Saturday in Memphis was dead, with many people leaving their booths 2 and 3 hours before official teardown, due to previously scheduled airline flights out as well as a general lack of interest. Those that took off most of the week to attend classes generally did not stick around all day Saturday.
From past experience in Las Vegas, you sometimes had a weekend crowd that would show up on Saturday or Sunday (when a trade show is open both days) because it allowed business owners to fly in from Los Angeles or other key West Coast cities on the weekend and still conduct business during the week. Atlanta could have similar demographics that might have a few wanting to fly in for a Friday-Saturday visit, and April is still a nice time of the year for us Northerners to head south.
What works will depend upon how the Atlanta show is marketed.
You need to think outside your previous marketing plans to get the attention of others in this general business; enough to travel to Atlanta for a show.
Many people in the industry were totally unaware of the Memphis show,
and if more DISH or DirecTV installers were in the loop, a larger attendance
could be expected. Such a gathering of "outsiders" in the industry might
even be larger next year, if one or more class action suits against DTV and
DISH gain any more momentum. There are a lot of angry dealers and installers complaining about the way the "system" is gamed against them
and cheating them out of commissions and playing games with chargebacks.
Any training that offers the hope in diversifying their business plans will be a draw for others.
I was totally amazed that I was the only one in Memphis tinkering with
multifeeds and motorized C-band antennas....the business isn't dead yet;
it is probably a sign that very few of us 20 year+ veterans are left, who remember the innovation of the 80s before scrambling. New blood is needed to revitalize the satellite industry, in multiple facets.
