Swag

Last week, I wrote an article for Atlantic Monthly about the marketing aimed at women at BlogHer. As I explained in the article, the attendees are corporate catnip — heavy users of social media, educated, in charge of purchasing decisions, and influencers of others' purchasing decisions. 

I admit to being a bit prudish about corporate sponsorship and advertisements. I come from the academic world where any whiff of profit makes a professor swoon. Outside the university, people have to sing for their supper and advertisements are a necessary evil. 

Still, I think that one has to be a bit selective about advertisements and twitter plugs. I would rather be a high priced escort than a prostitute giving out $5 blow jobs at a truckstop. Sadly, I saw some women giving out truckstop blow jobs for a free tube of toothpaste. Dignity, people! Dignity! 

So, what kind of swag did I get this week? I only ventured into the Expo room once, because I had to carry everything around with me and then back on the bus to New Jersey. There was the usual stuff – pens, totes, notepads, zip drives. Then there was the stuff that I have never seen before at a conference – press on nails, yogurt, vibrators, shampoo, cleaning products. You could get your picture taken with some idiot dressed up as the Lorax. Even the Army showed up. Jonah was thrilled with the Army t-shirt and the water bottle, but I do think that the Army was a little mixed up about the demographics of this event. 

The celebrities who court the middle aged female market was out in full force. Martha Stewart and Katie Couric promoted new daytime talk shows. Obama looked for votes. Even Kate Gosslin was there at a coupon booth signing autographs. 

These corporations and celebrities kissed up to this audience for a reason. OK, so maybe some people got a bit carried away with the dude in the Lorax suit, but this was a group of very smart women from diverse backgrounds. Some of them had flown across the country just to be with other women who were like them. I met some women with formidable backgrounds in tech, PR, marketing, and politics, who used social media in innovative ways. It was a neat, useful event for me. The line to the bathroom is the only downside to a conference that is composed of 99.9% women.