NAME Defends DJs
Against Fleet Bank
N.A.M.E. has made every
effort to alert the membership to an advertisement placed in major
newspapers by Fleet Bank. This advertisement portrayed a bride
embracing her father with a caption that read in part, "She
chose a band instead of DJ". Needless to say, the association
felt that this statement was extremely derogatory to the DJ industry.
The association has over
the course of the past month been in contact with James Schepker, the
Vice President of Marketing for Fleet Bank. Mr. Schepker has also
been inundated with emails, phone calls and letters from outraged
members of our industry. He has admitted that this advertising
campaign was "Not well thought out". He was made aware of
who and what N.A.M.E. represents and was immediately apologetic. His
apology was accepted on behalf of the membership, but at the same
time, he was informed that this ad campaign was totally unacceptable.
A great many phone
conversations where exchanged with Mr. Schepker and as of this date,
the association has been assured that this ad in all of its formats,
print, television, direct mail and posters, has been discontinued.
This decision, while not exactly what the association was looking
for, has resulted in a loss of several thousands of dollars for Fleet
Bank. Mr. Schepker has expressed his deep regret over this
inadvisable choice in advertising content and has also commented on
the number of emails he has received. He has also commented on the
professional manner in which these complaints were made.
In our closing
conversation, it was suggested that in reparation, Fleet Bank make a
contribution to one of the relief charities. We were informed that
Fleet has already made a commitment for over four million dollars in
donations. He understands that some of our members may choose to
change banks and he respects their decision.
Mr. Schepker requested
that members contact him if they should see this ad in the future.
The association will consider this issue closed at this point and
hopes that members will appreciate the efforts extended to defend the
rights of its members and the industry at large. It also points out
that we, as professional mobile entertainers must continue in our
efforts to educate the public with regard to our industry and to
constantly be on guard to protect our hard fought reputations as a
legitimate industry.
DJ3 Cancels
For the last few years
DJ3 the DJ show brainchild of Brett Reece from Atlanta Georgia has
been struggling to hit the 125 people mark for it's attendance. Last
year according to many, "it was not much to write home
about." This small show was mostly centered around a few DJs
getting together for some networking, much like the small meeting
others hold around the country.
The announcement came
down October 5 that due "to the recent current events of the
world, and just the feeling of uncertainty all across the country".
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