GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 25 - June 2013

Alex Pratt is the head of the business information division of Electric Word, the parent company of iGaming Business and Sport Business, and the publisher of iGaming Business since 2004. In our interview, Alex dishes on what it’s like to be in charge of some of the industry’s largest events, what affiliates should expect in the future, and how he managed to find the industry (spoiler alert – a free trip to Vegas helped seal the deal!). When you first started working on events – for both affiliates and the in- dustry in general – what was the tone and tenor of the events like? What were the people attending the events expect- ing? What were their goals? How have the goals and expectations of people attending events changed? How has the atmosphere changed? How have the events themselves changed? And how have the people – both attending and exhibiting – changed? When we first started the events we genuinely had no experience putting on large exhibitions and conferences but we had attended a lot, so we started from the visitor’s per- spective. We wanted to create an event that had a buzz about it and kept you at the event from start to finish, but most of all we wanted to create an experience from the time you stepped off the plane to the time you left. To achieve this we added in things like the open bar in the afternoon, the free poker tournament, having a conference focused on content rather than simply because you had to have one and of course amazing parties every night at the very best venues. We still remain focused on these values but I have found the delegates them- selves and their needs have changed a lot. Nowadays delegates seem to be fo- cused a lot more on the business side of the event so parties now need a quiet area for people to speak and network. The show floor has become more profes- sional and the content of the conference is a lot more important. In the old days a t-shirt and flip flops were not uncom- mon on the show floor and now you are more likely to see a suit! But the affili- ates haven’t changed much on the in- side; they still fundamentally have the same entrepreneurial spirit and in my opinion lead online marketing globally, often being the first to develop and test new techniques. Exhibitors have also changed mas- sively. For one thing, a lot of them now take enormous stands with all the bells and whistles that come with them. We even have a double-decker stand in Amsterdam as well as our biggest stand yet from 24Option. This industry is in- credibly fluid and who is on top right now may be bust next year, so we have seen a lot of change in terms of the cli- ents we deal with. Many of the people who used to be our big clients have ei- ther disappeared or scaled down while the bigger brands have stepped up their presence at the show. Has it become more or less difficult to organize these events? And why do you think it’s become more or less dif- ficult? It’s definitely lots easier. When we first started we pretty much guessed our way through the first two years and lucked out a few times where we made mistakes. We were really fortunate that the industry wanted us to do well, so often forgave us for our mistakes and constantly helped us to develop and grow the events to what they are now. Nowadays we have an events team that is far better than I am at this kind of stuff and ensures everything goes smoothly. Trade shows have to respond to the changing business environment around them, otherwise they won’t survive for long. What changes within the industry (excluding the developments surround- ing the American market) have had the biggest impact on your business? And what did you do to respond to those changes? We are constantly changing what we do and this tends to be driven by the audience as opposed to the actual industry changes. Of course the industry influences what we do but mainly from a content perspective. The big changes we have made have always been a direct re- sult of feedback. After every event we literally analyze and go though our survey results with a fine- tooth comb and address every single com- pliment and complaint to ensure the next event is better than the one before. This could be something simple like the sig- nage at the event through to big changes like introducing more ways to network pre event with our desktop and mobile networking software. The iGaming SuperShow/Amsterdam Affiliate Conference this year is going to be absolutely massive. What drove the decision to put on a show of this size? Which side of the industry ended up with more booth space, the affiliate side or the operator/supplier side? And why do you think that is the case? How can I describe Amsterdam? Without go- ing out to buy a thesaurus I will go with Tyrannosaurus Rex big – and to be honest it has taken me by a huge surprise. I knew the event would be bigger than Dublin but never expected the uptake we have had from both the affiliate and B2B sides of our sector. AN INTERVIEW WITH ALEX PRATT “I kind of fell into it” 34 “I kind of fell into it” – An interview with Alex Pratt