A preview of TRAFFIC’s upcoming Australia show.
The popular TRAFFIC domain name conference heads to Australia this year for the first TRAFFIC Down Under November 18-20. The event is being promoted by Fabulous.com and TRAFFIC founders Rick Schwatz and Howard Neu. I recently caught up with Fabulous to understand how this show came about and what we can expect.
Domain Name Wire: How did this event evolve?
Fabulous: There has always been a lot of interest from the domain community for a show to be held in Australia. We were constantly asked to throw a conference and everyone promised they will be there if we did. So we finally said “Yes, let’s do itâ€. Over a quick drink and five minute negotiation Dan Warner, Fabulous.com Chief Strategy Officer, pitched the idea to Rick and Howard (founders of TRAFFIC). They loved the idea and as they say, the rest is history!
Domain Name Wire: Is TRAFFIC Down Under meant to attract a local audience or from people all over the world?
Fabulous: We are hoping that TRAFFIC Down Under will attract a lot of local individuals and companies who are based in the Asia-Pacific region. However, the domain industry is global so we have received a lot of interest from industry professionals based in the USA and Europe. We expect the crème of the industry to attend, and those people will be traveling from all over the world.
Domain Name Wire: I just priced airfare from Austin to Australia for this event and it is $2,000? What will make this event worth the cost and time?
Fabulous: We priced the tickets on Expedia.com and Kayak.com with these results:
$1,600 USD via Vancouver, Los Angeles, and San Francisco
$1,500 USD via London
(Air New Zealand allows a stop-over in Auckland if you want to include New Zealand in your trip for no extra cost)
This is a premium event. It isn’t designed to be inexpensive. The event is pulling out all the stops and delivering an intense experience for the participants. Part of that experience is the exclusivity that naturally occurs when expenses exceed the “budget†conference range. We look forward to welcoming a smaller and dedicated group of professional domainers to our exotic location and events.
Domain Name Wire: Do you anticipate having a live domain name auction at the event?
Fabulous: It wouldn’t be a TRAFFIC show without a live domain auction, so of course the famous TRAFFIC Live Auction will be part of the agenda at TRAFFIC Down Under.
The auction will consist of 100 handpicked domains. Each of the domains will have qualified interest and underlying metrics that ensure they are highly desired. Over a course of only two hours the auction will be more compact and intense. The auction will be held in the Australian morning which will suit bidders from the USA and Europe who are internet bidding.
For more information about TRAFFIC Down Under, visit TrafficDownUnder.com.
Dave says
Bring it on! I hope the agenda is released sometime soon (before entry price goes up) & also that Aussie domainers take part with enthusiasm.
Would be nice to have some thoughts on the .au extesnion for a change as well.
See you there!
Andrew says
@ Dave – I’m impressed with how far in advance Fabulous is getting this going, and the organization so far. Hopefully they will pull this together well.
MikeFabulous says
Hi Dave,
We have a preliminary agenda up with a basic outline of what topics will be discussed at the show.
You can view it here – http://trafficdownunder.com/agenda.htm
Also, we are looking for speakers. If anyone is interested, they can use this form – http://trafficdownunder.com/agenda_submissions.htm
Cheers,
Mike
Fabulous.com
Damir says
Yeah lets see what it will be like at the Traffic down UNDER in Queensland – I may attend the “show” if nothing get’s in my way.