OK!
I have strong opinions. But they are my opinions. They are based on 55 years in the hobby during which I have been involved in running clubs and conventions, then private wargame groups. I have lots of experience in the commercial side of it. I have been involved in making masters for manufacturers. I've given lectures on military history and also on wargames. Appeared on TV and radio talk back discussing military history and wargames. I write and in the past have produced several wargames rule books, which is something I have now returned too, having several more about to be published, or being written. I am a member of numerous on line wargames sites and watch their trends with great interest. At conventions and events I take the time to stop and talk to people who come up to say hello. I receive a lot of email per week and I make sure to answer the questions regardless of language or how smart/silly the questions are.
My opinions may be strong. But they are based on considerable contact within the hobby. Not only with the actual wargamers, but with those who write for the hobby and design product.
I thank everyone for their contributions to the discussions on TMP. It all goes into colouring my thoughts one way or the other on these issues. My opinions eventually do of course, still have to be my own as I do not subscribe to being a 'follower' of certain aspects of the hobby.
I always get somewhat frustrated when I see *the obvious* being ignored. I get frustrated when I see people running events, who just have not listened to the pool from which they draw support. I find some of it downright illogical when they promote something stupid that is not sponsoring them, in detriment of something that IS sponsoring them.
The objectives of a convention must be clearly defined and everyone involved know them. Otherwise it is pointless to try to run one.
If an event is to promote membership, then all steps must be taken to ensure anything a potential member needs to know, is available at the event via handouts and people to talk with them about membership.
If to promote the hobby, then all aspects need to be covered, after deciding exactly what you want to promote.
If you have sponsors you must ensure your sponsors products are well placed, seen and mentioned. Their reasons for sponsoring are commercially based. They are not there for the fun of it like the wargamers may be. Say who they are and what they have done for the event.
Visitors must be made to feel welcome. If they have shown enough interest to attend, then the least you can do is to show some interest that they have attended.
Venues must be well lit, well signed internally and externally.
Promotion is essential. You cannot just rely on people knowing it was on last year and so deciding to come again this year. You must remind them. You must excite them. You must provide reasons why they want to come.
Having excited them to come, you must then come through with things that will meet their expectations.
Advertising is essential. It is also multi directional. You cannot just put up notices in Primary schools if you want to attract adults. You cannot just advertise in adult media if you want to attract kids. You cannot rely on word of mouth if you want to attract new people. Advertising must take place via the avenues that will reach the people you wish to reach. Its quite simple really.
Advertising therefore needs to be across a wide spectrum of the things that will be at the convention. If you advertise one thing they will not somehow magically know about the rest.
You must provide reasons to come and then tell people what those reasons are. You cannot expect they will come along and find out when they get there.
Advertising is usually backed by a sponsor. This is all the more reason to ensure the sponsors needs are met at the event and in letting people know their product will be there.
You do not advertise and promote companies that have not backed you just because you personally favour their product. Especially if this is to the detriment of those that have. Always back your sponsors.
When people have been complaining about issues for years….bad food…bad toilets….lack of access….crowded venue….lack of traders….you do something about it.
Correct the problems. Dont just ignore them. These things were obviously important to the people who complained, so do something.
If some companies believe their marketing or intrusion into wargames is so strong that they dont have to support you, because non thinkers will do it free, put on something else.
Do not be constrained within what they want to happen, to their benefit. I can think of two who will usually only get involved if they are running an event, or they can dictate the terms of the event. That is fine for them, but does not promote the hobby beyond what they want to promote. Instead, go wide. Cover all interests. Draw in people from all areas of the hobby.
If you have groups within your event, that would over throw what your aims are, exclude them, or restrict them. Your aims must be achieved. That is what you are running the event for.
I am irritated by poorly run events and that irritation is based on what I have seen for years. It is an irritation that stems from sheer frustration that people dont correct these problems or deal with the issues.
They seldom have a clear plan laid out, and any event you run must have one.
What are your doing it for?
What are you wanting to achieve?
How are you going to achieve it?
How can you ensure nothing ruins the plan?
Do you have emergency plans to cover unexpected problems?
Do you have a suitable venue?
How are you going to finance it?
How are you going to cater for it if you achieve your aim?
Do you have people that can carry out the plan?
Do they understand the plan and its objectives?
Are they intelligent enough to carry out those objectives and appreciate the need to stick to them?
To achieve all that you not only need followers, you need leaders. And those leaders must clearly understand the objectives. They must also have the initiative and know how to step in and deal with situations without having to refer back to a committee or someone senior. Time and time again at one of our major conventions, I have approached an 'official' with a query about the venue or some aspect of the convention, only to have that 'official' say they will have to go and ask. Indeed not one time at that particular event, have I known any official to know what to do, or take the initiative and resolve something. They always have to find out. And as a result you are left waiting. In one case it was for the entire length of the event before a committee could meet and 'make a decision' on something that any normal intelligent official could have resolved on the spot.
Such an experience leaves the person who inquired feeling frustrated and they will take that with them when they leave. It is far preferable that they leave feeling happy with the event and will pass on the good news. This particularly applies to traders and sponsors. They are your life blood and their non attendance or refusal to sponsor in future can break you show.
My bad experiences are based on personal observation, as are the good ones. Those good and bad observations are what form opinions, and I have mine. It is unfortunate that while I see many good things, it is usually the bad things that people remember when they leave. That is part of human nature. Your job is therefore to ensure that when they do leave, they carry with them all sorts of positive thoughts about your event.
People say to me, and its a common excuse, that conventions are mostly run by amateurs who mean well and should not be dealt with too harshly. That is very true and I acknowledge the work of the enthusiastic amateurs. However even an amateur can sit down and make a plan, seek advice from others with experience and draw on that. And regardless if they should or should not be dealt with harshly, the fact remains that they are in charge of an event. They must live up to it and be responsible for how it turns out. Which all means that well meaning amateur or not, when people leave they will leave with impressions of how the event went. Not that it was some poor well meaning amateur. The wider public are just not that sympathetic. If they are promised something, they expect it to be delivered. Amateurs or not.
s free thinking and guides people along a course of purchasing that is the idea of the manufacturer, replacing that of wargamers having their own ideas.