Outboarding: Are Off-site Conference Parties Unethical?
This is part one of a series about blog conference ethics.
We’re in the full swing of conference season, and only a couple months out before the biggest conference of the year — BlogHer — and already the twitterverse is abuzz with PARTIES! PARTIES! PARTIES!
But they aren’t discussing the official conference parties (of which there are plenty); they are discussing off-site parties hosted by brands that are riding the coattails of our favorite blogging conferences. What you may not know is that this is called “Outboarding” and is considered an unethical business practice.
Here’s a definition:
Outboarding refers to non-exhibitors who get hotel- or meeting-room space near the convention center to hold meetings and events. These guerrilla tactics have been decried by the Trade Show Exhibitors Association (TSEA) and IAEM to protect the interests of exhibitors who do purchase space and have off-site meetings approved by show management.
This might seem like it’s not a big deal. After all, it’s not like it’s hurting the conferences, right?
WRONG. I’ve spoken with several organizers of the most popular conferences, and they are worried about how this will impact their ability to throw a great conference.
If you’ve attended conferences that are unrelated to women and mom blogging, you might not know the difference about what is offered. For instance, conferences such as South by Southwest Interactive and BlogWorldExpo offer ticket prices that range from $1000 on up — and that does NOT include meals. Other professional conferences that do include food generally cost $1500 or more to attend. But conferences for women that blog generally cost less that $500 a ticket, and do include an extensive amount of both food and drink. So why is that?
Sponsors.
Sponsors significantly set off the costs of conferences such as Type-A Parent and BlogHer and Mom 2.0 Summit so that we can have a more pampered experience while we attend them. Elisa Camahort Page from BlogHer states this clearly:
I think most women’s blogging conferences, not just BlogHer, try to keep prices affordable for attendees. In BlogHer’s case, our early bird price hasn’t changed since the first conference in 2005. But one blogger rate ticket covers less than a third of the cost to host that attendee. Our production values and the scope of what we offer has skyrocketed. Sponsorship has always subsidized BlogHer’s ability to keep prices that low, while growing the event in size and scope.
So, why does outboarding hurt conferences? Because if brands choose to host events off-site during conferences, they are less likely to sponsor the conferences. Which means that you’ll have to potentially pay thousands to attend the conferences you love.
Kelby Carr from Type-A Parent discusses it.
The main impact is that it ultimately discourages companies from being official sponsors and supporting the attendees in an ethical manner through the proper channels. The long-term impact is that blog conferences, which rely heavily on the financial support of official sponsors, will eventually have to charge attendees an unsubsidized registration fee. That means paying what many others pay for industry conferences, which starts at $1,000. It also dramatically impacts the experience for attendees. At Type-A we limit the number of sponsors and work hard to naturally integrate sponsors into the conference conversation so that it doesn’t feel like a big commercial. This allows brands and bloggers to get to know one another. Attendees and sponsors both leave with the start of important relationships they can build on for years to come.
A good example of what happens to a conference when the off-site parties take over the experience of the event is the South by Southwest Interactive conference. Elisa from BlogHer talks about that:
I believe you see the impact of outboard events at SXSW very quantifiably. The price to attend has doubled in the last 5 years, from $500 to $1,000 now. And they have never fed you. At all. You even have to buy a pass to use the shuttle taking you to all the different venues around town.
Laura Mayes from Mom 2.0 Summit (and several other conferences) says something similar.
Interactive has grown quite a lot since then … and today, 18 years later, I’d guess there are more unofficial events than official SxSW events. It’s part of the culture of that event. Some would say it has grown the culture. And SxSW seems to be doing okay. Although, many who’ve been there for a while would say it’s gotten pretty noisy and plastic. It’s lost some of its soul. There’s always a price.
I asked all three conference organizers what they’d like conference attendees to consider before heading off to these outboarding events.
Kelby:
Know that when you support unethical, unofficial events you are actually hurting the conference. Also be aware there can be some repercussions. For example, depending on a conference’s policies on suitcasing and outboarding, a blogger who helps organize an unofficial event can have their pass yanked, could be banned from the conference in the future, or get charged higher business rates for your pass.
Laura:
I think it comes back to honoring the event by honoring its official sponsors and brands. Because there are people behind those brands who are invested in, and are an important part of, the community. We cover this in our official Mom 2.0 sponsorship policy but here’s the gist: Official sponsors are industry leaders and smart individuals who believe in, and place value in, the online parenting movement. Please help us by respecting their sponsorship space and time. These individuals have earned the right to be represented properly, respectfully, and exclusively throughout the venue during the event. Please honor our event, our sponsors and our attendees by honoring this.
Elisa:
We think there’s a value to ultra-affordability … it allows more people to attend. It allows a much broader diversity of people to attend. It protects your event from becoming an ivory tower that’s only accessible to certain people, or only the same people over and over. We think that inclusivity is key to BlogHer events. And we have always believed it’s as valuable to sponsors and attendees as it is to BlogHer to sustain that. But, admittedly, we now look at this year by year and decide what we can sustain.
What do you think? Were you aware of the issues of Outboarding? Will it change your conference behavior?
Part two will discuss “suitcasing”, blogger sponsorships, and how to avoid having your conference pass yanked.
![Do You Read Bedtime Stories? [Video]](http://cdn3.www.babble.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/book-100x100.jpg "Do You Read Bedtime Stories? [Video]")
This is actually a really interesting article, especially with the perspectives of those who run the conferences. I can’t wait for the Blogger Sponsorships post!
Wow! I am attending BlogHer for the first time this August and I want to say Thank you for writing this post because I had no idea that these outside parties were put together like this.
I certainly do not want my pass yanked!
Thank you for defining that term. I didn’t know that this unfortunately prevalent, unethical behavior had a label and now I’m glad there is a single term to use that covers it all.
It seems that some attendees are not aware how low and inclusive the price for passes to amazing conferences like BlogHer, Mom2.0, and TypeA are compared to other industries. Before blogging, I never imagined attending professional conferences (that offered meals with the pass, plus free transportation, or discounted rooms) for under a thousand dollars – and that was just for the pass to attend. Without a corporate backer, I would have never attended anything in my profession.
I’m relived and thankful that the amazing people who have created these conferences have kept that part of their vision clear: creating professional and educational events that are accessible by many. Thank you.
Last year I made a concerted effort to put the actual conference first and any additional activities second to that experience. I got SO much more out of my ticket than I had in previous years.
I enjoyed reading this and love that you’ve hit the nail on the head about how it affects the future. I’m not a big name blogger and don’t really care to attend the off site parties. I prefer the official sponsored ones for a variety of reasons, including what you’ve listed here. This will be my 2nd BlogHer conference. I’m thankful for the opportunity to attend and hope others will read this as well.
I’m extremely fond of swag but sometimes I think people who go bonkers over the “off site” parties are just looking for extra swag. Not all of them but some.
It is interesting to hear. Clearly as the Founder and CEO of The BLP ConnectHER 2012 Conference & Influential Event, this story resonates with me. This is our third year and we anticipate a sell-out crowd this year…but as we grow, I will have to possibly encounter this.. good article to keep in my bag of tricks and reference..
I believe that brands need to be more supportive of the events and maintain ethical standards.
Thanks for your perspective!
Laura
http://www.blpconnecther.eventbrite.com
http://www.blpconnect.com
http://www.herreview.com
Honestly, I had no idea. I’ll bet you most don’t. I did have the most fun at official events last year, so I don’t think the off-site ones would be missed if they went away.
Thank you Cecily for writing this so clearly and eloquently. It was so sad and bothersome to see how many people were walking out during the Voices of the Year speeches and reading the tweets about people getting ready for the offsite parties during such a special part of the conference. I hope this article makes people think twice about being respectful of the event, its organizers, and sponsors.
this is really interesting. as someone who only attended BlogHer events in 2011, i kept wondering– where was everyone? they evening events seemed so small compared to the hundreds of women i’d seen at the conference throughout the day. i think it kills the sense of community when the “special” bloggers go to private parties at night.
um, I had no idea that off-site parties affected conferences this way. Not that I get invited to them. But still, thanks for the perspective!
I don’t really agree with your point of view on this. Sure, outboarding has issues but when it comes to BlogHer, you are talking about a conference that sells a “party pass” that only allows individuals to attend the official parties & the Expo Hall. If BlogHer is going to sell party passes you will never convince me that they are concerned about people not attending official daytime events.
IMO its all about supply and demand. If the parties at the conference are good, or if the conference makes space available for companies to host smaller more exclusive parties then attendees will not go elsewhere and companies will not Outboard. If conferences make the entry cost so high, won’t allow for exclusivity, or make costs super high for sponsorship..then Outboarding will always and forever exist no matter how these big conference people try to spin it.
Exactly what “Still Blonde After All These Years” said. Additionally, consider that a lot of these “outboarding” parties actually PAY the bloggers who act as party hosts, thus enabling their ability to afford the conference in the first place.
Great article, had not really considered these points before and as one who literally crashed and burned after attending event after event last year …. I did stop and wonder about the stuff that was all Blogher that I had actually missed. Plan on taking an easier and more ethical route this year … and also sharing this article – right now!
Daisy, BlogHer is an event with 4,000 attendees, 10 tracks of programming, a large exhibit hall and 3 community parties a night (where we pay the co-hosts to co-produce them with us). A couple of years ago we realized that once your crowd gets that big there are indeed those folks who are attending for the trade show portion of it more than the conference portion of it. Every professional conference I used to go to had that exact distinction…the conference pass vs. the exhibit pass. It’s definitely a reality, and we decided that a party pass that was originally created for significant others, should be expanded to provide an affordable option for those kind of attendees. It certainly doesn’t mean we don’t care about folks attending the conference programming.And the VAST majority of tickets sold are for the full conference. Considering the investment in the community parties, we care about people attending those on-site parties just as we care about the programming. Outboarding day or night has an impact.
Cecily this is fascinating. I’ve always felt like off-site events degrade tend to the social experience for many attendees – but this lays out beautifully the many ways in which it’s damaging to the community.
That said, I think like many, I still have to fight the urge to chase each-and-every event related tweet down the rabbit hole because they’ve got us bent over in the awkward human position of “nobody likes to be left out.”
(uh, sorry I apparently caught a case of yoda-mouth while writing that comment.)
BlogHer chargers $15,000 for a 10′x10′ space. (Yes, that is an actual quote for a 10′x10′ space at BlogHer12 in NYC.) Perhaps that is why ‘outboarding’ happens. They make it nearly impossible for small and mid-size companies to participate.
Thank you for sharing this info, Cecily. It is important that we build community and that at these events we’re connecting with one another first and foremost. While I had no idea the do’s and don’ts, this makes perfect sense. I tell people all the time that what happens in those BlogHer sessions and events inspiring. I hope this leads more to discover that, too.
Great information for someone like me who is just starting to attend blog conferences.
Now I’m kind of shocked at how many people told me to blow off the official parties and even the conference sessions.
Actually Jennimark, we have a rate especially for small businesses and non-profits, which plenty do partake of…the sponsor organization has to meet criteria to qualify for that rate, but any true small organization that doesn’t have substantial marketing budget can participate affordably. And besides, it’s certainly not just small brands that outboard…at our event or at any events where this happens.
I understand the concept of supporting conference sanctioned events, and I liked hearing from the perspective of Laura and Kelby who throw blog conferences and feel the market effect of outboarding first hand. But, if we’re talking parties here, I feel BlogHer handles theirs a bit differently.
Unlike Type A and Mom2, who throw parties hosted by the event themselves, BlogHer throws parties thrown by select bloggers. Bloggers who are chosen by BlogHer, given budgets and pay, and have their names and blogs promoted by the event. Yearly.
Is that then fair?
SXSW throws plenty of off site parties, like Laura mentioned, it’s become so much more than just the event, it’s become a culture. I see that happening with the yearly BlogHer event. (Although in response to the comparison in ticket inflation, I think the difference is that large scale tech and social conferences see a rise in prices with extreme track growth and the fact that most attendee tickets are purchased through companies, unlike blogger conferences like BlogHer, whose demographic is individual woman purchasing tickets for themselves.)
Shouldn’t all bloggers get the equal opportunity to work with brands and make money to afford to attend, I know it’s something even the author has done?
Such an interesting article. I am attending Type A in a couple, which will be my first blogging conference, and I am very interested to see how all looks from the inside. I will not make it to Blog Her this year (I actually gave my full conference pass to one of the VOTY honorees), but am hoping/planning to attend next year.
I must say, I had never considered that outside parties could be considered unethical. I’ve only been to BlogHer once (although I’m going again this year) – and I went to two off-site events. One of the parties I went to had the best meal I’d eaten during the whole conference – macaroni and cheese. I had a great time, but not until reading this did I consider it might be hurting anyone. The other event was a brunch – I missed a morning speech – but it was at the HQ of my ad network, and it was really the only time I’d ever have gotten to meet with them in person. It wasn’t in a nearby hotel – we were shuttled halfway across the city to get there. I’m not sure I would consider that the same thing. (I’m not counting the EdenFantasys party as off-site even though it was across the street…they WERE an official conference sponsor.)
That being said, I also made a point to make an appearance at every one of the official parties that was held on-site, and I spent my “down time” in the exhibition hall. (I made some good contacts with brands during that time!)
I haven’t yet been invited to any off-site parties for this year’s BlogHer. I’m not sure what my response will be, either, if I am. I take my liveblogging seriously, and I pretty much kill myself at every conference to see as much as I can possibly see. If I’m giving all of the official conference sponsors my attention and due consideration, I’m not sure I see so much of an ethical problem if I can also find time to visit an off-site location for an hour.
I wish I could *like* Brightmark’s comment. I’ve never considered that, but the same people DO throw the parties. That isn’t exactly fair – why them? Especially knowing they not only get their blogs promoted, but get paid as well. I’d love to know BlogHer’s answer to that.
We started doing the community parties in 2010, and here’s the original post announcing why we chose to add this element to the conference:
http://www.blogher.com/announcing-blogher-10-party-plan?page=full
Many parties are the same, but every year we have added to it too. And why them/ because either they had already created an attendee tradition on their own steam, or because they pitched us a great idea. Pitch away to lori@blogher.com for 2013
Also,when it comes to SXSW, I’m not sure which is cause and which effect when talking about rising ticket prices and most people coming from companies. Back in the day (OK, well, 2005/06-ish, when I started going) people totally sent themselves. It was a developer and indie culture, not a company/marketing culture. Now way fewer people who don’t have a company to send them can afford to make the trek. Of course, per a comment above, maybe that’s just the way things go.
I’m looking at this from another perspective, because I in responsible for events for my company, which is an aviation IT and communications company. I can see what you’re saying, and this would definitely apply to the aviation industry as well: if a company is spending $50K for an off-site event instead of a sponsorship, that affects the event. However, the challenge is how to get that same level of exposure and one-to-one client contact via a sponsorship versus an off-site event? The off-site events generate buzz for that host and allows them to brand to their heart’s content, where a sponsorship for an event may only get them logo placement and mentions. It’s not the same. I’m not sure what the answer is, but you bring up a very good point.
I agree with BrightMark and Alexandra – why the same bloggers hosting the same events each year? It seems like if you didn’t get into that “crowd” in the beginning, there’s no more room. The offsite events feel fresher.
@elisa camahort page ” And why them/ because either they had already created an attendee tradition on their own steam, or because they pitched us a great idea.”
That’s a fancy way of saying those were”outboarding” parties.
“That’s a fancy way of saying those were”outboarding” parties.”
This makes me giggle. I don’t think anyone could ever accuse CheeseburgHer of outboarding.
This is an interesting discussion. I see the point of the conference organizers but Brightmark has a point as well. Personally, I don’t feel comfortable at the onsite parties. In a way, they have almost become a brand and like The Feminist Breeder said, if you haven’t been part of the growing of that brand, there’s no room for you (ZCHamu echoed my thoughts, I was thinking of the CheeseburgHer party).
BlogHer 2010 was my first trip to New York. If not for the offsite parties I attended, I would have seen none of a city I spent quite a bit of money to get to. The offsite events I’ve been to are smaller, I can talk with people more easily and I get to feel a bit like a tourist. If I’m to fly cross country to attend a conference and be expected to stay in the hotel the entire time, more than likely I just won’t go because the idea of that is not appealing at all.
Thank you Cecily! So informative! I had no idea this was an issue. BlogHer ’12 will be my first big blogging conference and I’m already petrified about all the nuances. I’m off to share this with friends right now…maybe the reason we aren’t getting invited to any of the private parties we’ve heard exist is because people are cracking down on them. (Or maybe it’s because we are smelly losers and nobody likes us.) Oh crap.
I think part of the reason people go to offsite parties is the red velvet rope phenomenon – people want to be able to say they were at this-or-that exclusive party with 100 or 200 other selected bloggers.
That’s why I run THE most exclusive party every year – SO exclusive that, unless you are very lucky, you probably won’t even hear about it. (Big tiger wink at Elisa).
Thank you! This perspective never would have occurred to me! I do think that there might be a reason why more offboarding parties are popping up – i.e. perhaps many of the bloggers are feeling disconnected from the official parties and seeking alternatives. Perhaps the conference isn’t meeting their needs. Something to think about!
Sadly – the sponsored parties are the ones you CAN’T get into because there isn’t any room. The party sponsored by Edy’s was on Facebook for less than an hour before people were put on the wait list.
Frustrating,
All of the long-standing official parties (not including the ones added last year) were unofficial parties in the past. They created a following, so they get to have official parties forever. So basically – we shouldn’t support the unofficial parties… but BlogHer will support them by giving them money to be “official”? That seems kind of backwards, no?
Honestly, some of the official parties are still good, but some of them are so caught up in their own hype that they suck. Hard. Sparklecorn was the best party of the year when it was unofficial and last year? It sucked. I heard they spent the bulk of their budget on a stupid unicorn cake that tasted terrible.
Or how about the People’s Party? Their main appeal is the Bloggess. Just that she is associated in any way and that’s about it. The party itself isn’t that much fun. It’s waiting on line to meet her.
Why should they continue to get that HUGE chunk of money every year? Spread that money around to people who will do something great with it and maybe there wouldn’t need to be so many unofficial parties. I go to the unofficial parties because they’re better. And I’m sorry, BlogHer gets SO much money from sponsors (they certainly have enough cash to throw at these parties) I really doubt they are hurting if there’s a party for 30 people at a nearby bar/hotel.
Also- only registered attendees can go to BlogHer’s official parties. But anyone can go to the unofficial ones, which is nice sometimes.
Interesting responses. I totally agree with this post, and having attended many professional conferences where outboarding events just don’t happen for the reasons stated, I am always surprised to read about all of the ones at BlogHer. It’s just not done in the professional realm that I’m aware of.
I was thinking about this again today… I think this blog kind of exaggerates the situation and is a bit misleading. Most of the off-site/private/unofficial parties that I’ve seen over the years aren’t really “hosted by brands” as this blog implies. More often, they’re hosted by blogs/bloggers and only sponsored by brands, which I think is a lot different.
That is, the brands aren’t throwing these parties in order to “ride the coattails” of BlogHer. The parties are usually planned/organized before brands even sign on as sponsors. The point of these parties, in my point of view, is to have a good time. The bloggers who organize them do so because they want to have a fun experience during the weekend that they’re not getting at the official parties/conference.
(And yes, I have seen parties officially thrown by brands, so I know it does happen. But I think it’s not fair to lump all the parties together into that category, when most do not fit it.)
I think the reasons why bloggers attend these parties are multiple- for some, yes it’s the appeal of the swag bag (something that was eliminated when the unofficial parties went official), for others it’s about going somewhere other than the host hotel for a change, for some it’s about doing something different than they’re getting at the official parties, and for others it’s about the intimacy of a party that only has 50 guests instead of 3,000.
I don’t think it’s fair to “shame” the BlogHer community for wanting to go to these parties, or not enjoying all of the official parties. If I believed for a second that BlogHer was really hurting for sponsors or money, I might feel otherwise, but I don’t buy that. Especially when I’ve heard rumors of some sponsors being turned away for various reasons. If a company tries to go to legit route and gets shot down, why shouldn’t they “outboard”?
Note: I’m not hosting any parties, nor do I plan to. Just for the record. But I will probably attend a few official parties and a few unofficial parties both.
How was the Cheeseburgher party not “outboarding”?
The first year it was unofficial, let’s just eat burgers in our suite with bags in our heads… but later on they did have sponsors (AlphaMom in ’08, McDonalds themselves in ’09 — they didn’t just supply the food, they gave them the presidential suite).
So based on the criteria used in the other examples, it was an outboarding party. It didn’t start that way but it did become that before BlogHer made them official.
Why aren’t my later comments posting?
Why aren’t my comments posting? Only my 1st one posted.
I am aware that other conferences cost a lot more, but I don’t know why that is? Is it because at other conferences, speakers are paid? (those that I know who have been panelists at BlogHer were not paid, and I was a panelist at another blogging conference and also not paid).
I was a BlogHer volunteer in 2009. One of my duties was to round up unofficial swag that people were dumping EVERYWHERE (like big piles of Planned Parenthood condoms on tables in the hotel lobby). It really opened my eyes to what a problem that kind of behavior can create.
From a professional side of things (as in, professions in the non-blogging area) I’ve attended dozens of conferences – most of them with national pull, thousands of attendees, large exhibit halls and usually a dinner or cocktail recitation included. I’ve never paid more than $500 for a ticket and “out boarding” ALWAYS happens. I’ve gone to dinners, lunches and parties put on by companies. Some times they are exhibitors, sometimes they are just conference attendees.
I have never attended BlogHer and don’t have any plans to in the future. But from an outsider’s standpoint I think when you have a conference that has bloggers publicly and loudly asking for sponsorships for MONTHS then you are also opening up the door for companies and organizations to skirt the exhibitor rules. Also from an outsider perspective – does anyone attend the sessions? All I ever hear about are the parties and since most of the people I know who have gone only get a party pass perhaps the problem isn’t the outboarding, it’s what is offered?
It’s also important to remember that not all conferences are created equal. Behemoths like BlogHer might be able to withstand events like this, but smaller efforts (like Mom and Dad 2.0) rely on full participation from their attendees in order to fulfill their sponsors’ expectations. That’s why we always try to keep a sharp eye on creating events that our attendees won’t want to miss.
Being wooed and pampered more intimately by a non-participating brand is mighty tempting. But inveigling your way into a conference’s attendees while circumventing the formal sponsor process is wrong, and classless. That’s why I used to go on these things as a blogger, and why now, as a conference organizer, I don’t anymore.
I have consulted with a handful of brands who were looking to reach female bloggers and identified this category of conference as a great platform to do that. I always check with the conference organizers before proceeding with a plan. It seems incredibly rude for a brand to capitalize on all the hard work of the conference creators to bring people together and then not participate in a sponsorship. I have found that the conferences are always willing to make something work, whether it’s saying, “Yes, you can have a party in a nearby suite as long as it’s not during content hours.” or “Yes, you can have a party, but we’d love for you to sponsor a snack session in exchange for the opportunity to be introduced to our community of influencers.”