NEW YORK -- The third annual XMPie Users Group Conference held in Las Vegas concluded on May 15 with high marks from attendees.  The highly interactive event drew print and marketing professionals, graphic artists and programmers for four days to learn more about XMPie's extensive range of products, as well as the latest trends and innovations in one-to-one communications.
 
"The fact that despite the challenging economic climate, XMPie users from around the globe gathered together again to explore innovative ways to grow their skills and expand their businesses should not be overlooked," said Greg Dean, president, XMPie Users Group. "This year's conference raised the bar for our annual event and the dynamic interaction among the presenters, attendees and sponsors far exceeded my expectations. Feedback from conference attendees was overwhelmingly positive, with many citing their plans to return to the conference year after year."
 
The conference featured presentations and roundtables, covering everything from the latest XMPie technology and capabilities, to one-to-one campaign best practices and current and emerging trends in a line-up of design, programming and marketing-focused sessions. It also featured a number of in-depth pre-conference tutorial sessions, which were attended by nearly 60 percent of conference attendees.
 
Jeff Stewart, chief technology officer, Trekk Cross-Media, delivered the keynote presentation which focused on social networks as the next frontier in personalized marketing. He pointed out how new and different technologies have historically been dismissed as irrelevant, yet have eventually made an enormous impact on society.
 
A presentation delivered by XMPie President Jacob Aizikowitz described the key role creative excellence plays in successful campaigns and how XMPie's technology and product philosophy enable highly creative variable data print and cross-media campaigns. One of Aizikowitz's key future-pointing messages focused on harnessing parallel processing and, eventually, cloud computing, allowing for dramatic speed gains in producing jobs' output streams.
 
Rounding out the conference was the presentation of the XMPie Users Group "Best of the Best" awards. The winning XMPie-driven campaigns were selected through peer voting. First place recognition went to Denver-based Faction Media for a fully integrated and personalized lead-generation campaign for tw telecom Inc., a leading provider of managed voice and data networking solutions. The campaign, which targeted enterprise-based IT decision makers, spanned traditional and online media, leveraged Google Pay-Per-Click advertising and featured customized text inside a video feed.
 
Prindoz of Bad Doberan, Germany received second place for its AIDA Cruises cross-media campaign designed to reach 140 managers within a six-hour time frame. The project for AIDA, a cruise brand of Carnival Corporation & plc, needed to be completed in just four days and encompassed data management and the creation and deployment of personalized print, Web and video communications.
 
Third place acknowledgment went to Centrica of North Ryde, New South Wales, Australia for a campaign designed to build awareness of the company's cross-media expertise and services among its current and prospective clients. Centrica's 'VIP Backstage Pass' themed campaign included a printed mail piece, personalized Web site and response mechanism.
 
"The groundbreaking projects showcased in the Best of the Best competition, as well as in the formal sessions and off-hours discussions, leaves one with a clear sense of the major advancements made by XMPie users in the state-of-the-art frontier of personalized cross-media marketing solutions," said Aizikowitz. "Highly creative, multi-channel, conversational campaigns - including those with significant use of personalized images and video - are becoming wide spread within this community and it gives everyone at XMPie a sense of pride to provide the vision and technology that drives our users' innovations."
 
Beyond the conference, the XMPie Users Group continues its interaction throughout the year via the XMPie Users Group Web site. Countless members share ideas, tips and tricks on the site's online forum every day. In addition, there are Web casts and seminars exclusive to Users Group members that further extend the organization's educational value.
 
For more information about the annual XMPie Users Group Conference or joining the XMPie Users Group, please visit www.xmpieusers.org.