A High-Rise Start to 2012…

3/1/2012

Set at the top of The Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, high above the flurry of tourists & the bustle of The Strip, the iconic Foundation Room was host to the year’s first Las Vegas Interactive Marketing Association mixer. As expected, when you gather Las Vegas’ finest internet experts, marketing mavens, and social gurus together, the sheer volume flooding the Vegas Twittersphere was astounding. Add wristbands for complimentary open bar, and the tweets get even more compelling!

The Kickoff Mixer was like a two-sided coin; On the one side, it was awesome. It’s always enjoyable to see familiar faces from dear friends you know & love. On the other side of the coin, it was extra awesome. Being able to put names to faces I’ve never met “IRL” is always a joy and finally shortens the emotional distance you experience when you’ve only emailed someone in the past. (To catch anyone up, “IRL” is In Real Life. You should get a Twitter account.)

While in attendance of the Kickoff Mixer, members who tweeted us @LVIMA were entered to win an iPad 2 that was generously donated by our sponsor Think RealTime and a Roku player thanks to YuMe. Our lucky members Natalie Glover and Jay Fenster walked away one tech gadget richer that night and we hope they’re enjoying them. Let’s take a moment to have our eyes run over the fabulous sponsors below, as it is because of them that LVIMA is possible.

Last Thursday also commemorated LVIMA”s first official get-together under a new executive board. Now, I assure you, if you were in attendance of last week’s mixer and had as good of a time as I did, this year’s event schedule should grab your attention. A set of educational sessions, networking events, forums, Digital World Expo, and additional mixers should be on your “OMG Totally Looking Forward To” list…everyone has those, right? There will be no shortage of marketing geekery and Internet savvy at your disposal at LVIMA events this year, so be prepared for your attendance to pay off in valuable interactive marketing acumen. Check out the events page to make sure you save the dates when you can reconnect with your LVIMA friends again!

We really appreciate your membership to LVIMA, and the executive board truly cares about our members’ interests, opportunities and continual education. That’s why I cannot stress enough that 2012 is going to be LVIMA’s best year ever. A full workforce of leaders is actively developing a year’s worth of events to keep you informed, excited and participating in the Las Vegas Interactive Marketing industry. If it’s good enough for Hugh Grant, it’s good enough for me.

– B

[nggallery id=7]