed the book on another successful D2C Convention in Las Vegas. During the three-day event, we hosted nearly 3,500 attendees and 170 exhibitors and sponsors.

electronicRETAILER | October 2012

Electronic Retailer - October 2012

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