Quote:
Originally Posted by mjavn
Yeah, I try to read them all. Several valid points made here, as opposed to elsewhere.
There are a lot of challenges associated in putting on a trade show in Vegas at a major hotel and casino, and a lot of people will just never understand them - there are certain things the an industry even bigger than ours will not bend on. They don't have to - they'll gladly say, "Fuck you, go to the Flamingo. Next."
Saying that, the majority of the show feedback we've received thus far has been extremely positive, especially from exhibitors. There need to be some tweaks made to the show to improve upon the stronger features of it. Overall, though, I think the educational series - seminars, classes, and workshops - were a success. Several of them were filled over capacity. The domain auction brought in nearly $2 million - it took the mainstream three tries to hit that number. The parties, especially the Ice Cube show and the Homegrown suite, well... I guess it's open to interpretation, but I had a hell of a time at. It's good to be working with D-Money again.
Saying all that, I'd love to hear anymore thoughts, suggestions, etc. from attendees. We're already talking about next year and I think we're going to be able to add another killer, un-equaled event to that show.
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Some random comments and observations of my own....
--I liked NOT having it head to head with CES. It makes Vegas itself much easier to manage with no ridiculous cab lines and cost of entry of accomodations is much better. However, for the companies who wish to do both AEE and Internext it makes for a long couple of weeks. I still think having them separated is the lesser of the two evils.
--Mandalay is always a crowd pleaser for location. Was glad it was in the closer ballrooms this time avoiding that mile long walk out to the Shark Reef where it was 2 years ago.
--I only attended one seminar as well, if you can continue to draw the quality of panel you had for the traffic seminar and get them to actually be forthcoming like Scott was, I'll definitely attend more in the future. The problem here in the past has either been the panel is all shills and/or no one wants to give away their secrets. Coffman in particular was candid about how he did what he did in 2006, he just didn't share any specific plans with 2007. Still some great lessons there.
--Porn Poker. I thought this would be a fad that burned out quickly. Still going strong. I have to wonder how many people came just for this.
--Show floor. I'm glad to hear some folks got business done there. I didn't. Took maybe 10 minutes to cruise thru the whole thing. I already knew everyone there and either already do business with them, or if I dont there's a reason why. Not a lot gained. Another observation there, I was on the show floor 4 times total, and each time I was there about halfway thru there was an announcement encouraging me to go somewhere else.....poker, seminar, etc.
--Circle Bar on show floor. If AVN was trying to recreate the type of hanging out that goes on at the center bar in whatever hotel it is based, that's not it. Everyone was still out in the Islander Bar in the middle of the casino. As usual, that's the spot to hang out to actually meet and do business with people.
--Deal Making rooms. Did anyone actually use these? Most of us talk business over meals and drinks, not in a hotel straight chair in a room quiet enough for others to overhear.
--Domain auction. This was another big draw that I think may have made a few people come in who wouldn't otherwise.
--Mix of attendees. Seems like it was the people who "have to" be there. Most of the mid-sized or better business owners in adult internet were in town or represented. What was missing this time is the small business owner and affiliates for the most part. My gut feel is they've made a choice between Phoenix and January Internext and chose Phoenix. Eliniating the freeloaders is a good thing. But we've also washed out a lot of the small players that are worthwhile. I daresay most of the mix of people in Vegas this year already knew or knew of each other.
Overall, Vegas is still a great place for a show. A lot of people will use any show in Vegas as an excuse to go to Vegas. The catch is how to do that and come up with a format that is profitable for everyone.
I think the concept of booths as we know it is done. What is needed is a way to lure everyone into one place at the same time and have people easily able to locate one another. The pool cabanas works in warm weather.
I would love to see an out of the box thought on how to do same thing in Vegas during cool weather. Instead of booths just have an a relatively affordable way to rent some space to each company and have a comfortable area for them to sit around and entertain people while attendees make their rounds.