Back on Sept. 22, GayVN.com announced the GayVN Summit and said the website would be activated on Oct. 15th. As of just now, it's still not active. Anyone know anything about this event?
www.gayvnsummit.com
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Back on Sept. 22, GayVN.com announced the GayVN Summit and said the website would be activated on Oct. 15th. As of just now, it's still not active. Anyone know anything about this event?
www.gayvnsummit.com
When I spoke to Chad Beecher at Gay Phoenix Forum, he was pretty excited about the event and said it was in the pretty early stages. They're also moving the GayVN awards to coincide with it, so I'm pretty sure it's definitely happening.
My guess is that they're just running a bit late.
I was talking to Jeffery from AVN, too, and it is definitely a go. The host hotel is the W, which is just a few blocks from my house. I'm thinking of throwing some sort of event in connection with it, but haven't figured exactly what I want to do.
It's also within walking distance of Falcon, Titan, Raging Stallion, Factory, Naked Sword, Bear Films, Hot House, COLT, Gay.com and a few others I can't think of right now.
With all those studios up here, it makes total sense to have the event in San Francisco.
Yep, there's still a GAYVN summit coming up. It's planned to coincide with the GAYVN Awards in San Francisco in February. More details to be announced soon... ;)
Ahh, alrightee then. I'll hang loose and wait for a news release. Thanks.
Tell me tell me tell me!!! So I can gooooo
Oh, you say that now, but you'll just back out at the last minute again. You've stood me up twice for Chico's Angels now. LOL!Quote:
Originally Posted by SC Robert
I totally suck :( I will make it there sometime. I have lived in Riverside for 4 months and haven't been to LA once! I will come bug you soon don't you worry my sweet!
I just added this to my calendar!
Steve
I thought this was a surfer/consumer show, no?
Regards,
Lee
http://www.gayvn.com/index.php?Prima...tent_ID=276133Quote:
Originally Posted by Lee
Hey guys I've been away from the board and just saw this thread. The GAYVN Summit is on and we are just finishing up some final additional details before we do our next release.
This is a business to business show. The GAYVN award show is still an industry show as well, but this year we are selling about 200-300 tickets to fans as well.
The whole time up there is pretty filled with scheduled parties, events, seminars and meals and a lot of networking.
If you are planning on getting involved in any of the official events, please feel free to just contact me directly.
JR
What official events? What parties? What seminars? What meals? When will you tell us what's going on? The website is still inactive. Sounds like you've made a lot of plans, but who with? We haven't heard a thing. Is it just for west coast people or what?
Quote:
Originally Posted by GAYVNJeff
Steve,Quote:
Originally Posted by citiboyz
Check this out..
http://www.gayvnsummit.com/attendees/index.php
Looks like AVNs version of the Gay Phoenix Forum but sponsored by straight companies but with a $350 price tag.
Regards,
Lee
Thanks, hon. How did you find that page? So I clicked on the "register" button and it took me to the summer Internext registration page. LOL. So it would seem that the people who run Internext are running this one. And damn... $350 is a steep price! Am I the only one who thinks that these shows are overpriced, or do others agree?
Google is our friend ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by citiboyz
Oh and yes, these shows are over-priced, thats why attendance is continually falling.
The problem with falling attendance though, prices have to be raised to off-set profit margins, its a vicious circle.
Regards,
Lee
Might help to include your contact info :)Quote:
Originally Posted by GAYVNJeff
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lee
The sponsors don't really have anything to do with the planning of the show itself. And both PussyCash and HotMovies have gay divisions. But leave it to Lee to pooh-pooh everything. Guess it wouldn't be GWW if that wasn't the case.
Ken, i never said the sponsors had anything to do with the planning, i said it was sponsored by primarily straight companies based on what is on the site right now, and that it also comes with a hefty price-tag.Quote:
Originally Posted by XXXWriterDude
As an 'inaugural' event, would it not make better business sense for AVN/GAYVN to lower the registration free, or even waive it to attract more attendee's? That business plan seems to have worked for CCBill recently ;)
Regards,
Lee
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lee
Well, I don't have anything to do with the planning. But at $350, it's only $100 bucks more than the Gay Phoenix Forum was.
Huh?Quote:
Originally Posted by XXXWriterDude
The Gay Phoenix Forum was FREE the GAYVNSummit is (by my calculations) $350 more expensive than the Forum was.
Regards,
Lee
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lee
The Gay Phoenix Forum was free only if you registered in advance. Those who didn't had to pay $250 a pop.
You cant see my point is what you mean?Quote:
Originally Posted by XXXWriterDude
How much is the advanced registration for the Summit?
After the 'advanced registration' how much is registration?
C'mon Ken you are smarter than that.
Regards,
Lee
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lee
Lee, please quit talking down to me, OK? Your superiority complex is really starting to get on my nerves.
Ken, I have to agree with Lee on this one.
About 85 or 90% of the registrants for Gay Phoenix Forum got the free registration. Only a handful of people paid the registration fee. It's not reasonable to compare the only-if-you-didn't-register-in-time registration cost of Gay Phoenix Forum with the cost of the AVN show. And CCBill said that there was only about a 10 or 15% no-show rate for the people who booked free registration.
For webmasters or affiliates who aren't raking in the big bucks, the costs of flying to SF (or Phoenix), paying for hotel/meals/ground transportation, etc. stretches the budget and that extra $350 may be the make-or-break for some of the growing players.
CCBill can manage to run a first-class show completely on the strength of sponsorships provided by companies in the industry without any cost to attendees.
AVN, which has much more marketing muscle and the entirety of GayVN online and GayVN magazine to get the word out, ought to be able to do the same thing... or at the very least, make the registration fee reasonable ($50-$100 or something.)
I like and respect the folks at AVN, but what I don't understand is why the powers-that-be don't seem to understand that the trade show financial paradigm is shifting and what worked several years ago isn't going to work as well when there's a product that (in most people's eyes) that's better and free when compared to the product that AVN offers. It's still possible to make the show financially viable without high registration fees... CCBill has proven that... and it's not like you have to pay the robbery prices that Vegas convention halls extort for a small show at a San Francisco hotel.
We, as program owners, want more than anything to see the new, smaller programs and traffic people come to these shows. I'd say this deserves rethinking. If AVN doesn't want to "devalue" the perceived price of admission, offer a ton of free admission passes to people in the industry.
Hey Chip,
I certainly understand where you're coming from. But well, we're not the Gay Phoenix Forum, and I don't think it's logical to expect that just because one show does something one way, others should do it the same way.
I'm not really at liberty to speak on behalf of the company--nor do I really want to. My opinions are only my own, and I prefer it that way. But what I can say from a personal perspetive is that AVN typically offers a different, more "high-end" experience, and one that is costly for us them produce.
And that's about all I can say, really. Whether you make the decision to go is entirely up to you, of course. Based on what I've been hearing around the office about the show, you'd be missing out if you skip it. :)
It is also not logical to assume that just because the Forum had a really good attendance for their gay gathering that AVN, who is charging almost $500 for registration will have.Quote:
Originally Posted by XXXWriterDude
Its a well-known fact that the AVN/Internext shows have been dwindling attendance wise over the past few years whilst, at the same time, costs for attending the shows have risen, if you [AVN not you personally] cant see the correlation between the constant increase in prices and the constant decrease in attendance, then something is amiss.
Then why not pass that cost across to the people who should be paying it, the people who are getting their names flashed in front of every person that attends one of the shows? The simple fact is, you cant, because show attendance is dwindling... Sponsors dont want to spend the money on sponsorship.. There is that vicious circle i mentioned earlier.Quote:
But what I can say from a personal perspetive is that AVN typically offers a different, more "high-end" experience, and one that is costly for us them produce.
Ultimately, if what you [AVN/Interext] is doing now is failing, and be under no misconception, it is failing, you need to start changing things... Perhaps having a 'high-end experience' shouldnt be what you guys focus on, instead, focus on THE most important aspect of a successfull show.. The attendees.
Several people have commented in this thread and in your 'gaydar' thread that the costs of the AVN/Internext shows is to high, just as people have been doing for the last 3 years, perhaps Paul and the organizers of the shows can actually listen to what their potential attendees are saying and do something about it for a change.
Sponsors at the show want to attract a certain type of webmaster, the newbie, they want to hook them on their product as early on as possible, if a newbie cant afford to attend the show, what is the point in a sponsor paying thousands of dollars in sponsorship?
Most people who attended Vegas this year, already have programs that they work really closely with, the costs to program owners to sway these established affiliate relations over to their program is unbeleivably high, it is much easier to snag a newbie [speaking as a program owner] and develop that newbies skills than it is to 'pay off' a midbie to send traffic.
Bottom line, you [and other shows] need to start attracting newer webmasters to their events, these newer webmasters are the future of the industry, we either cater to their needs educationally or we kill the industry as we know it and, in time, kill the tradeshow.
A $500 'registration' does nothing to attract fresh blood to the shows, in fact, its having the opposite effect, its pushing people away from them.
Regards,
Lee
Absolutely. I was more indicating that the market seems to be leaning in the direction of sponsor-funded shows where attendance is low in cost or free. Of course AVN can continue to operate its shows the way it always has... but most shrewd business owners look at trends in the marketplace and make modifications in their business model when market conditions dictate. Certainly AVN has made some strides in that direction... the whole setup of the Florida show borrows heavily from the networking environment introduced by the Phoenix Forums, and it sounds like Vegas will be similar... but the financial model still seems to be following an older model that simply doesn't seem to be working as well as it once did. Of course, I'm no expert on trade shows, and what I'm putting forth here are just my own observations.Quote:
Originally Posted by XXXWriterDude
I'm surprised to hear you say this, because other than the convention floor (which in practically everyone's opinion could be entirely done away with) and the high location cost of hosting in Vegas (which could easily be changed) it doesn't seem like there is much that is more expensive for AVN in producing the show vs. CCBill's costs for the Phoenix Forum. Yes, the show floor and related services are extremely pricey, but when you're leasing space out at 50 bucks a square foot for 3 days use, I doubt that's a money-losing proposition.Quote:
But what I can say from a personal perspetive is that AVN typically offers a different, more "high-end" experience, and one that is costly for us them produce.
By contrast, the Phoenix Forums have high quality buffet dinners, lunch buffets, constant snacks, a professionally printed and bound networking guide with each preregistered attendee's information, and gifts to each attendee provided by the sponsors, and even open bar networking activities all provided completely free of charge to attendees.
AVN hasn't typically offered anywhere near that level of services at their events, so I have a hard time seeing how AVN can position themselves as a "higher end" event unless there is something I'm completely missing.
Oh, we definitely are planning to be there, and may even sponsor some part of the event, as we did with Gay Phoenix Forum. I'm just saying that I think AVN could make some choices that would make the event a lot more successful if it was willing to listen to the input it's receiving from the community that is the one who will make or break the event.Quote:
Whether you make the decision to go is entirely up to you, of course. Based on what I've been hearing around the office about the show, you'd be missing out if you skip it. :)
Lee, I certainly see your points, and you do make some good ones, but I have to take exception with your typically egregious "sky-is-falling" mentality. You stated something similar about AVN Online last year, claiming that the company was failing miserably, when in fact we're doing better than ever. As I said in another thread, everybody stumbles once in a while. Everybody makes mistakes. I would hardly think one stumble in the several years AVN has been putting these shows on means that the Internext shows are "failing." We're growing and evolving, just as the industry is doing. I've heard nothing but raves about the Florida show (which you opted to skip), as is evidenced in my Gaydar column, and there are a few people (some who have posted in this very thread) that are--contrary to what you seem to purport--quite excited about the potential for Vegas 2007 and the GAYVN Summit.Quote:
Originally Posted by Lee
In regard to your other points, I will certainly pass them on to the powers that be here at the company.
Hey Guys, I guess I need to be on the board more so I can jump in and head off some of the confussion and misconception about our show as it is happening in realtime
Look this show is different then the Phoenix Forum. This summit includes food, parties, and transportation to parties. The program itself is not just industry related we are also hiring outside speakers to talk about how to improve your business and how to take your profits to better invest to grow your business it is not like phoenix forum.
This is a very upscale show. We are holding the seminars and the meals at the W Hotel in San Francisco. We are doing this show first class.
Our site is due up in the next couple of days with more information on attending which should really answer a lot of questions but if you have any concerns just ask me.
That would be jr@avn.com, right, Jeff? :)Quote:
Originally Posted by GAYVNJeff
It's great to hear that you're bringing in outside speakers and providing quality meals and such. I just hope that you made the "upscale" decisions based on data from focus groups or serious input from a lot of webmasters and industry people who are prospective attendees rather than deciding what people want in a boardroom.Quote:
Originally Posted by GAYVNJeff
Patrick from CCBill solicited a LOT of input, suggestions, ideas, and thoughts before they formulated the plan for the first Gay Phoenix Forum, and as a result, that even reflected what the people attending it wanted in an event.
The webmasters that want high-end events already have things like the Island Gathering and other smaller, upscale events to go to.
As I said, we will show up regardless and may be interested in helping to sponsor the event, but I would wager that if you got together 500 decisionmakers in the gay adult industry and asked them what they would want, the answer would probably be an affordable show, specifically designed to attract people that have never been to a show before, and great networking opportunities... not nice free meals, admission to a couple parties and a $350 price tag.