The first-ever Toll-Free Summit was held in Chicago on November 18 & 19, 2009.
The Sutton Place Hotel
Now the Thompson on Rush
This premiere, invitation-only event brought together the biggest names in toll-free licensing including the program owner/operators of 1-800-Lawncare, 1-800-Bankruptcy, 1-800-Wireless, 1-800-Home-Care-, 1-800-Car-Help, 1-800-Dumpster, 1-800-Injury, and others.
This event was held a the Sutton Place, a boutique, Chicago hotel ideally located in the heart of Chicago’s Gold Coast.
The summit began with a reception-dinner on Wednesday night sponsored by Telesmart and featuring fine wines by 122 West Winery, a new venture headed by Craig Balkin of Mountain Marketing. The summit continued on Thursday with a series of panel discussions on key toll-free and licensing topics, sponsored by More Calls Media, 800.com, and 1-800AFTA, and concluded Thursday night with a dinner at one of Chicago’s premier pizzerias -- Gino's East -- sponsored by Call Button. Nothing formal was planned for Friday, but we met for breakfast sponsored by IT Connect.
If you missed the 2009 event, please contact Loren Stocker at Vanity International at 858-792-5000, Brian Lynott at Telesmart, Paul Faust at Primary Wave, Craig Balkin at Mountain Marketing, or Scott Richards at Dial 800 for a review.
Who attended: This was an invitation-only summit designed for professional owners and operators of shared-use programs and those who aspire to “build-out” or monetize their vanity numbers. It was not intended for users, or for those who do not share our core values.
Since 2009, we've held summits in San Diego, 2011, and two more back in Chicago, 2013 & 2014. This inspired Somos to host an annual industry event, open to a wider audience, which many of us attend. This year's event will be in Chicago.
