While a great event, Ad:Tech often feels mandatory rather than an event we elect to do. In the past, the show has felt more like a pause from getting work done rather than a chance to expand business. Not so this year. This year’s event went from being a little too long to not long enough. It was two and a half days of pure mayhem, and I, for one, am glad it is over. I don’t think my body – from my feet to my liver – could take anymore. While that may sound like a complaint, it’s not a bad thing. Calling this Ad:Tech the best show to date might not be out of line either. Calling it the noisiest show would also be about right as well.
This year’s Ad:Tech was not just literally noisy but also figuratively noisy. It was as though everyone in the space turned up their messaging dials to full blast – all at once and all at Ad:Tech. Walking the show felt like being stuck on a web site with never ending banners and pops. Never have I seen so many booths and so much total signage from so many different companies. And the people! With its long rows and close quarters, this Ad:Tech in one person’s opinion resembled a Turkish bazaar not a trade show. All feelings of overwhelming aside, the floor lived up to the night life’s hype, that is to say this event saw people actively engaged during the day, not simply using it as the excuse to live it up at night.
Like a championship game, Ad:Tech will be the topic of conversation for the tired many who stumble into work today, the worn out and weary presenters and partiers who will spend much of their day going through emails and hunting for collected business cards. Worry not, weariless workers, keeping you company and helping you get through the remainder of the week are some of the best tchotchkes our friends overseas can produce. What if anything is a tradeshow were it not for the trinkets? Forget the contests for free ipods and PSP – we can get those for free* already. What I want are the goodies, and I’m not alone. I met with MSN, Yahoo, and two VC companies… not to talk business but because they wanted our booth’s pens for their kids. I can only hope they make a good impression with the young ones and don’t ultimately end up as annoyances for the thoughtful parents.
With all the serious articles on Ad:Tech, I’m dedicating the remainder of this one to the toys. We’re all swamped with work, meetings to recap Ad:Tech events, leads to follow-up with, sleep we wished we had, and so on. Might as well relax the brain for a bit, rifle through the now omnipresent Casale Media bag that contains your empty AdKnowledge beer cup, and pull out those things sure to get you through the day. Breath stink? No worries, Media Whiz and Atlas among others gave out handy mints to help disguise your imbibing. Need to think or simply annoy your neighbors? MetaReward and Enhance have provided us with all the spherical tools needed for bouncing off the walls or playing catch.
Finding yourself in alcohol withdrawal? You’re covered. Head to the store or your company’s fridge for a mixer, then sneak off to a quiet place with your spiked beverages made possible by our friends ad HydraMedia. Assuming you feel a little braver or just lazier, you can enjoy your vodka straight with the provided shot glass. At some point though your buzz will wear off, and you’ll glance at the clock only to notice you can’t quite go home. Face time requires you to stick around for another hour or two, at which time you’ll thank AdDrive as you squeeze the living daylights out of their funny-looking balloon-like stress toy. Just try not to break it with the end of the paper clip you’ve bent out of shape courtesy of Direct Response or the tip of one of your five hundred new pens. And to think, all of this – alcohol, balls, pens, chocolate, and office supplies – comes from just one and a half rows. This article and my carryon could have been that much more stuffed were I as bold as the ever present tchotchke stealer. Perhaps next year, I’ll take some tips from him. Now if only I could find those free t-shirts so I’d have something to wear today.
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