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  • #16
    As I understand it, hauntcon had no presence at Transworld because Leonard was told he's not welcome anywhere near Transworld because they found out about his email blasts that Transworld deemed negative.

    Transworld is crucial to reaching the industry.

    DA

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    • #17
      Bottom Line

      The bottom line is that attendance was up and those who went enjoyed the show. It was a good location for it, good tours, good education. I'm yet to really hear anything negative from someone who was at the show. Debating their marketing is kind of irrelevant.
      Mike Quill
      Fear Town Haunted House

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      • #18
        Honestly any better marketing and they would have outgrown their venue. So they nailed how many they could handle. Also the Hauntcon audience is not the transworld audience. There is an overlap, but it is rather small. So marketing at transworldwould not help as much with getting happy atendees. I hate it when a show over promises, it is always a let down. Very glad they did not do that. The forums the show was on are more his audience and as a vendor I love that it is diferent people.
        Allen H
        www.Stiltbeaststudios.com
        http://www.youtube.com/user/Stiltbea...s?feature=mhee

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        • #19
          I think their venue was small because they aren't getting vendor support any longer... I want to see Hauntcon succeed. I like the idea of traveling to different cities each you and exposing to the entire industry new haunts, new cities, and new fresh idea's each year. But the show is shrunk now to the point it doesn't even need a show floor and I just wonder out loud here if it would be better off dumping that element all together. Otherwise the show specifically Leonard needs to get on the bike and go all out to promote the show to the entire industry. I stand by what I said that he doesn't even come close to reaching out to the industry to drive in buyers not also vendors.

          When the show started it had lots of vendors now not so much... I'm also NOT buying into they can't get them because of Transworld. You can get them 110% but you have to put forth a much better effort than he does now.

          The effort in my opinion on a scale of 1-10 is below a 5... take away Transworld money and what effort do they make ??? I would say 10 plus all the way. MHC same thing their effort is 10 plus and the results speak for themselves. I like the CONCEPT of Hauntcon better than I like MHC because an MHC style show is stationed in one spot and is limited to the haunts it can showcase, so I hope Hauntcon either gets on or off the bus!

          Larry
          Larry Kirchner
          President
          www.HalloweenProductions.com
          www.BlacklightAttractions.com
          www.HauntedHouseSupplies.com
          www.HauntedHouseMagazine.com

          Comment


          • #20
            I didn't go to Hauntcon even though it was only 3 hours away from me due to commercial business deadlines. Still, I have been able to objectively see how it works, and it is what it is. There is no reason to advertise nationally for something that comes into a region once over 10 years, recruits all the local haunts to participate and uses social media to inform people that are already your contacts.

            The places he is chosing are small and it isn't enough for a big vendor to make a buck but for the brand new guy who wants a responce about his products, the booth cost is super reasonable and it is all doable. Starting out one might rather want their products to be sold and delivered even in person instead of thinking globally right off the bat when you only have 50 of something.

            The parties, the seminars, the haunt tours all have a following. Many of my local haunts do consider this the show they want to attend no matter where in the country it is because of the unpressured pace and low attendance allows lots of one on one contact with people.

            He hits regions that are already a large community that is already connected, it isn't just pick out a city and try to make it work. Its more like back in the Myspace days, there was an article about a band that had a van and a trailer with their instruments and would myspace the next town and get 300 people in a small bar. That to them was a successful number for what they had to offer, what merchandise they had to sell while at the location and what minimums they collected from the door. End of story, it wasn't a get famous or discovered thing, it was make a living kind of thing and I think this article might have come to me from the old Haunted attraction days.


            Why spend big bucks and go through all the motions nationally when you are working limited capacity venues? Everything doesn't have to be super hyped or in competition with something else.

            So the local haunt community and a few of the local stars become the hosts of the event in a way and it is all nice. Those that do make it their business to travel get that same welcoming in all the other towns. So it isn't about neon signs and Las Vegas adds, it becomes as simple as smiling at freinds even though you have nothing to say as you walk by. Real freinds, not networking victims and drinking buddies.
            sigpic

            Another fabulous post from the U.S.Department of Wild Imaginings, now in spectaclar stereo, sponsored by the Adhesives and Sealants Council, suggesting ways to stick things together since the 1800s. Not fabulous in a gay way. Your results may vary. Illinois residents add 8% sales tax. These posts have been made by professional post makers, do not try this type of posting on your own without extensive training, lovely assistants and a trusty clown horn.

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            • #21
              I went and have no major complaints, I do like looking at new products but TW takes that spot for most vendors. I had fun and enjoyed the smaller feel to the show, you left the show feeling that I had a bunch of new friends. As with all shows there is always things you want changed but nothing that is a show stopper for me.
              Phatman

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              • #22
                My business partner and I went to HAuNTcon this year and had an amazing time. We learned so much and enjoyed the haunt tours. I personally didn't go to buy stuff. I went to be reenergized for the 2013 season. Success! We are more excited about our haunt than we have ever been and I believe alot of that is due to our positive experience at HAuNTcon.
                We are hoping for a southeastern city in 2014. If so, not only are we coming back, but we are bringing our core staff.
                www.catacombproductions.com

                Comment


                • #23
                  Maybe...

                  I always felt kind of a little us and them mentality here, at least as far as HAUNTWORLD and HAUNTED ATTRACTION. I am a little sensitive to things like this, maybe I am misreading everything. But someone had April's Fool Joked about Leonard buying up Larry's empire, it was supposed to be a little surprising or shocking-- It felt a little like a jab to me. That said, I don't know what the relationships are between Larry and Leonard and wouldn't want to assume anything. Maybe Leonard is just being extra cautious to not appear as if he's stepping on Larry's toes. Maybe Leonard steers clear to avoid any appearances of impropriety.

                  Leonard is a wealth of information and has done a lot to further this industry too. If he has never been welcomed with open arms to this site, maybe it is time that he is.

                  I am not on the inside track to know the answer to all this, but I'm sure someone out there knows. Anyone???

                  Comment


                  • #24
                    Sawdust,
                    that is an old odg that is currently sleeping. I would love it if we let it lie. Larry has been warmer in recent years andeven promoted/posted about hauntcon in the past. So as all situations do it is evolving.
                    www.Stiltbeaststudios.com
                    http://www.youtube.com/user/Stiltbea...s?feature=mhee

                    Comment


                    • #25
                      I have been to both, didn't make this year hauntcon, made transworld. Comparing the two is like comparing apples an oranges. I go to hauntcom for the classes, different tours every year, and the fun and camaraderie. transworld is to look at all the new cool stuff and buy things.
                      What is so great about hauntcon is that it is in different areas every year. The haunt tour is fantastic. Like said before, it is nice to see the whole gamut of haunts, not just the cream. I like the classes better too, considering they are free and there is many.
                      I think each has its place, and enjoy them both, just for different reasons.
                      I want to try and make mhc this year, not sure funds and work will allow.
                      As a whole, I would say I enjoy hauntcon way more than transworld, but transworld has the sales floor, so you have to go to it.

                      happy haunting everyone

                      Comment


                      • #26
                        Gotcha Allen...

                        Thanks for clarifying, Allen. Didn't want to stir anything up, just not in the loop.

                        Comment


                        • #27
                          Couple more things here...

                          Talked to Cutting Edge Haunted House and they reported about 500 people from Hauntcon attended their haunted house. Obviously the trade show floor was probably the smallest ever but obviously people liked the seminars and the tours.

                          Now to do some clarification here... I have NOTHING against Hauntcon or Leonard in fact just the opposite. I have talked to Leonard multiple times about this show and encouraged him to go more on a limb and promote the event more. I'm a big believer if you don't take risks you'll never experience any rewards... you can't go around hoping or expecting that something great is just going to happen without a maximum effort. I believe 110% that no all out effort is being made to promote this event to its fullest, therefore the tradeshow aspect continues to decline. At some point I think you have to either just say that this is a haunt tour event, with seminars, and parties with no tradeshow floor at all, or you need to do a better job promoting the show to the industry and whomever else you deem as potential targets. These are facts... undisputed in fact.

                          I for one want this show to succeed because the idea that you can go see haunts in different cities is very appealing because it puts the spotlight on different owners, different markets and new fresh faces each year. Now people say and I think Leonard himself has said maybe it doesn't do as well as the other shows because its feet aren't planted in the ground like Transworld or MHC for example... and I say humbug, its lack of effort all out blitzkrieg marketing just isn't done here. This show needs to be marketed sooner, harder, more in depth, turn up all the stones, and let the haunts from those markets sell the event!!! If I took over this event I can assure the attendance would triple in the first year, because I wouldn't take the build it and they will come approach... I want Hauntcon gets bigger and better, and I hope the cities, the haunts, and the owners can help Hauntcon promote this event better.

                          Its not just Leonard doing a poor job its the haunts that get toured they could do more themselves to help sell the event... its an all around the board, get everyone on board approach that needs to happen. I want the show to succeed if I didn't I wouldn't be mentioning any of this ...

                          Bottom line pick a BIG MARKET for next year... go big or go home! Then make the haunts themselves help promote the event, get an early jump, put the peddle to the meddle and never let off and then yes start all over again! Maybe someone will say they are not doing a poor job, okay maybe that is the wrong choice of words. So let me put it another way,,, its not being done on the level that I personally would take this show, how I personally would turn up the heat to a boil, and its certainly not the level or anything close to what Transworld is doing. You don't have to have TW money to promote this show you need the effort to take advantage of everything you know and everything you can do to make it the most successful secondary show of the year.

                          I could post a LONG list of things Hautcon could do to boost attendance, hell I could do the same for ALL these shows every single one, so I hope Hauntcon will do better next year and beyond because the overall concept of the show can be very important to our industry.

                          Larry
                          Larry Kirchner
                          President
                          www.HalloweenProductions.com
                          www.BlacklightAttractions.com
                          www.HauntedHouseSupplies.com
                          www.HauntedHouseMagazine.com

                          Comment

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