Internext Booths

[taboo_gal]

Ok, all, I'm really gonna let my newbie stripes show and ask for input.

What is standard for Internext Exhibits???

We are a service based business that provides affiliate tracking software and a few extra goodies. :) We would love to unvail our adult division at Internext this year, but we've never exhibited before.

All help welcome!

Thanks in advance guys. :D

[Carrie]

There really is no standard, except for those set by AVN. Count on being nickeled and dimed for every little thing - in Florida the booths are *not* all-inclusive, if you want power to your booth I believe it's extra, if you want an IP address so you can surf from your booth (useful for showing folks your website or letting them sign up for your services right there) it definitely is an extra fee.
The default booth is a plain, cheaply constructed tall "counter" built of rough plywood that will rip up any pantyhose that comes within 4 feet of it, covered by a white tablecloth and two booth chairs. A small white cardboard sign will display your name. Any booth dressings, making things more comfortable, better signs etc are all up to you and will cost extra. You can either have them made and bring them with you, or order them from a firm in south florida and have them delivered to the convention center or pick them up once you get there.

Honestly, if you've never been to an Internext before, I wouldn't recommend getting a booth. Also the Florida booths are quite different than the Vegas booths - in all respects; size, style, "posh" and function. But you really need to *attend* Internext and experience it from an attendee's point of view before you can begin to plan what you'll need to offer from an exhibitor's point of view, as well as get a good feel for what the other companies do with their booths and how you can make yours better, more useful, or simply more appealing.
I'd highly suggest simply attending the Florida Internext and having a "physical presence" there - wear t-shirts advertising your company, carry informative flyers with you and business cards, meet people, network, and make contacts; and then use the knowledge you gain there to plan for exhibiting at the Vegas Internext in January. It's rumored that the Vegas show will not be in the Sands convention center but instead will be down the road a bit in a new convention center, so everyone will be back on equal ground - experienced and non-experienced exhibitors alike. No one will have experience exhibiting in this new center.
You might also look into paying AVN to put your flyers into the "goody bags" that they pass out at the doors, or in the little "gift packs" that they distribute to the rooms when the cleaning ladies come to pick up. This will get your copy in front of webmasters without showing your inexperience at exhibiting. You might also consider joining in on a seminar where you can show off what you're doing and explain things to webmasters, or help sponsor a party or event.
There are *many* ways to get a webmaster's attention at Internext other than having a booth.
And from personal experience, the best networking is done *away* from the booths - being stuck in one all day limits you to talking only to the people who walk by. Not having a booth allows you the freedom to speak to people all over the convention floor, outside by the pool, in the lectures, etc.

So just to sum things up - don't look at a booth as your only means of getting in front of webmasters, and think twice before exhibiting if you have no concept of what is involved and have never experienced the booth setting from an attendee's point of view. It is far worse to make a *bad* impression with a bad booth than it is to have no booth at all.

Hope that helps!

[taboo_gal]

Thanks, Carrie.

You've been a great help. :)

Anyone else have thoughts on this? Agree? Disagree?

Thanks again!

[McAttack]

Taboo, I haven't been to Internext myself, but I've done major trade shows in the past, both as an attendee and an exhibitor.

The best thing to do for what you sell is offer a comfortable area to talk to people. You'd want one or two meeting rooms, behind closed doors. Outside on your main floor, probably a stand-up coffee bar type of thing. Just a tall table that people can stand around and write stuff down.

The reason for all this is booth traffic. Don't put sitting areas out front cause you'll get people that are tired sitting there and they are most likely not even interested in your product. So standing tables out front are great for quick questions from leads, and if the person seems genuinely interested, bring him in the meeting room.

I personally like to have a minimum of wo meeting rooms. One for appointments with clients, the other for on the fly private conversations. In the meeting rooms, I like a relaxed atmosphere. A couple of couches, a coffee table and a laptop. Also have some refreshments, either in a fridge or a cooler.

Whatever you do, DO NOT blow the budget on a booth, it's NOT worth it. A booth is more of a branding tool. Sales are not made there. Initial introductions are made, deals are rarely struck in a booth. Look at a booth as more of a leads generator. Also, if let's say you spend $75k this show, and next year you say "Bah, we didn't need all that stuff, let's cut the budget to $45k". In the eyes of the attendees, they see that you cut costs, so either business is going down, or you didn't manage your business properly for the last show and realize you messed up.

These are just some pointers for you from my experience in trade shows. And I used to do huge shows in the gaming industry, which is notorious for spending a crapload of money for nothing.

[Evil Chris]

Originally posted by taboo_gal
Thanks, Carrie.

You've been a great help. :)

Anyone else have thoughts on this? Agree? Disagree?

Thanks again! I can only echo most of the statements already made. Booths go for $5000 per 10x10. The 10x10 booths are normally buried in the back of the show floor, with the huge 80x80 booths taking up the front and center spaces.

Last time I had a booth it was a 10x20 with a decent location, but it's true that everything (and I mean everything) is extra. Power, lighting, furniture, cleaing services (you need to keep your booth clean), internet access... etc.. It all adds up.

There are a lot of people now who only get a booth so that they may throw an "official" Internext party and have their party included on all the pamphlets and guides that are associated with the show.

Still, I think that if you have a good marketing plan, and you follow it wisely, a booth is still a good thing to go for at any of the major shows in our business.

[PaulSweet]

Carrie and Chris both covered this well....but just to add to the booth expense list...

The show floor is run by the Teamsters. This means you are not allowed to move anything other then yourself, your laptop, and person possesions including some paperwork onto the showfloor. You have to pay the unionized employees to move everything and do everythign else for you.....you will want to factor this into your decision. If you bring a proper booth setup with you, they will charge you by weight to bring it onto the floor. Its good to call AVN and go through your plans with them and have them help you plan out your total cost ahead of time.

[taboo_gal]

You all have been SO helpful.

I'll go over your responses with the bossman.

Thanks, all. I appreciate your very thorough answers. :)

[McAttack]

Originally posted by PaulSweet
Carrie and Chris both covered this well....but just to add to the booth expense list...

The show floor is run by the Teamsters. This means you are not allowed to move anything other then yourself, your laptop, and person possesions including some paperwork onto the showfloor. You have to pay the unionized employees to move everything and do everythign else for you.....you will want to factor this into your decision. If you bring a proper booth setup with you, they will charge you by weight to bring it onto the floor. Its good to call AVN and go through your plans with them and have them help you plan out your total cost ahead of time.

EXCELLENT POINT! The god damn workers are killers to work with. Unionized lazy bastards if you ask me. I've never gotten into so many arguments as the guys who transport from the loading docks to the booth. We waited 5 hours for 2 computer cases once.

[Evil Chris]

Originally posted by McAttack
EXCELLENT POINT! The god damn workers are killers to work with. Unionized lazy bastards if you ask me. I've never gotten into so many arguments as the guys who transport from the loading docks to the booth. We waited 5 hours for 2 computer cases once. I have heard of these horror stories, but I must have gotten lucky. In the few times I have exhibited, I never had any problems setting up things on my own. Those guys were even helpful enough to loan me their tape guns etc..

[Cyndalie]

Hi Taboo Gal!

Adultchamber.com will often consider sharing a booth with companies new to Internext to cut down overhead and share the experience. Contact Pres@AdultChamber.com for info

[taboo_gal]

Originally posted by Cyndalie
Hi Taboo Gal!

Adultchamber.com will often consider sharing a booth with companies new to Internext to cut down overhead and share the experience. Contact Pres@AdultChamber.com for info

Thanks, Cyn! Will do.....You all are really awesome!! :)

[Cyndalie]

Woohoo!! Is today flattery day? :blush:
Any time sweetie :)

[Carrie]

The meeting rooms really *would* be a nice idea and they could be done at the Vegas show, but not at the Internext show. There's just not enough room. Heck there's barely room for you and your stuff in those little booths.
The "focus" of the Florida show was to scale things down and put everyone on an even playing level, with smaller (supposedly more business-focused) booths and everyone having the *same* booth size.

Yet when everyone got onto the floor in Florida, what did we find? Companies with the space of three, four, even five booth slots making a much bigger display and impression than everyone else. The entire idea of everyone being on the same level had been tossed out the window.

Chris hit it on the head - if you want to have an "official" internext event, you *must* get a booth (AVN rules). Whether you want one or not. Chris is it the same if you want to simply co-sponsor an event?

[twinkley]

Okay... since everyone has pretty much taken one side, I will play devils advocate here....

First off, Florida is a great place to start exhibiting if you are new, becuase you dont have to worry so much about glitz. There are
no booths larger than a 10x20 and most of them are 10x10. Its also
cheaper to exhibit in florida vs. vegas. Florida booth real-estate sells for
$2000 for a 10x10 ... and it includes carpeting. Vegas is $2500 or $3000 for a 10x10 and you still have to pay for carpeting.

Yes, exhibiting is expensive, but, it doesnt HAVE to be rediculous. You can easily get a booth backdrop made for a couple hundred dollars, have furniture brought in from RAC instead of using the show people (saves us HUNDREDS every year) or even, like Cyndalie suggested, share the cost of a booth with someone else.

If you choose not to exhibit, be aware that if you have materials printed up (flyers, shirts, lighters whatever) you will have to carry them around all day. There is nothing worse than someone to ditches a pile of their promo material at your booth cause they dont want to carry it around, but want it handed out.

The teamsters WILL let you put up your own stuff if you are so inclined. The catch is it has to be YOU, or someone directly working for your company to do it. I always do this myself, as we have a very easily setup booth. Dont let the teamsters scare ya into having them do everything - you dont have to.

The one thing you will definitely get from a booth, that you wont get just walking around is branding. People see your company name, they will come over and introduce themselves to you, you have your own space to sit down and do biz, and it will prolly end up in more than one show photoset....

Its really a matter of weighing the pros and cons. If you are looking to dip your toes in the convention floor water, i would def. suggest florida over vegas.....

Just my opinion...

twinkley

[LaurieX]

What Twinkley said! :bonk:

[Pidgin]

Originally posted by LaurieX
What Twinkley said! :bonk:
What Laurie said :)

It was fun seeing Twinkley in Vegas, destructing their booth. Seemed like she saved some hundrads on construction destruction of their booth as well :)
TAW's booth was cool though - nice location. And it had Twinkley in it - so it rocked ;)
But I have a question...
What can you gain from a booth that you can't from strolling around the floor and talking to people and handing them brochures?
What do you say guys, should I get a booth for BoardTracker? :)

[twinkley]

The one thing you get from a booth, that you dont get walking around is brand recognition. Every will walk the floor at least once, and usually more during a show, even the florida show. Every single set of eyes there will see your product name. There is no way (at least at the bigger shows) to introduce yourself and your product to EVERY SINGLE PERSON at the show. It just cant be done .... Too many people, not enough time. With a booth tho, people see your brand name, are more likely to come up to you out of the blue and start asking about your product, and will take your literature/shwag to look over later.

Plus, you get an area that is all yours to do with as you will. You can brand your product, have somewhere to hang out and sit with people to discuss your product, you have the option of setting up computers to display your product right there on the show floor.


Having a booth is really what you make of it though - same as walking around the show. If you are just there to party, your not gonna get any biz done anyways, so why have a booth? If you are there to hardcore do business, and get your brand name out there, a booth will definitely help!

twinkley

[Bell]

there susre was some helpful information shared in this thread...

I haven't yet been to any of the conventions...
I will be at the Internext - Florida - Aug. 2003

I look forward to meeting many of you...

does anyone have a resource for having
a small order of shirts done ??

do most folks hand out business cards ??
do you really save the business cards you get ??

does anyone have a scanned copy of their business
card to share here ??

do you have to get permission from anyone to hand
out literature, cards or gifts to attendees as you
walk around ??

what's the best car rental place near the convention site ??

how far is the airport from the convention location ??

do you go to the convention a few days early ??
do you stay a few days longer ??
do you book the same hotel for the before and after days ??

which major sponsors are actually located within 5 hours
drive of the Floriday convention location ??

oh and - to XXXManager - in regards to your question
about whether you should get a booth or not...
I don't know about that - - - but your product sure
sounds interesting... I would like more information
about it... and do you have an affiliate program...
and do you have buttons webmasters can put
on their webmaster pages to promote your program ??

which boards are in your db rotation ??

~Bell

[Pidgin]

>>I look forward to meeting many of you...
Same here bell :)

>>does anyone have a resource for having a small order of shirts done ??
I know alot of the boards will be able to help you out here since they print shirts as a giveaway all the time

>>do most folks hand out business cards ??
Everyone. That is like dogs sniffing :D
>>do you really save the business cards you get ??
Every single one of them :) (See attached picture)
>> does anyone have a scanned copy of their business card to share here ??
See picture. If you want to see specifics, let me know and I'll scan it for you. It all depends how expensive you are willing to get. Some of the cards were REALLY nice. Best ones were - SleazyDream (metal BizCard), Cyber2000 (really nice glossy print) and Totem (nice graphic design/colors)..
<IMG SRC="http://www.boardtracker.com/images/fun/bizcards.jpg">
>>do you have to get permission from anyone to hand out literature, cards or gifts to attendees as you walk around ??
I didn't. Noone arrested me ;) I don't think you do. Its a way to do business.

>>what's the best car rental place near the convention site ??
Have no idea. Maybe the site has info www.internext-expo.com
how far is the airport from the convention location ??

do you go to the convention a few days early ??
>> Yes - two days earlier in my case. Twinkley and Darin picked me up from the airport. (Luckey me :) )
>>do you stay a few days longer ??
3 days in my case. Had to cool down ;)
>>do you book the same hotel for the before and after days ??
yes, I don't have the energy to move.

>>which major sponsors are actually located within 5 hours drive of the Floriday convention location ??
Little idea about that one.

>>oh and - to XXXManager - in regards to your question...
Thanks :cool:
I have an affiliate program coming up. Details are being thought of..
I have buttons on
http://www.boardtracker.com/images/120_60.gif
http://www.boardtracker.com/images/234_60.gif
http://www.boardtracker.com/images/468_60.gif

Boards in the system are... (lots more will be added this month)
XNations
AdultWebmasterInfo
PornCity
UserNix
WebmasterBoards
Netpond
Porn Is Bad
PornoJunkies
TunaFishBitch
XBiz.com
Oprano
AdultInsider
SexPlanets
CEWebmasters
Shut The Fuck Up
Adult Heads Up
Adult Webmaster World
Adult Webmaster Land
NewbieWebmasters.com
VideosBoard.com
AVS Lounge
Gamma Entertainment
PornKeepers
AdultWebmasterHangout.com
CozyCampus.com
Foogie.com
adultbizboards.com
XXXTech.com
Spamdex.com
WastedWebmasters.com
TalkYourShit.com

[taboo_gal]

Boardtracker is awesome! I use it to scout the boards for biz leads. What an idea. You rock XXXManager. :cool:

As for a small shirt order, I got some help from Webgurl, http://www.freshstars.com, on not only shirts, but also some other cute promo items. The min order is 12, so not too bad for a small budget. :)

I've been checking out anywho.com for locations near the convention site. If you enter the name of the convention site, it will bring up the exact address. You can then choose nearby locations to see where to eat, get rentals, other hotels to book and even how far the airport is from the convention.

I also keep an eye on priceline.com, orbitz.com and travelocity.com. They have great packages that include rentals.

[twinkley]

Hahahahahah Now I feel special!! :blush: :blush: Thats my card on top!! hehehehe

Alright, here is my run down on the info you asked for bell.....

does anyone have a resource for having
a small order of shirts done ?? - yes - contact me at danielle@aig4.com or on ICQ at 72099798 and I will hook you up with my local supplier - we always get our shirts donw through them and they are awesome! Also have NO problem working with adult stuff.

do most folks hand out business cards ?? YES! Everyone does! If you dont have a biz card, you might as well have not been at the show....
do you really save the business cards you get ?? yes, afteryou meet 2000 people for the first time, there is NO WAY you will remember them all. Having their biz card is a life saver! I usually write lil notes to myself on the biz card about what we talked about so i will remember after I get home.

does anyone have a scanned copy of their business
card to share here ?? hehehe thats mine on top of XXXmanagers pile, I will see if I cant scan the front - its cute :) I have FINALLY ran out of these cards and am getting new ones (10,000 cards given away over 3 years!)

do you have to get permission from anyone to hand
out literature, cards or gifts to attendees as you
walk around ?? No. However, if you do not have a booth, you will not have anywhere to lay your stuff down on the floor for people to take it. You will also want to grab stuff other companies are handing out, so unless you want to haul around a ton of stuff, keep it light.

what's the best car rental place near the convention site ?? There is a rental car place right inside the hotel. Just ask the front desk :)

how far is the airport from the convention location ?? Depends where you are flying into. I drive, so I dont really know. but i do know you have a choice of airports to fly into...

do you go to the convention a few days early ?? I will be there 2 days early to set up our booth - otherwise, when we have no booth, we arrive the day before the show and leave the day after

do you book the same hotel for the before and after days ?? yes

which major sponsors are actually located within 5 hours
drive of the Floriday convention location ?? IBILL, Net Management, TrueCash, PhotoGregg, RealWildContent .... South Florida is a haven for us pr0n peeps :)

Hope that helps hon!!

twinkley

[Bell]

wow....

that was quick...

XXXManager - I would like to see the cards layed out so I can
see the fronts of each... not necessarily one per pic...
lay them out like a classified ads section in the newspaper
a bunch of little blocks... (smile) and close enough I can
read all of it...

and I want to see YOUR card...

and especially separate out those that you mentioned as
your favorite designs and put those all in one picture
so I can SEE what you see... (smile...)

hope I'm not being a pain...

I love looking at business cards...
not quite sure why...
I've done that since I was in grade school...
I think it had something to do with my daddy
having me at age 11 or so hand write his home phone
number on his company cards... (smile)


taboo_gal
that info will absolutely be HELPFUL to me...
thank you for sharing...
I look forward to hugging you at the convention...
thanks.............


I must get that neat tool at: BoardTracker.com


thanks twinkley sweet... that is helpful info...

do those t-shirt folks also do airbrushed shirts ??

what's the top 5 things you need to do to get ready for the
Internext - Florida (Aug. 2003) ??

are people allowed to use those luggage carriers on wheels and
use those as they walk around the floor space ??

~Bell

[Pidgin]

>>XXXManager - I would like to see the cards layed out so I can see the fronts of each... not necessarily one per pic... lay them out like a classified ads section in the newspaper a bunch of little blocks... (smile) and close enough I can read all of it...
Here they are, some of them.. Some are hard to scan like AEBN and SleazyDream because they are reflective..
Some are nice, some are nicer. I am more a clean guy so I like clean cards BUT some say its the impresision that matters ;) You can't really see that in a scan.
http://www.xxxmanager.com/docs/publication/cards.jpg

>>and I want to see YOUR card...
http://www.xxxmanager.com/docs/publication/bizcard.gif

>>I must get that neat tool at: BoardTracker.com
Its free. Just had over to www.boardtracker.com (Spam ends here)

>>thanks twinkley sweet... that is helpful info...
She always is

>>what's the top 5 things you need to do to get ready for the
Internext - Florida (Aug. 2003) ??
1. Who you're gonna meet
2. What you are gonna tell them
3. What are they likely to say back to resist paying you
4. How you are most likely to break their resisting spirit and get them on your side
5. Where are the best strip clubs ;) (well - at leaset in vegas... Can be replaced by - where are the best places to go out to)

>>are people allowed to use those luggage carriers on wheels and
use those as they walk around the floor space ??
I guess so, though a small bag is usually enough.

[taboo_gal]

Originally posted by Bell
taboo_gal
that info will absolutely be HELPFUL to me...
thank you for sharing...
I look forward to hugging you at the convention...
thanks.............


You're very welcome. :) And so are hugs! Now I look forward to one from a Princess and a Bell! Lucky me! :D

Thanks again everyone for shedding light on this for us Newbies. :)

[Bell]

this was one of my favorite board threads...
thank you everyone...

thanks for all that work in sharing those pics of the
business cards... that was mighty nice of you
Ron - ( XXXManager of BoardTracker.com )


does anyone else want to share a picture of
their business card ??

I am going to go snag that Board Tracker now...
I love freebies... it will be so useful...

oh... BTW I put some of you up on my site last night...
the one's I knew a url for... I am not omitting anyone
out of spite or anything like that... if you are a participant
in THIS thread (or if you do post in this thread)
and you want to be listed - just let me know...

here's where I put some of you:

http://www.dominaohio.com/Bell.html

and

http://www.dominaohio.com/link.html


and I put this board ( X-Nations) here:


http://www.dominaohio.com/webmaster.html

and

http://www.dominaohio.com/webmasters.html


now off I go to get BoardTracker.com

and to see about getting the AutoGallery SQL installed
on the new TGP - LL - Resource Directory I am
working on called: BellsDirectory.com


feel free to privately eMail me whenever you all want as well...

~Bell





.

[twinkley]

Hi Bell :)

XXXManager did a great job of showing off my card for me hehehe - the back is the one that says "danielle waid - humaniq" (if you read the fine print you will see the title "peon first class" hehehee just kidding - the front is the yellow theadultwebmaster/webmasteriq one

great self portrait isnt it?? hahaha

twinkley

[Kath]

Hey...a Klixxx Magazine card! Very cool :)

I think some very good advice has been given in this thread offering ALL sides of info re: shows. However, I do have to agree with Carrie's original post stating that if you haven't attended an Internext before, you really SHOULD attend one first before doing a booth on your own. Cyndalie's cool offering of booth-sharing is a neat idea if you really want to touch your toes in the water without diving in head first. There are a LOT of things to consider when doing a booth that most people don't even think of on their own.

Keep asking questions - like you did here - and you'll get all the details you need to put on a killer booth at an upcoming show. Knowledge is power and in this case - it's a money-saver too!

Good luck! :)