Re: [AGA-mcm] ACA Impressions

["S. Hieber" <shieber@yahoo.com>]

Some added comments interjected below:


--- Erik Olson <erik@thekrib.com> wrote:

> 
> First of all, I think it was a good experience.

AS few folks even asked if we'd be at Chicago (ACA 2006)!

>  This is
> the first time I 
> can remember multiple AGA "normal members" helping out
> manning a booth. 
> Cheryl, Scott and Ann were the mainstays,

I dind't do much booth work at all, but David Lim spent a
whole day and Harold asa much time or more over several
days.  (CR, hope David liked the bbq).

> but Harold
> LaRoux and a couple 
> of others helped out for long stretches.  It was great to
> see these folks 
> answering random plant questions from the
> convention-goers.  This is 
> really one of those "service" areas I think the AGA could
> get into.

The hardest part is the travel costs and then the printing
costs, then local participation for a supply of nice
plants.


> The booth was very generous -- Larry & the TCA folks gave
> us as much space 
> as the ACA registration table that stood opposite us. 

Our tables were right on the path to, and jsut outside the
doors to the speaker rooms!


> Cheryl did a really 
> nice trifold gateway black posterboard . . . Ann brought
her spouse's laptop. . .

Cheryl and Ann did a great job of fielding repeated
onslaughts of questions, and remaind cheerful and friendly
throughout the weekend. I don't know how folks do that.
Just incredible.
 
> Between the three 
> of us (me, Cheryl and Scott), we had over 100 copies of
> the beginner 
> brochure.  

Some remain in our possession -- Cheryl mgiht know how many
we took back home. They went like hot cakes the first few
days and then slowed down the last two -- My guess is that
many folks already had them by the third day and the the
folks that were new to the convention on the third day were
hard core fishies with more parochial interests, for
example, not jsut fish, not just cichlids, not just
africans, but only haplichromis -- 

> We also gave out free PAMs 

We finally found the market price for PAMs! At last we have
a measn for getting these out of CR's closet and into the
hands of the hobbyists.

> 
> Cheryl will no doubt have the numbers -- I beleive the
> final tally was 
> somewhere between $700 and $800 gross,

Naw, I have all the receipt-copies and cash. I won't have
it worked out until this weekend. Sales are our except AGA
plants we split half with ACA and DFWAPC we split 50% with
ACA and 25% with DFWAPC. We didn't sell just plants but we
sold mostly plants and I believe mostly DFWAPC plants.
Otoh, we sold all the java I brought in the fist two days
and given how we bagged it, that had to bring over $90 and
Cheryl and David brought even more stuff.




> I consider this an
> exercise in 
> exposure.

I thin the AGA-ACA PLant Awareness Program was a terrific
success. A lot of people came over and nosed around that
didn't do plants at all. We sold some plants to a few of
those. A lot of folks had questions, and we hopefully
helped them.


> We should probably post something about on the website
> and TAG and to the 
> member list.  Scott has some pictures.

Oh we should. IT remains to be seen if I have (useable)
pictures but I did use the camera about 30 or so times.
Again, that will have to wait for this weekend.



> Oh, also, someone posted an ad for the APC Aquascaping
> Contest on the Guy 
> Jordan board.  I wonder who did that?


To me the big standouts on the add, literally, phsically,
and cognitively are the cash prices and the "help Desks"
for the contest.

Impressive touches from a marketing point of view, imo.

> Also, Ray Lucas said something strange about Dave Gomberg
> approaching him 
> regarding his availability for a plant convention in San
> Francisco 
> February 2006 (to which Ray declined).  I think it is
> time for someone 
> (possibly our convention liaison? or maybe the president)
> to call up any 
> of our SFBAAPS reps and find out what the heck is going
> on.

No sneakin' in more stuff to do in message about something
else! ;-)  The curious thing is Feb 2006 can't be a SFBAAPS
event because they know it comes no where near the 12 month
deadline that AGA has imposed. Although, it is a date that
SFBAAP ahd talked about back when they were talking
convention-planning talk.

We haven't heard back again from Dooley (Indiana). Typical
Hieber skepticism: If the only time we hear from these
prospective convention producers is when we rattle the
chain, I'm not sure these folks have the initiative to
orchestrate the production.

sh
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