Women's Conference 09: Highlights & Posts #1

Hi! I was able to attend the fabulous Women’s Conference in Long Beach, CA — courtesy of Glam Media and my own blog. I hooked up with other bloggers who were there (wave to estarla.com and tarametblog.com
What I am going to do is give you a sense of the breadth of the conference with photos up front first in this post and then start posting one video or podcast a day with the different people who I spoke with at this conference. Primarily it’s the vendors who participated– some returning from previous conventions and others this was the first time.
So stay tuned and scroll on down for all the photos that I could — and did snag (and resize) about this conference.
MATTEL
Mattel stepped up to the plate and put on a Barbie Blitz of new Barbies and accountrements that would make your head spin and some little girl (or not so little) jump for joy.

A collectible Barbie that was launched at the Women’s Conference and was selling fast!!

A special dress made for a “real live” Barbie who was available for photo ops– and boy was that line LONG!!
It was different this year with two full days of content but media was not allowed to attend three-quarters of the first day which was the Day of Transformation. So any ability to comment on those seminars and those speakers evaporated as fast as a cold glass of water on the scorching hot day that it was. I had hoped to scoop up some quotes from both speakers, moderators and also some people who attended these workshops– and it wasn’t clear why the media wasn’t invited in. Personally given the roster of the seminars- having the media cover this new addition to the event would have been crucial as this was a sold out event — 40,000 women that bought tickets so fast that the conference day sold out in 2 hours flat.

A long shot of one of the aisles. This was a “quiet moment” when people were dashing to events.
Nintendo

Nintendo’s spotlighted their new Wii-Fit Plus this year. Rather than feature all things Nintendo, they smartly targeted the “hot product” for women and went after the health and fun aspects of Wii Fit Plus.

There was quite a line for testing out this new Wii Fit Plus environment and the ample amount of screens made it fun and easy. However there was still a line to get involved.
The theme of this year’s event was Be Who You Are: An Architect of Change and it came on the heels or really was highlighted by the release of the Shriver Report just days before. Featured in Time Magazine and available for purchase as an ebook online, the report lead by Maria Shriver and John Podesta, made it clear that while women were making strides, that there was still far to go to becoming equal to men though in this economy, more women retained their jobs than men. Given the opportunity to have small seminars for a Day of Transformation and a Conference where you are inspired to be an Architect of Change– in your life and in others, was something not taken lightly.

Target

Target had a long, long line for make-overs that only got shorter at the end of Tuesday at the end of the conference.

Target’s mini-manicures were also popular for those who didn’t have as much time for a make-over and it was packed the entire 2 days!

The Day of Transformation Schedule— a power-packed schedule of experts in a variety of fields.
LUNA

Luna made an appearance in a booth that was quite popular during the event. By the mid-day on Tuesday they were running out of bars and samples

More of the Luna booth
Opening Session: So You Want to be an Architect of Change? Here’s How to Get Started: Listen to Your Gut. Trust It.
Erin Mulcahy Stein, Executive Director, The Women’s Conference
Dr. Harumitsu Inouye, Chief Executive Officer, Shinnyo-en Foundation
First Lady Maria Shriver
Special Guest Stephen M.R. Covey, Author, The Speed of Trust
Skechers

New Shape Up Shoes from Skechers!!

Skechers showed off their new walking/health shoe that’s really popular and doing well in their market segment.
So You Want to be an Architect of Change and Break the Cycle of Stress in Your Life? Here’s How. –Seane Corn, International Yoga Teacher & Activist
and Judith Orloff, MD, author of Emotional Freedom and UCLA Psychiatrist
SAFEWAY

Safeway showed up with a long string of booths that were featuring a ton of new food products and snacks as well as a chance to get more goodies at another larger booth with a much longer line to get a bag and chocolate and other goodies.
So You Want to be an Architect of Change at Work? Here’s How to Make Your Job Matter or Get a New One.– Host: James D. White, CEO, Jamba Juice and Tory Johnson, CEO, Women for Hire & Workplace Contributor on ABC’s Good Morning America
Shop with a Purpose

Maria Shriver’s Shop with a Purpose area– it was packed!

Shop with a Purpose products

More products and the vintage clothing area in Shop with a Purpose!
So You Want to be an Architect of Change for Good? Here’s How to be an Entrepreneur in the Non-Profit World.
Karen Baker, California Secretary of Service and Volunteering
Premal Shah, President, Kiva.org
Elizabeth Gelfand Stearns, Chair, The Judy Fund
Giorgio Armani Beauty

Giorgio Armani set up a huge booth in the “village” and sold products with donation to charity.

The Armani booth was packed– both days thanks to being able to purchase the products with free shipping and a portion of the proceeds going to charity.
So You Want to be an Architect of Change? What You’ll Need to Know About Your Journey Along the Way
Jillian Manus, Chair, The Women’s Conference Board
Lisa Nelson, Head of Global Government Relations of Visa Inc
First Lady Maria Shriver
Martha Beck, Ph.D, Life Coach and Author, Steering by Starlight: The Science and Magic of Finding Your Destiny
So You Want to Present Yourself as an Architect of Change? How to Like the Woman You See in the Mirror. –Hal Rubenstein, Fashion Director, InStyle Magazine
So You Want to be an Architect of Change in Business? Here’s How to Start Your Own. –Ariane de Bonvoisin, Author and Founder, First 30 Days
So You Want to be an Architect of Change as an Author? Everyone Has a Story Within Them, How to Turn Yours Into a Book.–Jan Miller, Founder & CEO, Dupree, Miller, and Associates Literary Agency and Mark Seal, Contributing Editor, Vanity Fair
This is just post #1 and there’s lots more coming at you in the way of videos and podcasts. So please come back because I will be posting one video a day- maybe more –depending on how fast I can pull logos and get things edited.
Stevie Wilson