Should I show new products at NAB?

[Todd Terry]

Hey gang…

Thanks, guys, for all the suggestions. We will try to take them to heart.

Firstly, I’m very glad to hear that based on what Ron and others had to say that showing at NAB as a vendor may turn out to be not quite as expensive as I had thought (I had feared the worst)… good news indeed. Maybe we will see some of you there next year.

Beta testing is of course a great suggestion, and one that we have planned on. I have solicited a lot of info from several of my DP friends around the country… ranging from one-man-band freelancers up to ASC cinematographers… and they have been a great source of input and suggestions. We will be putting several of their ideas into prototypes. Three or four of them will also be beta testing our first units in the trenches to see if we are on the right track. I hate to be so cryptic about these products, but here in an open forum on the world wide intertubes is probably not the best place to talk about it yet, intellectual property-wise.

The “pyramid” idea is probably the ideal type of marketing, but I’m not sure it fits in our world that well. I’m not trying to slight the marketing efforts or just “make a fast buck,” but we might not have the best resources (mostly time) to attack it that way. In short, this is just a little “side project” for both me an my partner. My buddy is a full-time physics professor, is working on his PhD disertation, and running yet another business at the same time. I’m a full-time director and DP at my little company, with employees and clients depending on me to be here doing my thang. So, while we can invest some time in this venture, we are not in positions to spend tons and tons of time on the road hitting various shows, etc., on what at this point is still very speculative. That’s why I thought NAB might be the best “bang for the buck.” If we can get by with spending, say, $50K there for a “small booth presence” (just pulling that number out of my ear, but it sounds reasonable to me) and hit the eyeballs of the highest number of prospective buyers all in one week, rather than spending the same amount (or more) to hit the same number (or fewer) eyeballs while dragging ourselves all over the country to various shows for days on end… well, that sounds like the way to go to me. However, if as Ron warned we were stuck in an unseen booth in the back corner of the south 40 with just the crickets chirping, then yes it could be wasted time and money.

The “pairing up” with an established company is certainly an idea worth considering. I’m not sure exactly what that company would be, but I will give it some thought.

Of course definitely web and maybe some print advertising in the trade rags could be in order, but our particular products definitely fall into the “hands on” category… I think we would greatly benefit from venues where cinematographers can get their hands on our toys and really play with them. There is definitely an in-person “wow” factor that I’m not sure will translate into other types of advertising quite as well.

This is all very early in the development process here, but it has given me plenty to chew on.

Thanks to all for the input!

T2

__________________________________
Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com

[Ron Lindeboom]

[Todd at Fantastic Plastic] “Firstly, I’m very glad to hear that based on what Ron and others had to say that showing at NAB as a vendor may turn out to be not quite as expensive as I had thought (I had feared the worst)… good news indeed. Maybe we will see some of you there next year.”

I am sorry to have left that impression in your mind, Todd. If you are new, you always get the crap locations at NAB. They are not cheap — but they are in all honesty nearly void of people. I wasn’t joking when I said that the “cheap seats” are out in the areas where you will be lucky to see one or two people in your aisle of booths. Most walk in the middle of the aisle as the booth rats in these booths look so hungry that people are almost afraid to stop for fear of being eaten or something.

It is not until you get into the main traffic flows that you will see any real benefit from NAB — and that will cost you a LOT of money. (Unless you find a partnering company who already has earned their stripes and shows on the main aisles in the heavy traffic areas.)

I do not want to sound like I am disparaging your ideas but the “cheap seats” are not really a viable option at NAB. Most times when I have wandered through those areas, I am the only person on the aisle I am walking. When I have stopped to talk to people there, they often tell you that they have talked to few people all day.

Seriously, find another option. The cheap booths are no bargain.

Best regards,

Ron Lindeboom
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ronlindeboom
Publisher, Creative COW Magazine
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[Todd Terry]

Thanks for the input, Ron, and I’m listening…..

So……

[Ron Lindeboom] “It is not until you get into the main traffic flows that you will see any real benefit from NAB — and that will cost you a LOT of money.”

….okies, so what is a LOT of money? That is, how much would one expect to have to fork out (an actual dollar guess, not “quite a bit,” or “a pretty penny) for a small booth but with the all important real estate “location location location” factor?

I’m all ears, education is never a waste…

T2

__________________________________
Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com

[Ron Lindeboom]

In order to get out on the main area and compete with the players there, you will be looking at at least $50,000 to be in ANY meaningful traffic flow area. That does not mean that you will be in the mega-flow regions. Below that and you are going to be in the fringe areas where flowers grow in the aisles without fear of being trampled.

For most of the small start-up businesses I know, that is simply out of line and the cost of having a booth at NAB is commensurate to spending their entire year’s ad budget just to be there. These start-ups better get it right and as most don’t, I can’t tell you the number of them that I have seen that are there one year and gone the next.

Please note that I am not saying that $50,000 is going to do much at NAB but that that is about a decent starter figure to play with. I know small businesses (that are not in start-up mode) that literally spend $400,000 and up to have their booths at NAB and be in the traffic areas.

That is why smaller businesses like plug-in developers pulled together and negotiated their original position on the floor under their association with Adobe. It gave them a way to leverage Adobe’s clout to their own advantage. There are other of these associative relationship placements on the NAB floor. If you can think of a way to do this with one of the bigger players that your new business may affect positively, then by all means talk to them and see if you can use their clout to your advantage.

Also, aside from getting your own booth, you can start negotiating with a bigger player — let’s say Promax, for example — and maybe you have the money to help expand their booth size next year. You end up with an area of their booth to show your new product and they end up making some of the money for it.

I am not saying that they would want to do this, or that they wouldn’t. I am merely saying that it is an idea of a way to start thinking.

Best regards,

Ron Lindeboom
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ronlindeboom
Publisher, Creative COW Magazine
Join the COW’s LinkedIn Group

Now in the COW Magazine: Commercials. A look at the history, strategy, techniques and production workflows of successful commercials. All brought to you by some of the COW’s brightest members. Accept no substitutes!

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[Todd Terry]

Thanks, Ron…

That was very helpful, always good to see some actual potential numbers tossed around.

I’d say we have a couple of advantages… firstly, while we definitely do not have infinitely deep pockets, we are not a startup company from scratch… rather, this is being developed within our existing company (been around for 11 years now) so we do have a tiny bit of resources that we can throw behind it.

Secondly, because of the “already-owned” resources of myself and my partner, our projects are going to take virtually no “R&D funds” to develop… really just our time (although that part will be substantial). In the end I would be very surprised if the two devices we have in mind will take more than $10-15K of actual cash to get past the prototyping and beta testing stage (even including legal and marketing development). Obviously the less we spend on the font end, the more we can spend on the back end for advertising and marketing.

So, lots of thinking to do here. There is the impossible-to-predict “what if” factor hanging out there. If we were to spend, say $75K for a small but visible presence at the show…. well, that’s a lot of money. But if we knew it would lead to say 10-12 relatively soon sales, then it would be a no-brainer… I’d write the check today. On the other hand, of course, it could be money thrown away. Oh where did I put my Magic 8-Ball®?

Thanks to all of this group for its collective wisdom….. there are no better resources anywhere.

T2

__________________________________
Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com

[Ron Lindeboom]

I will throw a recent company’s foray into NAB as a yardstick.

SpectSoft are good friends of the COW and have been going to NAB for three years now. (The 2008 venue will be their fourth year as an exhibitor.)

I know from talking with them that investing in the show has been a good thing but it has also cost them more than it has returned. (At least until the third year.) But like many businesses, they knew that for a company with a new product, they needed to be there for the same reasons that Apple once felt the need in the early days of Final Cut. They wanted to assure the market that they are real and have a commitment to the product. (In the early stages of a product or a company, that is a compelling reason to be there.)

But the ROI is almost never there for many of the companies I know and talk to. The lucky few get a ROI on their show. Many have to earn it back between the time the show ends and the next one begins. A good number never do and so they quit going. Some also quit as the show no longer is needed — they are the REALLY lucky ones.

Somewhere in all this, you are sure to hit one of the aforesaid targets.

:o)

Best of luck to you, Tood, and we wish you all success, whatever your decision may be.

Best regards,

Ron Lindeboom
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ronlindeboom
Publisher, Creative COW Magazine
Join the COW’s LinkedIn Group

Now in the COW Magazine: Commercials. A look at the history, strategy, techniques and production workflows of successful commercials. All brought to you by some of the COW’s brightest members. Accept no substitutes!

Would you like to be in Creative COW Magazine with your story or contribution? Contact me.

Do you have your complimentary subscription to Creative COW Magazine yet?

[Steve Wargo]

The people at VF Gadgets have a shared thing going on. It’s always with someone who is one of their suppliers.

Steve Wargo
Tempe, Arizona
It’s a dry heat!

Sony HDCAM F-900 & HDW-2000/1 deck
5 Final Cut (not quite PRO) systems
Sony HVR-M25 HDV deck
2-Sony EX-1.

[Steve Wargo]

Todd, have you checked into CineGear, in June, in L.A.? I see a lot of new stuff there and a lot of those guys don’t look like they’ve got any money to spare.

Steve Wargo
Tempe, Arizona
It’s a dry heat!

Sony HDCAM F-900 & HDW-2000/1 deck
5 Final Cut (not quite PRO) systems
Sony HVR-M25 HDV deck
2-Sony EX-1.

[Todd Terry]

[Steve Wargo] “Todd, have you checked into CineGear”

No, Steve, I haven’t… thanks for the tip, I’m willing to bet that’s much more my target audience as well. Not really familiar with them, I’ll check it out.

I’ve been reading a lot of the NAB rules and regs… and man oh man, is Jimmy Hoffa alive and running the thing? I’ve never seen such a strictly unionized affair, and I’ve been in plenty of union shops and am an AFTRA/SAG member myself but this thing is to the extreme. I particularly laughed at the reg that vendors can load-in their own exhibits as long as the pieces are hand-carried (absolutely no dollys or carts of any kind) and must be carried by one person only. Sheesh. The regs didn’t suggest how much bribe money to keep on hand, but I imagine it is substantial.

On another matter, Steve, maybe you could use your expertise toward improved bracket design for vintage Brit bikes… I broke my third Royal Enfield horn bracket today… cruising along and the horn literally just fell off (right about time that my left kidney did the same… they’re not called “thumpers” just for the fun of it).

T2

__________________________________
Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com

[Steve Wargo]

Sorry about the horn and we used to call Triumph Bonnevilles “Thumpers”. They were 650 dual carb bikes.

I haven’t ridden a Royal Enfield since 1967. Is yours a rigid frame or a later sprung unit? I rode rigid Harleys for a long time and the parts would just fly off of those things; mirrors, mufflers, license plates, derby covers, chicks, taillights, all kinds of stuff.

Did you lose the horn or did the wire save it? Do they make a more modern bracket? It was probably made from a lesser metal than it needed to be. If it had a bend in it, it needs to be heat treated. I’d be happy to take a look at it if you’d like to send me a photo or the unit itself. I built off-road race cars for years before getting into video production in 1982 and got out of the car business in ’87. I was a steel fabricator and made lots of brackets that held very expensive parts on.

steve@sntvideo.com

Steve Wargo
Tempe, Arizona
It’s a dry heat!

Sony HDCAM F-900 & HDW-2000/1 deck
5 Final Cut (not quite PRO) systems
Sony HVR-M25 HDV deck
2-Sony EX-1.