R.O.EYE at a4uexpo
By Gavin Hudson, Manager
Well, I think we’re finally getting back into the swing of things after a great few days at a4uexpo. We’ve caught up on our emails and been busily chasing up all those leads and sending the stuff we promised out to affiliates. This was the first event of its kind in the UK, and I think it’s fair to say it was a success!
Sessions
As I was manning the stand, I didn’t get the chance to go to as many of the sessions as I would’ve liked, but from speaking to the rest of the guys and other people that went to them, it seems that they were really well attended and received. As always, it’s difficult for speakers to judge who to aim their speeches to - they could turn up to a room full of merchants, some beginner affiliates or people who know (nearly) everything there is to know about the business, but on the whole feedback on the sessions was excellent. Particularly well received were Lee and Ciaran’s talk on social media, and I suppose I’d better mention the session Mark attended on “The Future of Networks”, there were some interesting opinions expressed and a couple of controversial comments, which is always nice if you’re in the audience… One strange quirk was that if you had paid for an “exhibitor” pass and a stand, you weren’t supposed to be able to get into sessions - this seemed a bit strange to us having paid several times what the delegates paid, but with a nod and a wink it didn’t seem to matter anyway.
Attendance
We met some great people at a4uexpo - thanks to all of you who came to our stand for a chat, a bottle of water or to enter our competitions! Expo was excellently attended and the speakers, exhibitors, delegates and organisers all rightly seemed happy with the mix of people at the Expo. Our stand was busy almost all of the time when people weren’t in sessions. There was plenty of business done, and plenty of partying too. Those people who made it for all 3 nights and still managed to look alive in the days in between deserve some sort of award of their own!
Awards
Speaking of awards, the Existem team organised the very first affiliate awards in the UK. This was a great initiative, and well overdue. No awards ceremony can hope to keep everyone happy, but that’s no reason not to run one! Affiliate Window were a popular choice for the best network this year. We work with most of the major UK networks, and it’s clear that AWin have taken some steps forward this year, so it would be difficult to begrudge them the award. I’ve got to say that we were disappointed not to win the award for “Publishers Choice of Agency”, being beaten to second by Existem-AM, but really we should be pleased to receive the “Highly Commended” certificate, and indeed to be nominated in the first place by our affiliates - thanks to everyone that voted!
Venue
The venue out at ExCeL was pretty good, a good sized hall with lecture theatres - I’m not sure if being out in the Docklands and away from the more obvious nightlife in London was a good idea or a bad one, but the Fox pub seemed to be busy enough in the evenings, and the Novotel bar was busy until the early hours every night. I’m still not sure whether the bar staff greeting me by name on the second night was a good sign, or a bad one!
Overall we had a great time, and will definitely be back next year. There was a lot of enthusiasm for the event, and the affiliate industry appears to be in robust health, which is great to see.
We look forward to seeing you at next years event - if not before!
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