Re: [guadec-list] Guadec Planning Meeting Notes - 3rd March 2007

[Thomas Wood <thos gnome org>]

Caveat: Please remember these were my notes from the meeting, and they 
are in no way any type of formal minutes. Neither do they represent any 
decisions or the opinions of anyone present.

Dave Neary wrote:
> Hi,
[...]
> >      * We were advised to invoice only in Stirling, so as to simplify the
> >        records for tax reasons in the case of fluctuations in exchange
> >        rates.
>
> Stirling in Scotland?

Yes, yes, I meant pound sterling.

> >      * Preliminary suggestion for registration prices was £80 for
> >        corporate registrations, £40 for normal registration, and £20 for
> >        concessions.
>
> £40 = €60 seems a bit stiff compared to the €30 we had last year... what
> criteria are you planning on using for concessions?

This was simply an idea for ratios. It wasn't discussed at any length.

[...]
> >      * Bags - £6.65 ( for runs of more than 250)
> >            o Will be getting a samples to test
> >            o Do we even need a bag? It was decided that if possible we
> >            may not want to include a bag as part of the attendee items.
>
> I have previously gotten plastic bags with tourist packs from the city
> here - they produce them by the thousand, you can get 500 handy, and I
> don't think that you really need a canvas bag (although last year's
> GUADEC bags were very cute and are great camera bags/handbags/nappy
> bags). And €10 per bag is taking a €5000 chunk out of your budget.

We decided that if at all possible, we would try and avoid giving out 
bags. For people who often go to conferences, they have very little 
value. For people who don't often attend conferences, they are still 
going to be of little value if they are not high quality.


> >      * Polo shirts - £10
> >      * T-shits:
> >            o £4.23 - one colour print
> >            o £5 - 4 colour print
> >      * Will only be giving one t-shirt away free this year (the Guadec
> >        t-shirt with sponsor logos)
> >      * Possibility to sell other GNOME t-shirts
>
> I suggest giving away a t-shirt, and selling polo shirts. No need to go
> overboard on the number you order, you'll end up with extra if you get
> any more than 500 t-shirts and 200 polos.  And I'm not even sure you'll
> sell 200 polos - it's worth taking a poll beforehand.

I think it was mentioned in the last notes that the idea of polo shirts 
was they would only be given to "helpers" - that is, people who are 
acting as staff during the conference.


> >      * Further ideas were discussed, and we will get quotes for:
> >            o Stickers - sheet of different stickers would be nice
> >            o Badges - approximately 20p each
> >            o Lanyards - about £1 each)
>
> Get these sponsored - offer supply of lanyards as part of a gold or
> cornerstone package. They won't be branded GNOME, but so what? You're
> saving £500.

Certainly an option. Will keep it in mind if we have a sponsor who needs 
some extra persuasion.

> >            o Badge holders - about 30p each
> >      * Mugs  are £1.50 for 1 colour, and £2.40 for 4 colour
> >      * Custom USB drives are about £11 with a 4 colour print
> >      * GNOME Beer mugs?!
> >      * We would definitely like to include stickers, badges and usb
> >        sticks as attendee items.
> >      * A budget of no more than £20 per person was agreed.
>
> Be careful with "stuff" - you can blow a big chunk of money with that
> stuff, and a lot of it will never be used after the conference. Are you
> planning on giving all this away, or trying to sell some stuff?

Most of these were just some random ideas, except that we all agreed 
that people generally like badges and stickers. These weren't done last 
year, and aren't available in any shops, so they have a good novelty value.

> > Print
> >
> >      * We will need to produce:
> >            o A programme
> >            o Attendee badges
> >            o Booklet/Brochures
> >            o Banners (for main stage, and if possible something to attach
> >            to railings or signs for outside).
>
> You'll need to figure about £3000 - £5000 for everything, I would guess.
> You're planning on both a booklet and a programme? Or are they the same
> thing? Are you hiring someone to do layout? It'll need to be in the budget.

Booklet/programme, whatever. We were just thinking of things we might need.

Regards,

Thomas