July 25, 2007

Blogging CTAM: Barriers to Entry

On the Circuit: Seth Arenstein at the CTAM Summit

Washington, D.C. — Back on the soapbox, ranting about, well, commenting upon, the CTAM Corporate Fund Members-Only Sessions at Summit. The ones that are off limits to the press and anyone else who’s not a Corporate Fund Member (see Day 1 Blog).

Just when we thought our temperature was cooling off (no thanks to the D.C. weather, which is returning to form with high temps and humidity), we got a look at the Day 3 program featuring the Case Studies in On Demand Marketing session.

That 2:30pm panel is, you guessed it, one that bars some attendees from entering, including members of the press. CTAM wants to reward big givers with a bit more value at Summit—that’s seems a bit elitist at an educational forum, but OK, we can live with that.

What roasted our chestnuts about this particular panel was that it was off limits to only certain segments of the press. Television Week, another trade publication and a co-sponsor of the session, will be allowed to enter. And this publication also supplied a member of its editorial staff as the moderator. Apparently if you co-sponsor a session at an otherwise public educational forum, you’re entitled to call the shots. We understand this, but we don’t have to like it.

To be fair, give CTAM its due. Summit ’07’s panel sessions—those we were allowed to enter—were strong. Presentations were direct, informative and, at times, fun. Many of the topics applied directly to Summit’s motto of “power to the people.” Just not all the people, all the time.   

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