Electronic Retailer - July 2011 - 8

YOUR ASSOCIATION, YOUR BOTTOM LINE

BY JULIE COONS

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electronicRETAILER | July 2011

The Power of an Idea
Master inventor Thomas Edison once said, “I have far more respect for the person with a single idea who gets there than for the person with a thousand ideas who does nothing.” Those words of wisdom are far more poignant today than one might realize. During tough economic times, people are less likely to take risks. They may have a myriad of ideas and aspirations, but they choose to play it safe and sit idle until the tide turns. Luckily for our industry, creative thought is not derailed by a challenging economic climate, but driven by the simple need to invent. After all, where would we be if we didn’t have innovative thinkers who acted on their one idea? And most importantly, where would we be as an industry if we didn’t believe in the people who dared to go the distance with their one idea and pursued it without hesitation – nor fear of failure? That’s precisely why the Electronic Retailing Association (ERA) has partnered again with InventHelp to present the InventHelp-INPEX New Product Showcase during the 2011 ERA D2C Convention. InventHelp is a leading U.S. inventor service firm that has been guiding inventors since 1984. In June, ERA launched the 2011 competition by hosting a panel of direct response experts at InventHelp’s INPEX Invention & New Product Exposition in Pittsburgh, Pa., to pre-qualify products that will be exhibited in the New Product Showcase at D2C. This renewed collaboration with InventHelp to host the New Product Showcase celebrates the entrepreneurial spirit by shining a spotlight on these talented inventors and demonstrating their innovative products to the D2C audience. The program enables inventors to present a twominute pitch about their products to top retailers, along with a panel of expert judges who will choose the Top 5 inventions. I strongly encourage those of you attending this year’s convention to stop by the InventHelp-INPEX New Product Showcase, which will take place in the Learning Lounge, Sept. 14-15.

I strongly encourage those of you attending this year’s convention to stop by the InventHelp-INPEX New Product Showcase, which will take place in the Learning Lounge, Sept. 14-15.
On Sept. 15, be sure to attend the “Pitch by the Pros” face-off, in which professionals will pitch each of those five products right on the Latour Ballroom Stage. That event will be followed by the “Inventor of the Year” presentation. Last year, inventor Chris Schutte received the coveted award for his product, The Steamie. I’m certain you’ll be impressed by this year’s array of products, and perhaps even inspired by the inventors themselves. If anything, it will remind us all how powerful a single idea can actually be.

Chris Schutte, “Inventor of the Year” for 2010, and Nicole Hait of InventHelp-INPEX at the 2010 New Product Showcase.

Electronic Retailer - July 2011

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