Comments on: Conferences: Pay To Speak? Huh?

By: murketing » Blog Archive » Event marketing

murketing » Blog Archive » Event marketing — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 15:49:51 +0000

[...] industry lately, I was not surprised by this, but interested to see it get an airing in public on PSFK: Apparently payola is a common practice in the conference business — a sponsor pays, a [...]

By: Scott Burns

Scott Burns — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

It’s not just conferences…next time you pick up a trade magazine, see how many “expert quotes” come from companies who advertise in the rag.

By: Anastasia

Anastasia — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Hi Piers — I’m in the middle of planning my first event with an event company. We did do the sponsor/speaker option in our sponsorships, and while I have been completely transparent about who is paying to speak on my blog, I don’t think I’d do it this way again. It’s just confusing. Some of my sponsor/speakers I would have asked anyway, and some maybe not, but I think they all add value as speakers meaning I wouldn’t put a sponsor/speaker on the agenda who didn’t. It has definitely been a learning experience.

By: Paul Davidson

Paul Davidson — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

We’ve found that sponsors are generally open to other ideas. Give them a table in the break area where they can demo something. Mention them briefly before the break. Give them 10 minutes at lunch. Or have a “quickfire session” where 3-4 sponsors speak one after the other in a “Sponsor Quickfire Session.” Attendees actually like this one because they can get the quick details without dealing with sales pressure. It also forces the sponsor to create some value vs. bullshitting about their product.

By: George Parker

George Parker — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Most conferences are a giant scam (Not PSFK ones!) I got invited to speak at one in Tokyo a few weeks ago. I asked them what they were paying… ZERO… I asked them if they were covering expenses… ZERO… The attendee fee was $5,000 per ticket… Cheeky Bastards. I told them to fuck themselves. Anyway, the odds are less than 10% of the people attending would have understood me. Most people here don’t have a clue what I’m on about.
Cheers/George