The Vanity (event) Card

There are events that provide contractors with traction, and there are events that feed egos with photo-ops and promises of Hill denizens and more.

The photo-op event producer is playing the vanity card, and the target is always an executive, one who might succumb to the “Senators and representatives and appointees, oh my!” pitch, already envisioning where on the office wall all the photos will go… And sponsoring is “only $50,000-$80,000 (or higher),” depending on the level of sponsorship.

The vanity event producer always bypasses the VP or Director of Marketing, as marketers know there is a better use for the precious marketing dollars. They also know a boondoggle when they see it.

For decades I have seen sales people from event producers wine and dine executives from OEMs and SIs, seeking to sell the ephemeral “perfect event,” usually a star-studded (in DC terms) affair with “speaking slots,: 5 minutes for $50K, or be a panel moderator for $80K. I’ve seen events that actually draw the Hill-types and the senior appointees, and I’ve seen events where the post-presentation reception is a ghost town with enough food to feed the homeless for miles around.

When the promised results do not occur ("the Senator couldn't make it but his maiden Aunt was in town"), the vanity producer is apologetic and vows to offer a “steep discount” on the next over-priced future fiasco.

Events can be quite expensive and selecting the right event for any company in the Federal market is not easy. But some pitches should come with a built in caveat emptor...

Not that I have an opinion…