ad:tech NY recap

Alright, ad:tech NY is over, and so I am presenting my easy-to-digest, bulletpoint overview of the conference.

• Over 14,000 people attended, most for the expo only. Great job by the ad:tech staff in managing everything, things seem to go very smoothly.
• If ad:tech plans to grow, move it out of the Hilton. I was worried before getting there that the Hilton can't handle the amount of visitors nor the amount of advertisers, and I was right. Most people complained that there was very little room to move and that everyone was on top of each other. Also Tuesday the a/c appeared broken as most people were using brochures to fan themselves.
• Very few booth babes this year. I remember conferences in the late-90s with almost a booth babe per booth average, this time I only saw a few (and frankly they weren't even worth wasting a sd memory card pic on!)
• Majority of booths fit into a few categories:
• search ad firms
• companies selling leads (or lead generation software)
• email software
• ad networks
• If you get listed on TechCrunch, know it. 1-800-Free-411, had no idea who or what TC is, nor realized that traffic was coming from them.
• If you are not comfortable in speaking in front of an audience, either don't do it or don't do it. (cough CircuitCity cough)
• Could use more spaces for meetings — a couple "quiet" rooms would have been great
• SimplyHired throws a great party!
• Jay from Text Link Ads is really bright.
• Google needs to have PR staff at events
• Number of little people promoting a booth: 1
• Number of celebrities promoting a booth: 1
• Number of people wearing LCD screens with horrible music: 1
• Number of people wearing LCD screens on their head: 2
• tns media intelligence wins the "coolest giveaway" award – its a cheesy highligter with a smiley face head, but you know what – sometimes you need a smiley face highlighter!
• If you see I am wearing a press badge and want to talk, then ask me to talk. If you don't have the cajones to ask me to talk, then No Soup for You!
• Majority of people in suits (with tie) and only about 2% in jeans
• Really enjoyed my discussions with eBuddy and Oddcast
• The daily newspaper of the previous day's events were good reads
• Great wi-fi connection throughout the location
• Rant on Hilton – $3.50 to check a coat? You realize you could get 2 hot dogs and a knish for that from the cart outside? $15.00 for a one-page fax? I believe their prices were the same in 1999. No joke.

Overall, I think the staff from ad:tech did a great job in conference management. The blogger/press/speaker room was a great place to work from. I look forward to comparing this event to the ad:tech San Francisco 2007 early next year.