TEMPE, Ariz. – The Phoenix Forum (TPF) has announced it is bringing back its “Free Badge with Room” promotion, extending the offer through Tuesday, March 5.

“With so many in the industry are jetting off to Colombia and Portugal, we thought everyone needed a break for their budget,” TPF said in a statement released late last week. “So, for a short period of time between these other shows, The Phoenix Forum has brought back the Free Badge with Room promotion until end of day March 5, 2019.”

To receive the free badge, attendees simply need to book a room at the TPF venue hotel, the Tempe Mission Palms Hotel, through the TPF website and they will receive a free admission badge for the show – which represents a $319 savings at the current registration price.

In another post published last week, CCBill Vice President of Sales and Marketing Gary Jackson talked about the company’s approach to TPF and why they continue to put on TPF, despite the fact the event “is not a profit center” for CCBill.

“Not everyone is aware that The Phoenix Forum is one of the only shows produced by a non-events and non-media company – CCBill,” Jackson wrote in his post. “Back in the early 2000s, CCBill decided to commit to an event which brought together what we called webmasters at the time, to a sunny, comfortable, and safe environment to simply connect and do business. It was called a ‘gathering’ at the time.”

In recent years, Jackson observed, industry trade events “seem to be diverging down two different paths” – a divergence which he said is being driven by growth in the live cam sector.

“The surge in live entertainment and cams has spawned a series of new or re-imagined shows designed to reach talent and front-of-camera models, but these shows are clearly formatted to cater to the platforms who host and broadcast the talent,” Jackson wrote. “No question that they are terrific shows to envelope the expanding online live broadcast market, but they serve a specific market.”

Along another track, what one might call the “traditional” B2B adult trade show route, Jackson said he still sees “a serious commitment and focus for business-to-business conferences, with shows designed to offer connections and welcome every aspect of the business world to meet and do business” which continue to target “the larger business community with the same passion and focus we see in the new cam shows.”

Where does TPF fit into this diverging industry event model? Jackson wrote that CCBill believes that there’s still “a place and need for our industry to meet over a drink, to talk and learn from each other.”

“In this time of craziness and constant change, there is still a need for all of us to connect on a deeper level with our community,” Jackson wrote. “That is also what I hear from so many folks in the industry – that the environment we nurture allows them to do more and better business, in a relaxed setting.”

At the same time – and reflecting the divergence in industry event types the company has observed – Jackson noted that TPF has “expanded a bit to bridge the two types of shows.”

“We stand squarely behind our tradition of business connections for the B2B side of the business, but also realize that our talent are also business people and part of our community – and welcome them with open arms,” Jackson wrote. “We believe that this mashup creates a stronger community, more long-term relationships and a lot of new business for our attendees and sponsors.”

You can read Jackson’s post in its entirety here. For more information on the Free Badge with Room promotion, see the TPF website’s hotel page.