The Amtower Report

(The Amtower Report is an e-journal on the Business-to-Government market featuring the opinions of Mark Amtower, and occasionally reader comments. This newsletter is only sent to those who request it. Sign up for your free subscription at http://www.FederalDirect.net and if you like this newsletter, please pass it along to your colleagues. To unsubscribe, see directions below. The newsletter is posted each Monday at www.FederalDirect.net, and the latest “Off-Center Observations” is on the home page. All back issues available at http://www.federaldirect.net/newsletterarchives.html)

In this issue:
1) Amtower Off-Center Observations
2) The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
3) Events Worth Attending

AMTOWER OFF-CENTER OBSERVATIONS

Item: Nine days left (April 19, Tower Club, Vienna, Virginia) until The Ultimate B2B Web Site makeover. Web diva Amy Africa is the best at creating sites that maximize the value of your web site, whether you are selling products or simply providing information. If you need to make certain you are maximizing the of each and every web visit your site gets, attend this seminar. It is only $495 ($395 for government and education). Do NOT miss this opportunity. http://www.federaldirect.net/ultimatewebsitemakeover.html

Item: Feedback on my first radio show (WBIS out of Annapolis, 1190 AM) was positive. My guest this afternoon is one of the greats of business development and capture management, Bob Lohfeld. All shows will be archived at www.GovernmentExpress.com.

Item: And speaking of radio, Taking Care of Business with Brian Roberts has moved to Saturday afternoon on WMAL (630AM in DC).

Item: Even more on radio, the Washington Post radio show is truly an extension of the newspaper, in interview format. I would like to know when the business part happens (I do not know what their schedule is). They have some very good hosts that keep things moving well.

Item: Check out the Women in Technology (WIT) item in Events (below). I have been asked to moderate a panel of extraordinary and talented women. FYI: I do have a history with WIT. I was the only male at the first meeting, held over ten years ago. Want proof that my mouth often operates independently of my brain? During this meeting I was asked by one attender why I was there. Without hesitation I replied… Recipes. Such class, Amtower, such finesse.  It is amazing I get invited anywhere…

Not that I have an opinion.

THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY: FOSE, CONTINUED

I received in response from Tom Temin (EVP, Editor in Chief, PostNewsweekTech Media) to my item about Lorenz Hassenstein leaving PostNewsweek and FOSE. I have reprinted my comment, then the comment from Mr Temin, and then my response.

Amtower: It was announced last week that Lorenz Hassenstein is leaving FOSE and PostNewsweekTech. My articles about FOSE run the gamut from being a dinosaur to being a revitalized part of the community. It has evolved to that new status largely because of Lorenz and his vision and execution for the show. The 2006 FOSE was better than it has been in several years. With his departure, I am afraid FOSE has once again entered the realm of No Adult Supervision, and while this may make for good (future) editorial fodder for me, it does not bode well for the show and its exhibitors.

Temin: Mark, Mark, Mark:

A few facts re FOSE:

I will be responsible for FOSE content next year—that is adult supervision. I think I know the market.

Duncan Ballantine is a pretty darn experienced sales executive, and he has an existing sales force for both FOSE and the publications, many of whom have been with their properties 7, 10, 15, even 20 years—that is adult supervision.

The logistics and events staff of FOSE are all still here—that is adult supervision.

Come on!

Amtower: Tom, Tom, Tom:

Sales and content do not add up to a full-fledged trade show. You may have the bandwidth to do content, but you do not possess the skills Lorenz brought to the table as far as overall show management.

Mr Ballantine has no current credentials in this market. This is not to intimate that he is not a talented sales executive, but simply to point out that his experience in this market (which has a myriad of nuances different from any other market) is all of, what, two months? Yes, he has a sales staff with experience, so I hope he listens to them, especially to my favorite PNWT sales guy, Dave Blumgart, and comes up to speed quickly. Selling the space on a show floor is not the same as managing a successful event.

For several years FOSE was on a downward spiral in terms of attendance and exhibitor satisfaction (my own informal survey, not scientific by any stretch). The downward spiral led to what many considered an embarrassment, FOSE 2003. This was the event where MicroWarehouse was allowed to run rampant by FOSE show management (any of the staff you currently have?). For those who do not recall the event, it is memorialized in my Off-White Paper 21, http://www.federaldirect.net/offwhite21.html

Mr Hassenstein brought the trade show management skills that FOSE sorely needed. The most obvious of these was the floor traffic model this year. For the first time in my memory (and I have been attending FOSE since the early 1980s) there was legitimate floor traffic on all parts of the show floor. In previous years (before and during the PNWT ownership of FOSE) there were always aisles on the side and in the back that had little traffic, as if floor layout was an afterthought. The new traffic model democratized the show floor and created a traffic flow that encompassed the entire exhibit floor.

I would like FOSE to succeed. I am not attempting to make light of the talent PostNewsweek brings to the table, but that talent does not now include a trade show manager.

Editorial may be able to do content, and sales may be able to take care of exhibits. But there is no Ringmaster for this circus.

Beware of the schlock vendors, producing minimal value events, events that eat your money with no significant return! The events listed below are among those I think are worth your time, money and effort. Just because an event is not listed below does not imply it is not worth attending. If you want my opinion on a specific event or producer, call me. This topic is addressed more thoroughly in the members section at www.GovernmentMarketingBestPractices.com.

APRIL 19, 2006, Tower Club, Vienna, VA. Amtower & Company presents the one and only Amy Africa and THE ULTIMATE B2B WEB SITE MAKEOVER. For those of you who do not know Ms Africa, she is perhaps the most sought after web consultant in the world, and we have sixty seats available for her first ONE DAY session focusing exclusively on maximizing the impact of B2B and B2G web sites. http://www.federaldirect.net/ultimatewebsitemakeover.html

April 20, 16th Annual OSDBU Procurement Conference, Upper Marlboro, MD http://www.fbcinc.com/event.asp?eventid=Q6UJ9A00AJ0N

April 26, Women In Technology – Exploring Effective Government Strategies, Tysons Corner Marriott, 7:30 AM- 10 AM, www.WomenInTechnology.org This is a panel on marketing with Lisa Dezzutti (Maerket Connections, LouAnne Brossman (Juniper Networks),  Ann_Marie Clark (CDW-G), and Pamela Graff (SAIC). I am the moderator.

April 25-27, GovSec, DC Convention Center. Among the keynoters, one of my favorites, Commander Richard Marcinko, former US Navy Seal, founder of Seal Team Six and Red Cell. Another highlight for those, like me, who collect signed first editions from favorite authors, seven authors will be signing their respective books on security, terrorism and more. www.GovSecInfo.com

May 2-4, 15^th Annual Global INFOSEC Partnership Conference http://www.fbcinc.com/event.asp?eventid=Q6UJ9A00AYU6

May 2-5, Air Force Space Command Information Assurance Summit 2006, http://www.fbcinc.com/iasummit/default.asp

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As always, your comments, questions and suggestions are welcome.

Thanks
Mark Amtower

The Amtower Report is published by Amtower & Company, and is written for companies targeting the government marketplace. The opinions expressed are those of Mark Amtower unless otherwise noted. Contact us at Amtower & Company, PO Box 314, Highland, MD 20777-0314 (301-924-0058). This material is copyrighted and may not be duplicated, reprinted or otherwise replicated without written permission of the publisher. Email subscriptions are free by request: sign up at www.FederalDirect.net