Randall Raymond
Forum Replies Created
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[Ron Lindeboom] “I am not asking anyone to agree with me, Randall. I am merely saying that the knee-jerk belief that NAB is a necessity for everyone to attend is pure bull and is not based on fact or always based on good business sense. There are many valid reasons for some companies and people to attend, while there are many other compelling reasons for people to assess their own situation and decide that it doesn’t make a lot of sense.
Perpetuating the propaganda that this show is a “necessity” is crapola of the highest order”
Having all those products and services under one roof is a convenience – ‘necessity’ is probably not the best word. Other shows have tried to replicate the NAB and have failed – even with lower rates being offered. The NAB is THE show for the industry and exhibitors pay a premium for being there.
You have your own ‘aisle traffic’ here at the Cow which many of your advertisers are happy to tap into to. The COW is THE forum for the industry. Maybe, you’re charging too little.
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[Ron Lindeboom] “…oh, and the opportunity to do the show stopper COW marketing ploy that I always wished I could pull off but the one which Kathlyn cringed whenever I mentioned it. What was that? Glad you asked, Randall. It was the ultimate COW schtick and involved hiring Las Vegas showgirls dressed in skin tight spandex orange and white cow spotted costumes with udders flailing as they walked down in the pelvic area. Cool, eh?”
Frankly, I find that much more appealing than brown shirts and a goose step in trying to align the troops behind your admitted hatred of the NAB. It’s so…unbecoming. Stay positive, dude – you’ve got your knickers in a knot. You’re like the divorced guy trying to get all his friends to hate his ex. That ax-grinding gets old in a hurry.
Are you harming your business here? Now that’s a topic for discussion.
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[Ron Lindeboom] “Another factor is the fact that for many users, they can and do get quite enough of their information online to make their buying decisions.”
That’s certainly true of software, especially where a trial download is available. Software companies are better off spending ad money with the Cow – as long as you keep your rates fair…;-)
But from the shooter’s side it’s all about hardware. Personally, I wouldn’t buy an 8k tripod without TRYING it and every other tripod in that range. There’s a long list that needs hands-on experience, and you know it and cannot (and never will be able) to provide that experience here.
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[Ron Lindeboom] “Some of these companies are waking up to the fact that it’s a ridiculously expensive treadmill and are beginning to refuse to play. Bravo, me says.”
Good old supply and demand. Is part of the problem the fact that it’s an international show and our guys are competing for space with a shrinking dollar? i.e. Do the increases have the same bite to a German company paying in Euros? Probably not.
That’s not to deny that greed may be a factor, but that there may be other factors.
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[Ron Lindeboom] “NAB doesn’t give sweetheart deals”
You know what, Ron, no one does. Every association or society or blah blah blah in ‘conjunction’ with an association or society does not give deals. They depend on their shows for the profits to carry on.
Nevada is a ‘right to work’ state – you want to see high labor rates? Come to Detroit, Chicago or New York. The space rate charged by the show is incidental.
You don’t know how good you had it in Vegas. Here’s an example, I had an Austrian client who racked up an 80k carpenter bill for setting up his 30x30ft exhibit at the SAE show in Detroit. 80K. Sure, there were mitigating circumstances – such as, their liaison acting and sounding like Arnold, your governor, and really pissing the crew off, but hey, if any of you Coliefornia cookies act up, you’re gonna pay in the same way. Welcome to trade shows.
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[Ron Lindeboom] “Wow, I think it may be time for me and Kathlyn to just pull the plug on this turd and not bother with this anymore. If the COW is just noise, then I for one think it’s outlived its usefulness and it is clearly time to put my energy into something more useful.”
Oh, don’t talk like that! You’ve done a great thing. What’s gotten into you?
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[Ron Lindeboom] “So, Randall, when you have done more than demand respect while throwing insults”
Where did I throw insults in this thread? Show me.
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[Ron Lindeboom] “You don’t seem to get that but that’s okay, you clearly have little real comprehension of what this community really is and has done for many people.”
That’s a cheap shot. You owe me an apology.
You take your shots at the NAB, but when was the last time you honored a ‘contributor’ with a dinner and a banquet hall full of guests applauding their contribution to the industry? When has the Cow done that? The NAB was founded in 1922. What’s twelve years of the Cow? A new tradition? A break with history?
You point at the NAB as an example of hubris. Why? So now what? We all have to agree with you or be insulted. Screw you!
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[Steve Wargo] “After 15 straight years of attending, I didn’t go the last two years and I realized then that I didn’t really miss anything.”
You went for all those years because the digital video revolution was exciting beyond your fondest dreams. Million dollar suites down to Yugo prices and doing more. That’s why you went. So the dust has settled – maybe the revolution is over, maybe not – but I hope you are not blaming the NAB for providing the venue, are you?
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[Ron Lindeboom] “Personally, some of the smartest people I know in this industry haven’t been to a tradeshow in years. It is NOT a one-size-fits-all world.”
No, it’s not. But in the marketing mix, trade shows are invaluable. Trade shows can establish a product, and once established, the very medium that helped them – can become superfluous. I speak from experience.
It was the DV revolution that took the NAB from a la-dee-da exclusive audience to something much broader and popular. The NAB has been riding the wave – and, certainly, much of that wave has nothing to do with traditional broadcasting. It’s the revolution that opened up the industry to guys working out of their home.
So the NAB continues to give their quaint non-internet dinners for ‘Life-Time Achievement’ awards to radio people and TV people – locally and nationally – it’s not like they have forgotten their roots – God bless them it and for honoring those people who have paved the way.
What does the internet offer? A click-through to a photo? Oh, what an honor! Ron, you cannot offer that here, no matter how successful the Cow gets.