Hauntcon Reports

[drfrightner]

This is it... everything else I have is so blurry its unusable. I hope someone else took pictures. Thanks

[drfrightner]

FYI... wrote a Hauntcon wrap up which can be seen on the Hauntworld blog! Larry

[SomeThingInTheIce]

Hay, where in Florida are you? We are in Melrose just east of Gainesville.

FrightProps just moved 1.5 hour drive from Orlando so I am stoked HauntCon will be right next door next year! If true FrightProps will for sure have a bunch of booths.

I was surprised to see a couple of new haunts popping up in Tampa this year. Maybe with the economy the way it is we will see Florida haunts spring up and do well? Maybe Universal will have a special haunt event just for HauntCon? Hmm... We will see!

[Patti Ludwinski]

I had a blast at HauntCon...The social aspect is just amazing! The friendliness of the HauntCon crew was wonderful. Daily free lunch provided to all exhibitors, a welcome gift bag at arrival, pizza at show closing and more! Plus, the afterhour events were unbelievably FUN. The costume ball party was awesome! Thank you Leonard and Jennifer and of course Leonard's wonderful mother who frequently checked on the exhibitors too! Also, thank you Tim and Ann for the wonderful hospitality Friday night! Everyone and everything was amazing. HauntCon is FUN and I highly encourage attendance at this show! For a really fun time, you should definitely go to HauntCon!

As a first time exhibitor, this is my feedback:
1. ATTENDANCE: Most people in attendance were native WI or IL with very few from elsewhere. But that's to be expected from a traveling show. (...Don't get me wrong, I LOVE LOVE LOVE the fact that this convention is a traveling show.) Attendance in general could and should be higher. Again I tell you, If you're looking for a GREAT time...GO TO HAUNTCON! You'll have an absolute BLAST!

2. PROFITS: As an exhibitor, I personally had very little invested in attending. I drove in. I got a great deal on my hotel ($50/nite) thru PriceLine. I had a small booth with a computer and my sales pitch...That's about it. So my sales were nearly all profit! I would DEFINITELY like to attend again! (But Orlando.?.?...Maybe not. I'll explain why not later.)

3. SEMINARS (AGAIN, THIS IS FROM AN EXHIBITOR VIEWPOINT): Too many seminars! There are SO many seminars going on throughout the day that the show floor was frequently dead. Attendees are in seminar after seminar after seminar. Then, attendees would flood into the show floor aisles, only to disappear again for MORE seminars. If I had one suggestion to request from the HauntCon crew, I would ask them to consider a way to better time the seminars to ensure more steady traffic on show floor.

Now let me explain why I personally wish 2010 HauntCon wasnt set for Orlando. I sell state specific online ad campaigns to haunted houses. I attended the 2009 HauntCon specifically to grow my WI business (& surrounding states) thinking that's where the majority of attendees would be from. Prior to attending, I knew there were WI haunts that weren't currently taking advantage of what I have to offer through a HauntWorld banner ad campaign. So I went to specifically get those haunts advertising, and I accomplished just that! In Orlando, there are no haunts. Sure haunts might travel to attend, but which haunts will be in attendance?...I wouldnt know til I arrived. Odds are, those that attend could very possibly be my current customers who already renew each year. In which case, my profits would be nada. Sure, I could go to network, but I would have more invested with it in Orlando. I would have airfare and shipping charges and potentially higher hotel stay too. It's simply more of a risk.

Why are there no haunts in Orlando? ... Haunts cant complete with all those major amusement parks. Why are there few haunts in FL in general? ... The high price of property value makes it very difficult to open and be successful in FL.

This overview is only specific to my situation. Bottomline, I loved HauntCon and only wish wish wish they'd change their location for 2010, so that I could better rationalize attending next year, because I SOOOO want to go again. And, I absolutley encourage everyone to attend Hauntcon!!!

Cheers,
Patti

[JamBam]

great review Patti

Patti,

Your comments on the business aspect of it make sense. I hope that you sold those people I commented to when I passed those times.

Glad you had a good time. Maybe you can drag the boss to Columbus. lol

[Killer Katie]

Seminars vs floor time

I can see both sides, having good friends with a booth and being an educator...
There needs to be a more efficient way to get the customers to have their time on the floor and have the educational part as well. I will be emailing some suggestions for this to Leonard.
Apart from that, I had a blast! Met a lot of very nice, very creative people. And got a lot of positive feedback about the seminars I taught.
I was pleased with the way the staff as well, they were very helpful and super friendly!!
It was worth the 8 hr drive there and back, and the speed "warning" I got on the way home

[drfrightner]

I will have to agree with Patti 110%. The amount of vendor booths at Hauntcon where down. You can claim economy but look at Transworld the booths where sky high! I hear a lot of comments about the seminars and that there are way to many and it hurts the tradeshow floor. I think this could be one of the main reasons why some vendors didn't go back.

I said this before and I will say it again... Hauntcon should go to a 110% haunt tour slash seminar event, and skip the show floor all together or they need to balence it out some. Having seminars overlap the tradeshow floor constantly does hurt the vendors and their gripes should be heard.

I know some vendors griped about Transworld but they had the seminars one hour apart from each other. Maybe Hauntcon should do the same as Patti has suggested or simply go to a haunt tour seminar only event. If they did that they could cut all those costs of renting a hall selling booths and all of that.

It really should be an either or thing... either cut the floor out and then really hit the seminars and tours harder with a party as they have now or put more weight into the tradeshow floor and give those vendors more breathing room between seminars.

I will say this Hauntcon even had seminars stretching into Monday when technically the show was over... they have more seminars than you can shake a stick at! LOL

Larry

[PUREEVIL]

Hauntcon

This being the first Hauntcon I've gone to. I thought it was the biggest waste of $40. I pretty much paid $40 for a stupid bag. I've seen more props and masks at a garage sale. Vendors listed on Hauntcons website were not even their. Distortions was the biggest disappointment, did this guy drive up in a Geo Metro? 3 maybe 4 props, and to bring the lamest ones. I thought shows like this you'd want to bring the "good stuff". Maybe next year, when Hauntcon comes around I'll just save my money and go to Spirit Halloween store and piss away 10 grand on the crap they sell.

[Patti Ludwinski]

Brett, THANK YOU for being a walking testimonial for me!...That was awesome. I'd be selling someone on the benefits of a HauntWorld banner ad campaign and Brett Molitor would be walking by, poke his head into the conversation, and tell the haunter "DO IT. IT WORKS!" Not just once, but 2 or 3 times. God love ya, Brett. That was one of the highlights I talked with Larry about as soon as I got home. Larry too thought that was awesome of ya...Thanks!!!

Patti

[Jolly Pumpkin]

She must have been moving around a little when she took the photos. They aren't that bad, but not good enough for a magazine.

[drfrightner]

Noah,

You are right not good enough... I don't know what her deal was! LOL

Usually when I go to shows I don't take pictures of people standing around just the vendors..all the people care about is seeing what was in the booths nothing more. Yeah it looked pretty dead in the photos because the photos where taken on Sunday.

As for the one person who was ripping on Hauntcon, let me say this. I agree with you on one hand and don't on another. I agree with you and I have been saying this for years... even though some shows hype themselves up as something they really aren't, (NHC comes to mind), they misrepresent not only their own show but the whole industry.

NHC is not a national haunt convention, and Hauntcon is not a national haunt convention either. I don't like them being called that because when they do get a media person to check out the show, based on the show title the reporter might think this is it, this is the haunt industry, and their end impression is small, not that big, not really worthy of major press.

I like what MHC does because they say clear as day its a midwest show, its not a NATIONAL SHOW, why did EHC change to National??? THEY ARE NOT NATIONAL...they don't spend a dime from where I'm sitting on marketing so why NATIONAL?

Some people who have never been to these shows think they are one thing when really they are not. Rich Strelak wrote an article about this subject, and he stated FACTS, he outlined that these shows have a place, but why misrepresent them as something they are not.

I think in the long run Hauntcon would be better served as spelling out exactly what it is SEMINARS SEMINARS SEMINARS and HAUNT TOURS AND MORE HAUNT TOURS and dump the tradeshow floor all together and just sell tables outside seminar rooms or something.

Make it a haunted house owner gathering chalk filled with education and tours. I think that is more valuable and is more of the reality in my mind.

Me personally I will not promote NHC because I think its being mis-represented as something its not and in a market like Philly could make us look like we're small when really we are huge!

I wish they would change their names back to EHC just like MHC and I think Hauntcon should be just that Hauntcon not this whole National Haunted House Tradeshow and Convention or whatever.

If you remove some of the tag lines, some of the weaker elements how can you ever disagree that Hauntcon is one of the best times to be had by haunt owners?

Come, relax, learn, drink and let your hair down!

In the end I don't know how all the vendors did but I do think Hauntworld Magazine had a great experience at Hauntcon and will go back! We will also attend MHC because it represents itself as exactly what it is and it does play a very important roll in the industry.

I think in the end most haunters now are socialites, and Hauntcon and MHC really fill those rolls nice! I think Transworld was very stressfull for may people especially vendors. Transworld is BUSINESS all BUSINESS and Hauntcon is nothing but a GREAT TIME!!!!!!

Based on what Patti is saying or has said to me, Hauntcon was 10 times more fun than Transworld, but Transworld is business!

I will personally attend Hauntcon in 2010 with my kids in toe... I'll be there!

Larry

[Tater]

But Larry your site is HauntWORLD...and I dont see any listings for China or Aussyland...does this mean you should change your name to Haunts of The United States and Surrounding areas? HAHA I do agree that NHC should go back to EHC but just becuase NHC sounds waayyy to much like MHC

[RJ Productions]

Brent,

You are right in that it would be better to report first hand. That is why my comments have nothing to do with the amount of people in attendance, seminars, haunt tours, or anything that requires a first hand knowledge to comment on.

My comments have to do with procedures, policies..things that can be commented on. Would I like to attend personally? Sure. the only problem being that I have been banned from attending! Yep. In fact Studio Tek was considering showing at HC and since I help Robert at his booth, Mr. Pickel informed Robert that I would not be allowed access to the show. Robert states, "you mean to tell me you are going to dictate who a can and can't have in my own booth?" and again Leonard states that it is his show and I will not be allowed access to it.

My daughter moved to Chicago and was visiting friends in Racine. She asked if it would a problem attending HC. I told her she should be OK but the last name is a litle usual.. She was questioned with "gee this name sounds familar" and the like but she didn't say she was my daughter so there wasn't a hassle.

She liked the show. She wasn't able to attend the haunt tours. She, like many others said the show floor was small and attendance was very low, but it was Sunday so I am sure a percentage of people were traveling back home. She found everyone friendly and helpful and said she'd go to another if it was in the Midwest area again.

So like Larry, I did not attend personally, but had family members attend. My comments only question policies that could be detrimental to the continued succes of the show. I might want to meet my daughter in Chicago and attend a show sometime in the future! Who knows, by then maybe I'll even get admittance!!!

[Killer Katie]

Just a question....

What were the situations and circumsatnces that came to you being banned?
Just a curiousity and more rhetorical question.

[drfrightner]

Tater,

Hauntworld has listings from other natons yes we do. Click on International. In fact Tater we have some haunts from England that want us to create a section for England. EHC is NOT a National show period!

I simply would like to see shows reprsent themselves as what they are not what they are not. EHC is not the national haunters convention. IF that is what they want to be then they should kick up the national maketing.

Anyway... bottom line is Hauntcon for me is something I want to support and offer my suggestions too. I hope Leonard reads all the comments made by everyone here and thinks about everything.

We should bullet point them such as the seminars taking away from the show floor, seminars quality over quantity, and well Orlando maybe not the best spot but I'm sure he'll make it work!

Larry