ad:tech – You Knew It Was Coming: A Party Post!

How could I blog about a conference and not post some party pix? My gosh, it’s become sort of a tradition here at TSB. So here ya go, all you voyeurs out there: lotsa goofy grab shots with my cheap little camera that doesn’t do flash shots worth a damn…so I shoot only with available light, and get all kinds of blur and fuzz and stuff. I know its painful for you purists out there (trust me, it hurts me, too), but I just can’t fit in my big camera at these things. I have to travel light. These will still give you a feel for things, I hope, here at ad:tech Chicago last night. The venue was Fulton’s on the River, a huge club/restaurant at Wacker and LaSalle.

I’d always heard the parties were legendary at ad:tech shows. Well, this was the only one happening at this event (at least that I heard of). Even Google, which had a presence here (as an exhibitor), apparently didn’t have a party — a first in my experience! (Times getting tough, Eric? I know you’re trying to control that headcount now, but why is the party budget always the first to go?) I did hear WebTrends took some people to the Cubs-Phillies game, but that was about it. There were likely other, smaller gatherings, however — with 3000-some people at this thing. The majority of the attendees turned out for this one, big, official party, however (sponsored by CIMA) — so, it was mobbed. One free drink ticket and some minimal muchies — whoopie. But everyone seemed to be having fun, whether indoors in the AC, or out in the humid air on the crowded, narrow deck alongside the river.

I met some fun people: Mark Gordonson with rich-media company InterPolls, Pasadena — a surfer who lives in Venice, CA, and also surfs down at San O. (How do I always manage to meet surfers at conferences? Global tribe, indeed…) He covers the Midwest, so had recently been in Mpls to meet with Target. He said he’s hearing advertisers wanting technology that would let web users pull widgets off their ads to put onto their own SN sites. Pretty cool. Also ran into Manoj Jasra, director of technology for B2B search firm Enquiro in British Columbia. He’s here blogging for his own blog and has a close relationship with WebTrends (but missed the bus to Wrigley Field).
I also met the infamous Ron May of The May Report, a longtime source of tech scoop and gossip in Chicagoland. This guy knows how to work a crowd, collecting cards like mad, and talking into his voice recorder to make notes on the fly….

Later, I met a really smart young New Media Account exec for the local ABC affiliate, ABC7Chicago, Farren Ionita. She said she was a dot-bomb startup survivor, but didn’t look old enough. Wow, she asked so many smart questions, my head hurt. I had to tell her I’d email her after the wine wore off. But here goes, Farren: you asked what’s one cool thing we need in online advertising but don’t have yet? Okay, listening? It’s the ability to target brand messages to very specific, pinpointed demographics across all the social networking sites that are proliferating out there — thousands and thousands of them (not just the big ones everyone’s heard of). Think long tail, and because all those SN sites need to monetize to stay alive. That’s just got to happen, and I’m betting it will soon. So, there ya have it!

After a couple Merlots — okay, three, all right? — and a few bites of something so small I could barely taste it, I had to get back to my hotel for some real food. That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it. I was snoozing by 11:30. Had to be fresh for the last day of ad:tech, which I’m betting I’ll like even more.

(I’ll try to get all my party pix uploaded to my Flickr page later.)