PROMAX promises to please.

Promotion and marketing workshops remain the crux of the annual PROMAX International and BDA Conference and Exposition, which take place this year in Los Angeles from June 19 to 22.

Needless to say, some of the L.A.-based execs are not too happy about the locale: they feel that their, station

or network will expect them to be at work and PROMAX at the same time. Senior VP of PROMAX Gregg Baiko is hoping that most "L.A.ers" will view PROMAX as just "another out-of-town meeting that will save their companies on air fare." He added that the proximity to home and the timing relative to the L.A. Screenings probably influenced Columbia TriStar International's decision to test the PROMAX waters this year. This will be the company's first appearance at the event.

This year there will be about 30 workshops, compared with 25 last year. Balko expects attendance to reach between 6,000 to 7,000 and international attendance to increase. To be sure, it's no secret that the Europeans' forte is not marketing and promotion; however, things are changing. "For the last couple of years, some of the major marketing awards have gone to international attendees," Balko pointed out, adding that "it's not because they have greater budgets either." (Balko noted that one of the international sessions held last year was standing room only and that a good amount of domestic people attended it as well.) "There's a lot of talent in Europe. They have the equipment, but they just don't have the personnel that really understand the industry," he admitted. Indeed, because of the increase in broadcasting outlets (cable and satellite channels), Europeans have to get in on the game in order to maintain their audience share. "They never had to do it before. Now they have to become marketing whizzes," Balko said. To this end, PROMAX will hold its first-ever European conference, in association with BDA, next year from March 6 to 7 in Barcelona.

PROMAX continues to be an event that the creatives can't say enough good things about. Multimedia's Sandra Shutak touts PROMAX as the "promo manager's NATPE," citing the innumerable events that allow creative executives to get a handle on what's hot and what the competition is doing in terms of marketing and promotion. Multimedia is having workshops for each of its new talk shows - Crook and Chase and Pat Bullard - and, as in the past, it will have a hospitality suite on the floor. In addition, Multimedia will co-host the opening ceremony with MCA/Universal at the Jurassic Park Theme Park.