At about seven a.m. May 12 the telephones rang in some 250 rooms of the St. Paul Hilton. The operator told the 250 sleepy voices that answered to turn on their television sets to the hotel's closed-circuit station.
Those who did saw themselves or others like them— dealers of Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing printing products—on the news as they arrived at the St. Paul-Minneapolis International Airport for what had been billed innocuously enough as the May National Dealer Meeting.
This special "news" broadcast went on with the 3M news of the day—the schedule for the conference; the lighter side of the news about printing products heads and dealers; a sportscast specially written for and about those at the conference.
An elaborate beginning for just a dealers' conference, but to the Printing Products Division of 3M its dealers are its bread and butter.
SOMETHING FOR THE DEALERS!
29