Aac?

[Casinorep]

Had an amazing time at AAC and always great catching up with industry friends as well as meeting new ones. Sure there were a few annoying things but that comes with these events - but overall I had productive meetings and got valuable information from some of the seminars.

My advice for the newbies is if you haven't been to one of these conferences, you should attend at least once - because you will get some values from them. Then you can justify if they're worthwhile to return.

[DanHorvat]

my mouth can get people to the booth better than any promo girl

You're fun to quote.

[MMM]

Lol.

I fully agree with Renee. All my life, I saw 2 promo girls that were actually worth something. Naturally, they don't have much info to share, but they are capable of making an eye contact (not sure if "eye" is the right word to use here), that way bypassing what some have mentioned as aggressiveness. and then capable of having a nice chat and keeping people at the booth.

Other than that - it's pretty much useless. Fun, but useless.

P.S. Actually none of them was extremely good looking. The were nice indeed, but that wasn't the main factor.

[webanalysissolutions]

Lol.

I fully agree with Renee. All my life, I saw 2 promo girls that were actually worth something. Naturally, they don't have much info to share, but they are capable of making an eye contact (not sure if "eye" is the right word to use here), that way bypassing what some have mentioned as aggressiveness. and then capable of having a nice chat and keeping people at the booth.

Other than that - it's pretty much useless. Fun, but useless.

P.S. Actually none of them was extremely good looking. The were nice indeed, but that wasn't the main factor.

I remember two girls walking the floor stopped me at LAC once. The conversation went
girls: "can we have your business card?"
me: "why? who do you work for?"
girls: "we're collecting them for...."
me: "who?"
girls: "err.... we don't know, we're just paid to walk around and get business cards".
me "see ya!"

[webanalysissolutions]

My advice for the newbies is if you haven't been to one of these conferences, you should attend at least once - because you will get some values from them. Then you can justify if they're worthwhile to return.

Very true. Go LAC if you're going to attend once. That way you can also go to ICE the same week and see some of the guys who don't attend LAC and potentially provider companies that might help you, like data companies.

If you're looking to get more time with advertisers, more time to chat, go out etc, then go to Barcelona, now Berlin. It's small, meeting schedules are not as stretched. London can be a bit of a feeding frenzy for advertiser companies.

One thing I would say though - everyone is talking about great conversations and how they caught up with advertisers, but generally you get a few minutes with most people. I'd say it's best to make contacts, go with an agenda of stuff you want answered, then email those people afterwards to gather the detail. You're not going to get into many complex marketing discussions at a conference, which is ultimately what you need to do to outperform other affiliates and learn how to convert each brand, because each brand has its own quirks and nuances.

[DanHorvat]

Conferences are fulfilling their purpose as expos, places where brands promote themselves and a place where you mingle with other affiliates and industry professionals.

Just like in every business event in any industry, you need to have certain skills. Having a big brand is no guarantee you'll do well in a conference - not as an operator, not as an affiliate.

Some people are falling over themselves to sign one pointless business deal, they're hiring professionals with college degrees, they're paying for the booth, they're flying in from Oz, they're bringing dancers and beer - and some people are too good to even show up. To each his own.

And let's not forget LAC, AAC and BAC are affiliate conferences, and webanalysissolutions is comparing them to a B2B event which is on a different (not necessarily better) level. For example, it certainly isn't a better level if you're not doing B2B at all and don't want/need to outsource. Comparing the two, and telling an affiliate he should nod his way through customer retention policies being explained on ICE, and that he should pay Betradar for data, is ridiculous.

As far as unnecessary flashiness is concerned, ICE wins, hands down. LAC does it by displaying a yellow Lambo, ICE does it in a different way in order to appeal to a different crowd.

[webanalysissolutions]

webanalysissolutions is looking down on aff confs, but I'm certain they're looking down on him at ICE - he's just not aware of it.

I very much doubt it. When you're running a business making 6, and sometimes 7 figures USD per year then people will talk to you, for sure.

If you're making $100 pocket money per month, yes, the big guys at ICE have zero interest in you and you're just a spectator.

[webanalysissolutions]

webanalysissolutions is looking down on aff confs

Don't get me wrong, I don't think they're a bad thing, I do think that 3 a year isn't necessary (especially AAC for sports people which leads into the summer, and usually coincides with major sporting events which we are better off staying at home and promoting e.g. World Cup last year - in fact even a lot of the sports affiliate managers stayed at home!), and I do think the format could be made better to make it more about business and less about play. For me, I want to go to a conference where I can leave with valuable information, leads, and ideas that will improve my business. I'm just not phased by the rest of the hot air that goes with conferences, I can do that the other 364 days of the year.

[nwalker]

If you're making $100 pocket money per month, yes, the big guys at ICE have zero interest in you and you're just a spectator.

I disagree, depends on why you're attending and what you hope to achieve. Where else can a new affiliate go to introduce himself to the industry and the programs?. I pretty much don't do business at the conferences, it's what I do after with the programs that count.

I've been to ICE twice now, the first time with £5 in my pocket the next a few £100 quid, again all the operators I chose to speak to gave me time and have become contacts that I have leveraged since, and in one or two instances were keen to try and find some way to affiliate with me as they saw the value I could offer them as brands.

I did the corporate thing for most of my life and most of it is bullshit, with over inflated egos and people telling others what they should and shouldn't do. Only one opinion really matters and that's mine for me, everything else gets put through my bullshit filter.

It's all horses for courses, no one view is right or wrong, just make sure you're do something rather than nothing!

[webanalysissolutions]

but I'm certain they're looking down on him at ICE - he's just not aware of it.

I would also add that we make around 40% of our revenue from companies that do not attend LAC, but DO attend ICE, so it is well worth us going. They are companies that operate in niche sectors, at least one of which I know we are the only big affiliate making money out of them at the moment, so stealing a lead on a lot of the competition out there - currently signing up 2000 players per month. Got you guessing now?

[Renee]

You're fun to quote.

LOL. Trust me to write something that can be cut and shown like that.
To be fair, something similar could have exited my mouth anyway. I'm a bit filthy at times.
All for the laughs eh?

Lol.

I fully agree with Renee. All my life, I saw 2 promo girls that were actually worth something. Naturally, they don't have much info to share, but they are capable of making an eye contact (not sure if "eye" is the right word to use here), that way bypassing what some have mentioned as aggressiveness. and then capable of having a nice chat and keeping people at the booth.

Other than that - it's pretty much useless. Fun, but useless.

P.S. Actually none of them was extremely good looking. The were nice indeed, but that wasn't the main factor.

A lot of affs have told me they won't talk to me because I'm a promo model and they want to talk to the affiliate manager. I don't even dress like them, usually in jeans, runners and a rewards affiliates polo shirt that has sleeves. A shock when I tell them I'm the affiliate manager, so I wonder how many affiliates these models actually do attract in the end. Either they just assume all women are promo models, or the models were just really, really below par.

I will take it as a win though. Gotta take what you can get when you're as old as I am competing against early 20-something year olds!

I remember two girls walking the floor stopped me at LAC once. The conversation went
girls: "can we have your business card?"
me: "why? who do you work for?"
girls: "we're collecting them for...."
me: "who?"
girls: "err.... we don't know, we're just paid to walk around and get business cards".
me "see ya!"

So if I was to change my tactic but rather than go the aggressive route, just dress up like a promo girl and surprise people when I know what I'm talking about, I might actually keep affs attention? LOL

Don't get me wrong, I don't think they're a bad thing, I do think that 3 a year isn't necessary (especially AAC for sports people which leads into the summer, and usually coincides with major sporting events which we are better off staying at home and promoting e.g. World Cup last year - in fact even a lot of the sports affiliate managers stayed at home!), and I do think the format could be made better to make it more about business and less about play. For me, I want to go to a conference where I can leave with valuable information, leads, and ideas that will improve my business. I'm just not phased by the rest of the hot air that goes with conferences, I can do that the other 364 days of the year.

I will agree with you that 3 is too much, but if you are only an hour or two away the networking value is still there IMO. As I mentioned before, the networking on it's own has paid off for me after meeting someone years ago and chatting, not even necessarily about business. As an affiliate manager it's good to be there so people are familiar with you face. Sometimes the people you talk to will become someone you need to work with years later. As we all know, it's very rare that someone leaves this industry completely so the contacts you make can be priceless.

I will give you another example that can work in an affiliate's favour. If you're sending lots of traffic to a program from a certain country and all of a sudden they stop taking players there, they may know another program that is decent to send the traffic to and because they introduce you to the manager, you may end up getting a better deal than if you had approached them on your own because the manager from the old program can vouch for your traffic. Networking is never bad IMO.

As for major sporting events coinciding, last year Amsterdam was pretty quiet because most people were either at the world cup or stayed home to work on it. I think it's hard to blame them for it. The conference is at the same time each year and the world cup is every 4 years. I don't think changing the date by a week either side would have made much difference really. Not everyone goes to every conference for whatever reason be it cost, timing etc. This was just another one of those things.

You mentioned making the conferences more about business than play - how would you suggest they do that? I'm not being a smart ass, I'm genuinely interested in your ideas on this. I think over the years a lot of the fluff has been cut away. For example there used to be promo girls walking around in body paint and parties where you'd be handed a bottle of alcohol as you walk in the door and naked girls wrestling in chocolate. You don't see that anymore as people complained.

Anyway, enough said, each to their own! I'm out of this conversation as i'll probably give too much away!

Any kind of debate is a good one, so don't leave. I just think it's best to keep on the topic of conversation rather than it turning into whatever the hell just happened up there. If everyone is sharing their experiences, someone will benefit from it no matter what it is.

[webanalysissolutions]

Thanks for the debate everyone. Or should I say "debate" when I say "everyone"? See you in Berlin, or not as may be the case!

[Renee]

Thanks for the debate everyone. Or should I say "debate" when I say "everyone"? See you in Berlin, or not as may be the case!

In case you missed it, I did ask you a question, and I wasn't being cheeky

[DanHorvat]

A lot of affs have told me they won't talk to me because I'm a promo model and they want to talk to the affiliate manager.

Well that's a huge compliment, isn't it?

Networking is never bad IMO.

Exactly. Especially for a small affiliate who has yet to figure out what's really going on in the industry and who's who.

Many affiliates are insecure about attending a conference. I see people with potential opting not to go because they're just a bit too self-conscious. These events are for the outspoken type of people. So I think some encouragement is in order. I think all affiliates who decided to go and attend their first affiliate conference made a big step forward in their business.

As far as the 5-minute chats are concerned, they are what you make of them. Conference meetings ought to be meticulously prepared, and the purpose of the short face-to-face chat is to sort out any differences in a quickfire brain storm and to shake hands. Compare that to coming to a meeting unprepared.

You mentioned making the conferences more about business than play - how would you suggest they do that?

He'll impose a dress code on strippers.

[Miles_FTA]

Each to their Own as you say Ive been to a lot of these events some way more beneficial than others. This time round i let my hair down a bit and enjoyed the company of some really great people affiliate managers and affiliates alike .. So Thank you all and Here is to Berlin

[xecutable]

In the internet space, this is called an e-peen contest, also known as a d*** measuring contest . Bottom line, respect other people's opinions even if they vastly differ from yours.

[webanalysissolutions]

Bottom line, respect other people's opinions even if they vastly differ from yours.

Exactly. I've never had someone trying to insult my top class Master of Science American educational background as a way of putting down the debate. LOL Perhaps I should send Hovrat my resume if we're going to start comparing sizes as you say

[Miles_FTA]

Bottom line, respect other people's opinions even if they vastly differ from yours.[/QUOTE]

100% Cant Agree More well said Sir

[Anthony]

Alright, lets not get into it with each other.

[webanalysissolutions]

Alright, lets not get into it with each other.

Exactly. I vow to never raise an opinion again on the GPWA that Dan might disagree with!