The Reason It Pays to Attend WEVA EXPO
June 06, 2005
Sarasota, FL - Videographers who have attended Wedding & Event Video Expo in the 15-year history of this ground-breaking industry-wide convention and trade show often cite the key reason for attending in two words: It pays!
So when the question of attending this year's 15th Annual WEVA EXPO (August 8-11), was asked on the WEVA members-only Discussion Forums over the weekend, WEVA International's Director of Communications Dan Argenas replied. He showed why it can be more expensive for a professional wedding & event videographer to stay home when our industry's biggest convention & trade show gets underway in August. Direct from the WEVA Production and Marketing Forum, here is his complete post:
"This is Wedding & Event Video Expo's 15th year! It's a special milestone for the EXPO and for our industry at-large, and a celebration year for everyone attending. Many pro video shows have come and gone, or never made it off the ground, in the course of WEVA EXPO's 15-year history.
It's the same with video equipment. Since 1991, the first year of the EXPO, you can think of a ton of video gear that's now 'history' (and that history, by the way, is being preserved by WEVA and will be on display in the WEVA Wedding & Event Videography Hall of Fame's Tools & Technology Exhibit at this year's convention).
WEVA EXPO has not only endured year after year for 15 years, it's grown bigger and gotten better with each passing year. Those who attend have been able to take back elements from the convention that are meaningful and productive for THEIR business and apply them.
The result is that for well over a decade the majority of attendees have learned that it does pay to go to WEVA EXPO. Actually, it can be more expensive to stay home.
Here's how videographers have explained it to me time and again.... Let's focus on just Wedding bookings for a moment, and let's look at the monetary incentives only and nothing else.
How many weddings is an average videographer producing a year — 10?, 20?, 40?, 100? If a videographer discovers and applies only ONE element, just one from attending the many EXPO seminars/workshops, demonstrations, training sessions, activities, etc., – whatever that element may be — even if it's a single piece of advice you picked-up from networking with other videographers who are there from all over the United States and around the world --- or even if it's a new video concept you noticed from just glancing at the CEA monitors – just ONE idea or element that you took back and applied or adapted to fit your own business...
If that one idea allows the videographer to earn, on average, an extra $300 or $500 per wedding, then by year's end, you can calculate how much he/she has profited from attending WEVA EXPO:
Earning Extra $300/booking:
10 weddings - extra income: $3,000
20 weddings -extra income: $6,000
40 weddings - extra income: $12,000
100 weddings - extra income: $30,000
Earning Extra $500/booking:
10 weddings - extra income: $5,000
20 weddings -extra income: $10,000
40 weddings - extra income: $20,000
100 weddings - extra income: $50,000
That's based on just one element or idea applied only to wedding work. And many videographers have taken time to tell me and other WEVA staff that the $300-$500 figure is conservative. Why? Applying a new concept from EXPO or new marketing strategy has returned even higher results:
New $1,000 Add-On Applied to:
10 bookings - extra income: $10,000
20 bookings - extra income: $20,000
40 bookings - extra income: $40,000
100 bookings - extra income: $100,000
That's why videographers say it pays to attend WEVA EXPO, and pays better than if you were to stay home for the 3 days of the convention.
Hotel costs can be sliced in half. How? Share a room! The guest rooms are beautiful and spacious at the Las Vegas Hilton. WEVA will open the annual EXPO Room Share Program later this week for anyone who wants to split costs with another member.
Air fares to Las Vegas are cheap if you book through the Internet and book soon! Waiting to the last minute can mean higher fares due to fewer seats available.
Food is cheap in Las Vegas and at the Las Vegas Hilton beer and wine is FREE when you dine at The Buffet (5pm-10pm, 7 days a week). Can't beat free -- even if you're not on a budget and bringing the family.
The Hilton offers everything from pizza, deli subs, fruit bowls, TexMex and flap-jack all the way to 5-star gourmet -- some 15 restaurant options in all. (Las Vegas itself is currently the culinary capital as well as the entertainment capital of the world). So you won't go hungry--even if you're on a strict budget.
What you spend is up to you. If you're on a very tight budget...know what it is and stick to it! This is business, and you've got to be business-minded, even at an industry-wide convention that's fun and exciting, as well as educational and necessary for professional development.
This year, in addition to all of the cutting-edge conference sessions -- aisles of new products for professional wedding & event videographers, including new cameras, decks, hardware, and software will fill the huge trade show hall at the Las Vegas Hilton on August 9 & 10.
Major manufacturers like Apple, Adobe, Canopus, Avid and others are planning to set up even more computer workstations than last year to provide system-specific training to wedding and event videographers right on the show floor.
WEVA EXPO is the ONE convention where you can go hands-on, compare all the products at once back-to-back, get your questions answered, and 'try before you buy' and then buy at special EXPO-only discounts and save!
Anybody, of course, can buy video equipment (next month even Uncle Charlie can buy a new HDV consumer camcorder for just $1,700). But, as most WEVA members I think would agree, just having the 'right' camcorder or the 'right equipment' isn't nearly as important for success (creative as well as financial) as what you learn to DO with that hardware or software, and your skills in marketing and selling your services, especially in what has now become a very competitive video marketplace.
WEVA International will be making major announcements in conjunction with this year's special 15th EXPO starting this week, and continuing right up to 'show time.' Program and registration details will be posted online shortly. WEVA EXPO 2005 is an industry hallmark event you won't want to miss!
There are many reasons that make attending WEVA EXPO more profitable than staying home while the biggest convention & trade show in the world for our industry and your business is taking place. Anyone who has any questions, please feel free to contact me anytime at [email protected] or by calling the WEVA office at 941-923-5334."
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WEVA News is a service of the Wedding & Event Videographers Association International (WEVA). The largest trade association for professional wedding and event videographers, WEVA International is dedicated to advancing the professional interests of videographers worldwide through continuing education, technical support, group benefits, advocacy committees and professional development training. For more information regarding professional videography and WEVA International activities and membership, including the 15th Annual WEVA EXPO (August 8-11, 2005), visit www.weva.com, or contact the association office at 941-923-5334 or email: [email protected]. |
