Traffic & Conversion Summit 2019
I’m back in the office after spending most of the week out at the Travel & Conversion Summit (#TCS2019) this week and wanted to provide some feedback on the show, along with some highlights. This was OPTIZMO’s first time attending the show, which seems to have really grown over the past couple of years. From speaking with a lot of attendees, it was the first time for a lot of them as well. If you attended Affiliate Summit West this January, you probably saw some promotions and an exhibit booth for the T&C Conference. I think that promotion was probably pretty effective in drawing in more of the Affiliate Summit audience to the show.
Who was there?
The show organizers said there were over 6,000 attendees and based on the jam-packed crowd in some of the sessions, I think that number could be about right. It’s a safe bet that everyone there was in the digital marketing industry, but they represented a wide range of different parts of the industry. Digital agencies, business coaches, digital product marketers, affiliate marketers, and others made up the typical attendees – with representatives form a wide variety of vendors and service providers like ad networks, fulfillment companies, merchant processors, promo item manufacturers, white label health product manufacturers, etc.
Highlights
The show organizers definitely wanted to make an impression on the audience. From laser light shows to smoke machines and fireworks, the presentations (especially on the main stage) were pretty flashy. From a substance standpoint, there were a lot of valuable sessions. A real highlight was an interview with Richard Branson that drew an overflow crowd to wrap up the first day of the show. Other content covered a lot of topics, from personal/business motivation, to very tactical presentations on marketing initiatives for attendees to try in their own businesses.
What’s the verdict?
The show isn’t cheap, with full-price tickets around $2,000, so it’s important that attendees really get value from the event. For marketer/affiliate attendees, it seems like the content is pretty strong. For solution providers attending the show to find new clients and partners, I think it probably works for some and not others. The venue wasn’t perfect for exhibitors, as there was both an official exhibit hall, as well as many exhibit tables scattered outside multiple conference rooms. But, from out standpoint, we definitely had a chance to meet with some good potential clients and partners over the three days. So, count OPTIZMO among the companies that will likely be back at the show again in 2020.