ad:tech come and gone...

Christopher May   

Another ad:tech has come and gone. Like many of the shows in NYC – it’s a logistical nightmare. The last few years have been slightly better location wise (Hilton), but the overpriced lodging accommodations prevent many people from attending. When I first joined this industry several years ago I used to look forward to the trade shows (Affiliate Summit, LeadsCon, ad:tech). The thought of reuniting with old friends always appealed to me. Now most of those familiar faces pick and choose which shows to attend – making those old reunions more scarce. Sure rising costs and a slumping economy are factors, but NYC is a different animal altogether.

Like many of you we were faced with the cost of housing employees to attend the show. Luckily for me I’m a local, but for my two counterparts we weren’t so fortunate. The price for one night was $529 (Westin on Broadway). After all is said and done the total for attending a typical show in NYC is well over $2k per employee. Arguably that’s not bad considering the end goal (to acquire new business), but unlike Vegas prices for NYC are much too high.

Apples-to-apples Vegas is a much better fit. This time of year rooms are abundant in Vegas. The 5 star Bellagio is currently offering a respectable $189 a night rate – 50% less than any accommodation in NYC. Another factor to consider, hotels in Vegas have banquet rooms that are more than spacious enough to hold an industry event. A further benefit of Vegas is transporting to and from the show. In addition there are a ton of places to dine that require a lot less traveling. At the end of the day we (advertising and marketing professionals) want to spend less time in a cab and more time wining/dinning potential clients.

You don’t know how many times I heard people complain about waiting for a cab to go across town, or complain about the lack of close places to go for lunch. Let’s face it the Javits center is good for a car show or a place to display a particular product, but weak at best for services as intimate as marketing and advertising. Overkill was a word I heard more than once. The one positive from this year’s show was the weather. New York finally came through – the weather was splendid this year.

As much as I love New York I prefer to keep things simple and cost effective. NYC is great, but the city lacks in comparison to Vegas and San Francisco – apples-to-apples.

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