Internext/AEE Show Report
 

Internext:
As everyone knows...the Internext Shows at The Palms were dying hard. The last one there a few years ago was horrible to say the least.

Then Theo and Panos took over and Paul was out of the picture.

There was a transitional year at The Sands Expo Center at The Venetian.
I truly thought it was all over that year for Internext.

But then last year they moved everything (internext, aee, and the avn awards show) to The Hard Rock Casino
Theo and Panos...Roy and the rest of the crew, got real hands on in a way that AVN had never done before with Internext.

That was when I saw a sign of life for Internext.

This year it got a little bit bigger, and a little bit better than it was last year.

That is solid growth...especially when you consider everything that happened to our industry and the economy.

Can't say enough about how much hard work, passion, and respect for the industry that AVN has brought to the Internext Show.
The company treated it like a redhead stepchild under Paul Fishbein...it just wasn't something that mattered to him a whole lot and he just took money from us and threw the show out there.

But the "new" regime of AVN have completely reversed that modus operandi and are very, very active and present in every aspect of the show.

I'm already looking forward to Internext for 2014 to see it continue to grow.

From a practical point of view:
Back in the "old days" (1998, 1999, 2000, 2001) at Internext...we came in working the show with the content company I used to own.

We would profit right there on the floor of the show selling content discs to webmasters. We would always average about $30,000 in sales each year right on the premises. And then of course the sales made for the rest of the year from branding.

Those days are not here anymore. But the ROI can still be there from the business you can create and generate during the show that will bring money in over the next year.

I personally had three things I wanted to accomplish.
I did those three things and then had a couple of other deals fall into my lap just by being here (right place, right time)

I highly recommend that those of you who stopped going to the Internext shows start making your plans for Internext 2014. I truly believe that if you approach it in an economical way you can really get something from the experience.

I didn't pay for dinner once. I didn't pay for any drinks (and when an orange juice and vodka costs $14 each at Vanity NightClub here in Vegas...that can become a big expense in a hurry over a few days).
So it's very possible to catch a cheap flight, book a cheap room at The Hard Rock, and attend Internext without spending a fortune.

You literally have nothing to lose, and everything to gain.

AEE Show:
After the Internext Show ended on Tuesday...it was time for AEE starting up on Wed.

Wed. is "Trade Only" so the AEE show floor isn't packed shoulder to shoulder with fans yet.

I took that opportunity to strap my camera rig on and get some footage of Claudia Marie walking the floor to use as opening footage for one of our next scenes.
Afterwards I put my gear back upstairs in my room and came back down and walked the show. While there...I had another deal literally drop into my lap! I just happened to run into the right person and we began talking and that was that.

Thursday the fan show started. Since I have "skin in the game", it's a no-brainer to send Claudia Marie into the show to walk the floor, meet the fans, and take pictures with them.

There is no better branding than grass roots, face-to-face branding. Even if you don't have skin in the game...you could really do yourself a great service just by hiring a girl to walk the show floor with a t-shirt with your URL on it.

Later Thursday evening we were going to all the parties at The Hard Rock and as I was coming down from Vanity, we were stopped by a gentleman who does cable t.v. and hotel feeds etc.
He comes up and is excited about Claudia Marie and we talk a few minutes. Before our conversation is over I find out that he now has a big chunk of hours to fill and even a reality series deal going down.
He's excited to work with us and there you go again: Right place, right time.

I know that GFY is mostly online porn guys, and a lot of you haven't given the AEE show much thought.

I was the same way until recently. It was always "US" (online porn) against "THEM" (traditional companies). But of course over the years that line has blurred.
Now, everyone is online.

I'm here at AEE making money: new people discovering our website and meeting people I didn't know before with new deals I hadn't thought about before.

If I can do it here with my little "mom and pop" operation...just imagine what YOU could be doing here with your specific talents and resources.

I had fun - and some very interesting meetings

Just as it is supposed to be

It was refreshing to see a lively show floor and not a Ghost town :2 cents:

It was a pleasure to meet you in person. :)

Nicely said! I didn't go to this one because of the last ones... I thought it was over myself.
Now I feel regret for missing it. I feel like I sold out or something. Next year I will go and I will see all you guys and hopefully it will start to be like that great era we all started in.

I don't know if things can ever be like they were in the "gold rush" days.

But even back then...once AVN bought out IA2000 and took over the show, they were virtually non-existent with it.
If you didn't know it already, you wouldn't have even realized that AVN was involved with the show at all.

But now? The AVN staff is all over the show. Literally everywhere you turn. And AVN personally sponsors dinners and parties, etc.

In the old days they didn't lift a finger. But since Theo and Panos took over, it's a complete change for the better.

It really feels like a community of people working towards making money.

And even though it's a great business environment...they haven't skimped on the FUN either.
The parties were a blast. Plenty of naked women and booze and late night carousing for the "keith richards" types like myself to enjoy along with lots of daytime straight ahead business meetings.

Perfect mixture of "Work hard, play hard"

Thanks Robbie. Good to hear. I was there last in 2010 and it was god-awful. You've made me rethink next year. :thumbsup

Yeah 2010/2011 was when the show bottomed out. I really thought it was all over. It was a "transitional year" I guess as the new owners had just taken over.

But as I said earlier...last year (2012 show) it really turned around.

This year I would say is at least 30% better than last year. Even the little "show floor" is starting to get a little bit bigger.

It's almost an exact mirror image of the industry.

Shit hit the fan in 2009...dropped to the floor in 2010...stopped bleeding in 2011...and now is slowly growing again for 2012 and 2013.

It's an encouraging sign for all of us who have bee weathering the storm.

Robbie is on the money with his comments :2 cents::thumbsup

Hats off to The Hard Rock too for being the ideal facility for these shows.

Looks i must prepair myself for next year. Haven't been the last 2 years.
But that is because the dates where wrong, for me.

Good to read that internext is getting better and better again.
But for me 2010 and 2011 was also good.

Agreed.

Obviously it's a bit different scenario for those outside of the U.S.. However, for those in the states or close by, if you fly coach, it's probably a $1000.00 conference (hotel, flight, food). First class, $1500.00. Assuming you do not gamble and/or get comped. All the same, you do one deal, or make one solid contact and you will make that money back many times over. Sometimes just talking to different people and thinking out loud will give you some ideas that will help you profit a lot more than a couple of grand invested.

If dropping $1-2K will make or break you,... then you shouldn't be in this business.

:2 cents:

True dat fine sire. Those years at the Palms, and even that one at the Sands, were rough years. It was like the walking dead.

:Oh crap

Funny, when I started my thread they said I was kissing ass. Apparently only those that did not come feel that way.

Thank you Robbie, Lloyd and everyone. It has been an overall good show. Tomorrow we also anticipate a large crowd and thank God so far it has been a smooth event with very little problems we managed to correct fairly fast.

I believe both interNEXT and AEE can further grow and improve the coming years. It does take a lot of work and we are now having a better understanding of what people expect and want from such events. We did apply a lot of changes since that last one. The one I'm mostly proud is that we have a dedicated team of people with specials needs that have been attending our show for years that volunteered to help others. They have done a great job and we're truly thankful.

We're closing the night tomorrow with the AVN Awards and the after-parties. We were not prepared to cut down the sales of tickets early and we missed it by few hours, therefore we are oversold and had to spent the night at my room to figure a solution. It's one of these good and bad problems to have lol

Well that's relative. New comers in the adult industry often are on a very tight budget, but that doesn't mean anything. You start from somewhere and a lot of the successful people started by not having the luxury of the $1-2k.

Domestic first class is about one and a half times the price of coach. International first class (like from Europe but not Canada) is much more expensive than that. :2 cents:

Well crap, I just may have to make the 24+ hour flight in 2014. I too thought the show was over after the last one I went to.

Just as a side note, you have to be either a baller or a jack ass to actually pay for a first class ticket. That is what mileage upgrades are for.

True. However, I did not mention newcomers to the industry in my reply. Additionally, most of the people in these sort of threads are industry vets who no longer go to shows, and cite them being lame or that they get no value from them any longer. If you've been in this industry for any period of time, you should have the $1-2k to invest in one of the biggest shows of the year.

I specifically cited U.S. based adult industry folk in my reply. That being said, I flew 1st class and it was somewhere around $800.00. Coach at the time I scheduled my flight was $500-600.00 through Delta. It's usually in that ballpark when I schedule cross country.

I had a suite in Casino Tower (versus standard room in Paradise), plus the flight, food, and such my total bill would have been around $1800-2000.00. I gambled some while there, and was comped for most of my room/expenses. Leaving me the cost of the flight and change. I met a couple of my mainstream hosting guys, closed a deal while there for significantly more than $1000.00, or even $2000.00. Meaning, I made my money back and then some. Plus I had gotten to meet some new folks, kick around ideas, and who's to say if those will generate me more than $1000.00 over the course of the year.

The point was, the conference is what you make out of it.

:2 cents:

Good God that is cheap. First Class from where I am to get to the USA can run $4000 - $12,000. I'd never pay that of course, but you can use mileage upgrades to get the seats cheap or if you get an "Around The World" ticket they often upgrade you or include it in very cheap fares. That said, I'm perfectly fine with business class if I can get a deal on it or use upgrade miles.

Can't say that I blame him either. :winkwink:

Baddog - I dont think you were kissing ass at all. :-)
Im happy to see the show returning to its former glory even if not at the full level it was during the golden era of it.

I will be looking to build up my portfolio of people to network with at the next show for sure and surely look forward to getting more involved again.

Heck, everyone, hit me up on skype, lets get to know eachother again and etc...

Skype: critical.net
AIM: Njesteriii

Just finished up the last day of the AEE show. Got a couple more things done today! It's really a great show out here to not only connect with the fans (which is super important), but also to talk, meet, and set up things with people in the business that you don't usually run into.

For instance, we stopped in a few minutes ago at Elizabeth Starr and Tommy Gunn's booth and set up a couple of things that will be very cool.

I'm looking forward to my first AVN Awards Show tonight and walking the red carpet for the first time. We could have walked the red carpet many times in the past (lots of people do), but I never wanted to do it until we had a nomination. :)

likewise - now i know who i am (sometimes) arguing with :winkwink: :1orglaugh

The arguments are just a cover for our homo-erotic online love affair :pimp

:1orglaugh :1orglaugh :helpme

The Awards Show was really good last night.

I've never been to one before...just like walking the red carpet, I didn't feel like I deserved to go until we were nominated.

Over the years I always heard that the show was "boring". But I found it to be entertaining.

I'm not a big hip-hop/rap fan, but the show opened with "Tyga" performing and it kicked things off pretty well. He was focused and performed well. As most of us who have been at some of the Players Ball's over the years and were treated to rap artists who were kinda drunk and incoherent...this was a pleasant change.

Then a hot redhead comedian named April Macie came out and did a short monologue. She was pretty funny and seemed to fit in to the overall vibe of the evening.

They had a duo of a girl DJ and guy guitarist who performed original music that transitioned from one bit to the next all night. And they did a helluva job.

About halfway through the show there was an erotic performance by Cirque Du Soleil's "Zumanity"
They are always great.

We didn't win this year for "Best Solo Girl Website". That award went to JelenaJensen.com
They did a great job and truly deserved to win.

So now, we start working twice as hard this year, and maybe this time next year I'll be announcing that we won! :)

You're forgetting something Robbie
 

AVN sold the rights to AEE to Home Entertainment Expos a long while back. Even though people kept calling it The AVN Show, it was NOT owned and run by AVN in any way.

That ended with the 2010 show [I think it was 2010, not 2009], when AVN took back all rights of the show and brought it back in house for the actual planning and management. The move to the Hard Rock was the final piece in the puzzle of AVN taking it over completely, and getting those HEE people out of the way.

Amazing how you manage to post in every thread how much money you made back in the day. No matter the subject of the thread.
Sad.
Nobody gives a shit you idiot. You're still a fucking nobody and loser in this industry.

Also a bit odd is how Robbie always cries like a little bitch about content theft and now he is all the way up the ass of thief supporters avn. Funny how that works.

I never really knew much about the AEE show since we were only going to the online adult shows.
All I had ever heard was that AVN bought out the old IA2000 shows and turned it into Internext.

Don't know anything at all about Home Entertainment Expos. So that is a new one for me. :)