The Bill Gates Factor
Microsoft chairman seen as popular keynote draw and attendance driver
By Margo McCall -- Tradeshow Week, 5/31/2004
Featuring Bill Gates as a keynote speaker has long been seen as an automatic attendance booster at a conference or trade-show. Yet with the number of his speaking engagements shrinking (from 30 in 1999 to seven so far this year), organizers now have much less chance of landing the near-legendary Microsoft founder.
For 20 years, Gates has proven a big draw at COMDEX, where Microsoft has also been a major exhibitor. Attendees scramble to get their hands on the coveted Gates keynote tickets, then pack the 7,000-seat Aladdin Theatre in Las Vegas to hear the famous technologist's words.
Although organizer MediaLive Intl. says it expects their favored show-opener to sign on for a 21st year, Microsoft has been circumspect about whether or not the company chairman and chief software architect will appear at COMDEX this November.
When contacted in early April, a Microsoft spokeswoman said a decision hadn't yet been made. "As we do every year with all industry events, we will continue to evaluate our participation, and whether we are effective in addressing our customer and partner need," the spokeswoman said. Since then, Microsoft has rebuffed further requests for comment.
Gates also regularly delivers a keynote at Intl. CES in Las Vegas each January. This year, Gates was the first of eight high-ranking tech execs to speak to the crowds at what for the last several years has been the country's largest annually held tradeshow. Brad Jones, a spokesman for Intl. CES, said an official announcement is expected later this summer on whether Gates will return in 2005. But he added: "It's pretty safe to say that Bill Gates will be speaking again at the show."
Beyond COMDEX and Intl. CES, Gates' appearances are now mostly limited to proprietary Microsoft events or technology gatherings where Gates or his company has a specific interest.
One exception was the Gartner Symposium ITxpo at the San Diego Convention Center in late March. Organizers of the event, which attracts about 2,000 high-level decision-makers, said attendance was up by 21 percent due to the Gates keynote.
Attendance was also up this year at the RSA Conference, where Gates addressed the computer security industry. The Feb. 24 event at San Francisco's Moscone Center drew more than 10,000 attendees, up from 9,000 the year before.
Sandra LaPedis, RSA vice president and general manager, said it's difficult to say for certain whether the uptick was entirely due to Gates, or also to improved conditions in the technology sector. "I'm sure he did help," she said.
The event gave Gates an opportunity to discuss Microsoft products' ongoing security flaws. "It was a marriage that was made to work out. Microsoft really needed to address the technology sector," LaPedis said.
She can't say for sure whether he'll make a return appearance, but added that, "We would welcome him again."
In 1999, Gates' 30 speeches included Streaming Media, Telecom and Innovate. In 2000, Gates cut his schedule down to about two dozen speeches. Besides Intl. CES, COMDEX, NetWorld+ Interop and Microsoft Tech Ed and developers conferences, he spoke at CTIA Wireless.
If you can't land Gates as a keynote, having just his company participate in your show is the next best thing. Microsoft has signed on to be a presenting sponsor at Ziff Davis Media's inaugural Business 4Site event. Billed as a new breed of tradeshow, the targeted event – scheduled for June 15-17 at the Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles – will link 5,000 invited mid-market executives with purveyors of technology products and services. Other presenting sponsors include IBM, Toshiba, Hewlett-Packard and Intel.
Six Microsoft groups will participate. Executives from those groups will deliver briefings for senior attendees, hold fireside chats, participate in conference sessions and demonstrate products from a partner pavilion on the exhibit floor.
Ziff Davis' event marketing group, formed in November, includes James Hasl, former Hewlett-Packard and IBM events manager; former Microsoft brand manager Julie Herness; and Blenheim Group USA veterans Monica Vila and Paul O' Reilly.
"All of us had relationships with Microsoft. They just saw a really good fit for their business plan," said Hasl, vice president of the event marketing group. "It complements the proprietary work they're doing."
Hasl said a high-level key-note from Gates wouldn't be suitable for Business 4Site, which will also be held at the New York Hilton Nov. 16-18 – the same week that COMDEX will be held in Las Vegas.
