Symposium East 2011 Recap

 On June 28th, 2011 LinkShare held its annual Symposium East! Thank you to everyone who attended and contributed to the high energy, great conversations, and overall excitement.  Symposium East 2011 changed venues this year and took place at The Waldorf Astoria. The day kicked off at 9am with a welcome from LinkShare’s CEO, Yaz Iida. Mr. Iida was followed by our Executive Panel! LinkShare’s Vice Presidents were introduced to all of the attendees to speak about what they thought was Now, New, and Next in our industry.

Following Executive Remarks we jumped into the keynote sessions of the day. First, Vikram Sehgal spoke about the forecast for online retail and how it’s projected 10% over the next five years.  Next up was Stuart Diamond to explain his theory on how to the best negotiator in life and at work—just in time for DealMaker!  

 Before anyone could catch their breath- it was time for the Golden Link Awards! Over 600 attendees entered the Grand Ballroom to see the stage lit up to celebrate the soon to be winners of the Awards. Upright Citizens Brigade MC’d the event and kicked off the show before we announced the best and the brightest in Performance Marketing for 2011. See a final list of the winners here. 

 Next up all guests went across the hall to DealMaker. This year we had over 40 tables with a strong representation of both Advertisers and Publishers. While 600 people weaved their way to meet new and existing clients others sat in various meeting rooms working out deals and future projects. ShopatHome sponsored the open bar for the second half of the afternoon and before we knew it- the day was over!

 To celebrate the end of a successful and productive conference, 400 attendees met at Inside Park at St. Barts. It was an open terrace that was surrounded by lit up sky scrapers for a very authentic New York City Summer Evening. 

What people are saying:
"The high energy event of the season!  Business people doing business not just sitting around listening to speeches.  I got half a dozen actionable ideas that will generate additional sales, a great return on investment”.  --John Ridgway , EVP Sales & Marketing, The Shelburne Company

“Thank you Link Share for providing us with an amazing networking opportunity. The business we conducted at the event was priceless. Each year the event gets better and better”.- Nancy Lee, President, MyRegistry.com

We hope to see you next year!