The 2011 Video Commerce Summit is less than two months away, and I’m excited.  When we first launched the Video Commerce Summit in 2009, it was a bit of an experiment.  No one really knew whether there would be enough interest among retailers and consumer brands to support a summit devoted exclusively to e-commerce video.  What we learned was that not only was there demand, but a fierce hunger for knowledge.

Feedback from the first Video Commerce Summit was so positive that the event doubled in size the following year, with 80% of the conference attendees at the 2009 summit returning in 2010.  Stanford University’s BJ Fogg keynoted the 2010 summit by highlighting the persuasive power of video using a framework he designed to help students (and marketers) understand the science of behavior change.  The response was astounding.

This year, we are again anticipating a doubling in size of the event.  To accommodate growing demand, this year’s summit will be held in beautiful San Francisco near historic Fisherman’s Wharf. As with previous summits, the 2011 event will kick off at a baseball game.  Attendees will watch the World Champion San Francisco Giants from a large luxury suite designed to handle the additional traffic.  Expect stellar networking.

The speaker lineup for 2011 is better than ever.  With speakers from Buy.com, Zappos, Advance Auto Parts, and many more, attendees will learn from some of the most cutting-edge retailers as we explore how to produce, scale, optimize, and profit from video commerce.

At a personal level, it has been tremendously rewarding for me to watch the video commerce summit grow from a niche show into an event that is fast-transforming how retailers take advantage of the persuasive power of video.  Whether you’re on the bleeding edge of video production, seeking ways to augment your current strategy, or just getting your feet wet with video, the Video Commerce Summit is the one event you can’t afford to miss.  See you at the show!