Sound counter-intuitive? After all, the logistics goal for every event Is to keep your registration lines short.
To explain, let me highlight two amazing memories recalled from my first Macworld:
- The presence of Steve Jobs’ Mercedes, without a license plate, at the rear of the Moscone Center
- The image of Macworld attendees who were getting ready to sleep on the sidewalk in front of the convention center to ensure that they had the best seats for the keynote so that they could see and hear what Steve was announcing – as it happened.
In terms of #2, you can’t buy that kind of advertising and this was before social media, thus representing word of mouth as its best for that time. Macworld was among the top 5% of influential market changing events during its long run, an event that people HAD to attend.
And how did it get to that lofty status? I’d argue that, if the entire Apple ecosystem was a platform that attracted an audience, then IDG (Macworld’s owner) and many others consistently added something during that time to keep the ecosystem interesting, vibrant and/or profitable for anyone in it . Of course, Apple contributed their great products, while Apple user groups maintained the local excitement and kept the information flowing.
Where IDG was smart was to create a face-to-face event supporting this ecosystem in ways that enabled Apple enthusiasts to both meet with each other and see all the applications and complementary add-ons and charge them money to do so. This was before Apple had retail stores, so there were these two national (actually, international) opportunities at which you could see and touch the latest products.
You’re probably thinking that Macworld was a unique phenomenon that has no relevance to your situation. But is that true? Can you say your show is part of a healthy market ecosystem? If not, how can you – together with your stakeholders, competitors, sponsors, exhibitors and attendees – build an ecosystem where everyone benefits?
Having observed the Mac community up close and managed a key component of its ecosystem, I can certainly identify the elements that are needed to create such an ecosystem. But keeping it going is a tough exercise. The key thing – antithetical to most event organizers – is to recognize that you are not in control of the ecosystem.
But even so, you still can profit hugely.
I can’t tell you how happy I was to see those lines. It meant we were doing something right…..