Maybe it was the quarter mile sprint that I did at LAX (in a suit and tie mind you) or maybe it was the 6 hour redeye back to o-town...but I’m wiped. The good news? I was really impressed with the show and very pleased with the outcome of my meetings, whether planned or Not. If I were to distill the entire experience, I’d say that I took away 4 key points.
POSITIVE ATTENDEES AND EXHIBITORS? No talk of diminishing returns, shrinking universes, soaring costs or impending governmental regulatory doom. In fact everyone was really excited about the biz. Weird…I know.
THE “NEXT NEW BIG THING” DIDN’T SHOW. You know, in 1997-1998 it was opt-in email; 1999-2002 it was CRM Apps and Modeling; 2004-2005 Blogs, RSS and Multichannel. This year? Nada. Well...there was some talk of SMS and MMS marketing but it’s clearly not ready for prime time.
WE NEED A BIGGER BOOTH NEXT YEAR. Our current booth is just too small for both practical and selfish reasons. Besides needing more elbow room and a dedicated location of sit with clients and vendors; I just WANT a new and bigger booth. Vanity? Ego? Maybe but I’m doing it anyway. Too late it’s already done.
NEXT TIME I FLY, I’M DOING IT DIFFERENTLY. Never accept a flight that requires a connection. Always fly first class...no exceptions. Never have four really big beers and fly cross country...for an assortment of reasons you’re next-seat neighbor will hate you for it.
All and all it was a great show and so-so trip. I want to say a special ‘thank you’ to Kim, Katharine and Matt as well as all of you that I was able to meet with and I apologize to those I missed. I owe you lunch. - Scott
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