As one of the principal organizers of the Cybernet Expo in San Diego this year, I received a crash course on how to effectively put together and run a successful adult trade show. Considering that there were between 600 and 700 attendees from all over the world attending this year, a hotel that was skeptical about hosting an adult show, and the adult trade show racket being ever competitive in this day and age, the stakes were sky high going in.As one of the principal organizers of the Cybernet Expo in San Diego this year, I received a crash course on how to effectively put together and run a successful adult trade show. Considering that there were between 600 and 700 attendees from all over the world attending this year, a hotel that was skeptical about hosting an adult show, and the adult trade show racket being ever competitive in this day and age, the stakes were sky high going in. You bet I was flying by the seat of my pants there for awhile!

Before I even go one step further here, special thanks are in order to Cybernet Expo owner and the “face” of the show, Fay Sharp, for putting up with me all along the way and teaching me a thing or ten. Her patience, wisdom, experience and willingness to let me run with many of my crazy ideas for her show made it one hell of a fun ride, which all began last year after the Montreal show when Fay Sharp and Dave Gould of Tradeshow Productions, Inc. announced they wanted to make it the last Cybernet Expo. A few meetings later with YNOT Bob and myself and we got them to agree that the show must go on! Thanks also go to Bob and Dave for allowing me to do my best work on my own.

I will unabashedly admit that this show was a success on many levels. Plain and simple, the bulk of the attendees who went to the show and spoke out about it said they had a great time and got business done. To the naysayers out there who thought that Cybernet Expo was a “dead” show or not big enough to bother attending… you were wrong. In fact, the decision to try many new things this year that may or may not have worked is what helped kick Cybernet Expo back to the top of the Webmaster trade show food chain. What made it successful? Defining the success of any show will vary from person to person, but for the business-oriented attendee, it’s all about the networking and business opportunities. This particular show was not for weekend warriors. And truth be told, while this wasn’t a big “party” show, I think it’s safe to say that everyone was able to have fun. Even if that did just involve hanging out in the courtyard by the pond for hours with friends.

The amount of praise we received from attendees and sponsors alike was overwhelming, but more important, the feedback was by and large very constructive. It’s easy to lose sight of something basic while focusing more attention either on the big picture or perhaps something new and time intensive in the planning and organization. Of course not everything was perfect this year, and I certainly would like to address the most popular issues that could be improved for next year from my perspective as an organizer. No matter how great an event is, it can always be better. Next year’s show location is still pending, but for the sake of simplicity, the following points are made keeping this year’s hotel in mind:

1. Lack of hotel rooms, and in particular rooms with high-speed Internet connections.

Unfortunately several attendees didn’t have high-speed Internet access in their rooms, and as well, several attendees had to stay at nearby hotels due to the Hyatt Islandia being all booked up. We announced Cybernet Expo industry wide in early February this year and stressed repeatedly that there were a limited amount of rooms available and a very limited amount of rooms with high-speed Internet access. There is nothing we can do when people wait until the last minute to book their reservation. Due to the popularity of this show, next year we’ll consider reserving a bigger chunk of the hotel (yes, the hotel is welcoming us back) as well as more high-speed Internet rooms. Keep in mind that those rooms are in HIGH demand, so when we tell you to book early, we don’t mean procrastinate until late May while hoping that there will be extra rooms available. I know that this isn’t the case with everyone, but now we’ll all know for next year.

2. Very few food opportunities.

I will admit that the restaurant service at the hotel was quite less than stellar and that a jam-packed day of seminars and evening activities every day didn’t allow much time to eat during midday and late afternoon. Next year we will consider getting lunch sponsors and maybe opening up the daytime schedule a little more. PureCash had a great idea in serving Krispy Kreme doughnuts every morning on the patio, but I do understand that while a diet of soda and alcohol all day can be fun for short periods of time, we all need to eat. At this time I am putting out a very early notice to anyone considering sponsoring a catered lunch with the hotel. My contact info can be found in my byline at the end of this article.

3. More traffic in the networking booth area.

While the layout of the hotel was VERY conducive for networking and for the wildly successful first-time Corridor Cruisin’ event, the layout of the convention center perhaps wasn’t used to its full potential. While twelve of the fifteen seminars had over 100 in the audience, and attendees were repeatedly told to head down to the networking area, I do think it’s safe to say that everyone at the show did in fact visit the booth area sometime the first two days (hell… the SilverCash sponsored bar was in there!). So not being able to find the networking hall wasn’t really the problem in my opinion, but rather keeping people there was the problem. Nice weather kept a lot of people outside, but publicity stunts and good ideas can keep people inside. LightspeedCash had the phenomenal idea of bringing YNOT Bob’s motorcycle in the room (which he won from Lightspeed) and having a photo shoot. Next year we’ll probably play around with booth placement, the hallway connecting the conference room to the networking hall, and keeping the drapes open to brighten up the room (note: keep those banners PG rated!). Cool publicity ideas, food at your booth (from the hotel), and promotion to the industry, all planned and announced well enough in advance, will not only let everyone know what you are up to, but will make them even more excited to attend and check you out.

4. Lack of room service, mini bars, and bars not staying open late enough.

I don’t think there is anything we can do about the room service or lack of mini bars. And it was painfully apparent that the hotel underestimated our industry’s ability to consume large amounts of alcohol and willingness to spend a lot of money in doing so. Next year if we bring the show back to the Hyatt Islandia we will certainly work more with the hotel to make sure that they are more accommodating in these areas. After all, they stand to make a lot more money in the process.

5. A few noticeably missing companies and individuals.

All up, I think this show was promoted as heavily as possible without being obnoxious. I think the majority of those who could have easily attended but chose not to attend made up their minds early on. Not singling anyone out in particular, but I’m hoping that the feedback and ongoing discussion of this year’s show will change some minds for the positive next year. While the show has proven the test of time (seven years), I think that this year started off a sort of “new era”, and I truly feel that if you aren’t attending Cybernet Expo then you and your company are missing out. So are the attendees that you won’t be meeting. ‘Nuff said there.

Additional fixes like seminar formats, show dailies, badges and a few other concerns will be discussed and tweaked as necessary. Hopefully no stone will be left unturned!

All up, I want to thank everyone once again who went to the Cybernet Expo this year and all of the sponsors who helped make this show a truly memorable time for so many of us. Next year will be even better, so stay tuned.

And be prepared to possibly head back west!

Jay “LAJ” Kopita is VP of Marketing & Communications and VP of Project Development for YNOT Network, LP. LAJ can be reached by email at jay@ynotmasters.com.