SEA-MAX 2011 in Seattle, WA!

[WPH]

This comment is from a Guy who flew all the way from Hawaii to attend SEAMAX.... It was absolutely amazing! I wouldn't have recommended it any other way,or any other place. It was absolutely
perfect for Kevin and his crew...You worked really hard to bring such an amazing event to Seattle. washington has some of the most hospitable people in the country. Kevin, tell your wife I said thank you for putting together that last minute WPH GC to add to the amazing prizes at the raffle....I wish I had an extra day there to spend in Seattle but it's back to work and family for me...Aloha Les @ WPH

 

[MadMax]

Hi all,
I want to thank everyone who has responded with such kind and encouraging words. I also want to thank you for being true to the hobby with all your support and enthusiasm over this past year. I have never encountered such a cohesive group of hobbyists spanning such a wide area before and it has been my honor to serve you every step of the way.

As such, it breaks my heart to infom all of you that SEA-MAX will not likely repeat itself again. We brought everything we had to offer but evidently I failed in some regard. I believe the show was executed well, however the numbers did not support it. We organilzed over 50 different exhibitors from all over the United States to come to Seattle in hopes of reaching out to the hobbyist community here in the Pacific Northwest. We were met with attendance numbers that were just too low to justify a repeat event. I am greatly sorry.

to rebut those who did not go for whatever reason:

1) I make no appologies for the timing of our event. Out of this ONE TIME opportunity in your life, if you chose weather over SEA-MAX, then I haven't much to say except we hope to see you at MAX in California some day. Rain or Shine, that venue does extremely well.

2) I make no appologies for the cost of our event. We are not a flea market. (sorry for the harshness of my tone, but surely there are financial realities of which I need not explain in intricate detail) We are far cheaper than most expos, tradeshows and/or conferences.

3) I do deeply appologize to everyone who had a vested interest in the continuation of SEA-MAX in Seattle. (vendor/exhibitor/attendee/staff/volunteer)
I had mentioned many months ago that it is not my decision whether SEA-MAX would be a continuing event or not, but rather the many clients that I serve. Unfortunately those clients were let down this past weekend by the masses.

Once again, THANK YOU to all who attended/exhibited/supported and/or otherwise participated in the Seattle Marine Aquarium Expo of 2011. I will never forget you. My heart breaks that this didn't work out as we had hoped but we still love the city of Seattle nonetheless. I have made many new friends in this venture so it is certainly not without its benefits. I cherish those of you who helped every step of the way. Please keep in touch.

We will of course see many of you at the next Marine Aquarium Expo here in Southern California March 30 through April1, 2012 at the OC Fair & Event Center:
www.MarineAquariumExpo.com

 

[SaltwaterNoobs]

Breaks mine as well...

But I completely understand why. It was lovely meeting you and your wife, and I want to personally thank you for organizing such an awesome, once-in-a-lifetime event for all of us. My family and I had a terrific time

Hope to see you in California one day, perhaps for the next MAX

~Shawna

 

[menace78]

Me and my new to reef keeping buddy went on Saturday.
I agree with an earlier post about the touch tank, In the future, having fish like the yellow tang in it, in my opinion is a bad choice.

With the only thing I could criticize out of the way,

The vendors were awesome, the frags were as well and priced very reasonable. I came away very happy with allot of acclimation ahead of me
It was wonderfull talking to the vendors, and I got a new understanding on the amazing advancements of man made liverock.
I see myself using these new rocks more in the future.

The event was awesome, and I would go again in a heart beet.

I only wish I had more $ and time.

Thanks for bringing us such a great expo, and I hope it did well enough to consider bringing it back.

 

[TJL]

WOW ! I truley hoped that you had taken the constructive criticism better than this. We as a whole respected the efforts in puting this SeaMax together and supported this event better than I had expected for the time of year staged.

Hi all,
I want to thank everyone who has responded with such kind and encouraging words. I also want to thank you for being true to the hobby with all your support and enthusiasm over this past year. I have never encountered such a cohesive group of hobbyists spanning such a wide area before and it has been my honor to serve you every step of the way.

As such, it breaks my heart to infom all of you that SEA-MAX will not likely repeat itself again. We brought everything we had to offer but evidently I failed in some regard. I believe the show was executed well, however the numbers did not support it. We organilzed over 50 different exhibitors from all over the United States to come to Seattle in hopes of reaching out to the hobbyist community here in the Pacific Northwest. We were met with attendance numbers that were just too low to justify a repeat event. I am greatly sorry.

to rebut those who did not go for whatever reason:

1) I make no appologies for the timing of our event. Out of this ONE TIME opportunity in your life, if you chose weather over SEA-MAX, then I haven't much to say except we hope to see you at MAX in California some day.


This I personally do not accept ! Timing in any event is at least 1/3 the grade for attendance my friend. I have worked in and around National/International Trade Shows since 1987 and can tell you first hand that the biggest blunders/mistakes on the promoters part was not to do thier regional homework. If this homework would have been done July/August would have been Black-Out dates.


2) I make no appologies for the cost of our event. We are not a flea market. (sorry for the harshness of my tone, but surely there are financial realities of which I need not explain in intricate detail)

Nor should you, and 99.9% of attendees agreed. Most of us are aware of the great expense it takes to put on a Good Show.

3) I do deeply appologize to everyone who had a vested interest in the continuation of this event in Seattle. (vendor/exhibitor/attendee/staff/volunteer)
I had mentioned many months ago that it is not my decision whether SEA-MAX would be a continuing event, but rather the many clients that I serve. Unfortunately those clients were let down this past weekend by the masses.

Once again, you can't expect an 'A' on the test if you don't complete your homework

Once again, THANK YOU to all who attended/exhibited/supported and/or otherwise participated in the Seattle Marine Aquarium Expo of 2011. I will never forget you. My heart breaks that this didn't work out as we had hoped.

I do hope in time, when all emotions have settled down a bit that you will look into another Pacific Northwest Event. From my very first comments, if this would have been held in Oct/Nov or Mar/Apr you could easily have doubled or even tripled attendance and this is no BS

Commenting strictly on a personal level and still offering to help in any future endevures, Todd

 

[user 2204]

Sorry to hear that SeaMax will not be coming to the PNW area again. Looks like if we as a Reef Community in the PNW wish to have another event like this we had better start our own planning now.

Cheers again for all the hard work you all did in bringing us this expo. If you wish to bring another event here, I'll be there.
Alex

 

[mfinn]

I agree with you Todd.
I too had hoped it would become a yearly event, but having it in the middle of summer was only nice for the visitors.
I personally spent about 1/2 a paycheck and saw many others bring out big bills.
Of the places I didn't spend money on, I saw many future ways to expand.( spend )
I'm sure many others did as well. So some of the vendors got $ now, but others did some banking.

 

[returnofsid]

It'd be nice to actually have some feedback, from the vendors! Let's all get in touch with vendors and invite them to leave some feedback, from their point of view, to this thread!

Kevin, I do understand that there are financial needs that must be met, to make SeaMax happen. I also understand that the first year, will always be the slowest. I believe that, if this event were to ever happen again, attendance would be much better.

Some things that I hope MAX takes away from this, for future events, no matter where they're located...

Most of us, vendors, clubs, etc. were told that when we arrived, our tanks would be ready to put livestock in them. Vendors paid a bit of money, for their booths/tank rental, with that in mind.

Upon arrival, at about 6:00PM, our water was about 60 degrees, with a salinity of 1.020 and a rock bottom pH. The vendors, who weren't able to bring their own water, experienced the same issues. Now, as a club, we didn't spend a lot of money, to attend SeaMax. Vendors, on the other hand, did spend a lot of money. This is one issue that has to be fixed, if vendors are expected to return. Of course, this issue had nothing to do with attendance turn out. However, this issue does have to do with some of the frustration that vendors may have felt, before the event even opened.

As I've mentioned, several times, SeaMax was an incredible learning and networking experience. I personally, and our club, learned so much about several different aspects of this hobby. I do hope, sometime in the future, there's enough interest generated, to bring SeaMax, or MAX in a different PNW venue, back!!

Thank you MAX!

 

[estanoche]

1) I make no appologies for the timing of our event. Out of this ONE TIME opportunity in your life, if you chose weather over SEA-MAX, then I haven't much to say except we hope to see you at MAX in California some day. Rain or Shine, that venue does extremely well.

2) I make no appologies for the cost of our event. We are not a flea market. (sorry for the harshness of my tone, but surely there are financial realities of which I need not explain in intricate detail) We are far cheaper than most expos, tradeshows and/or conferences.

AMEN!! I know I planned to attend this event back in January when it was first announced (hell, thats when I booked my hotel room) - There could have been an earthquake in Seattle, flooding, fires, looting, and mass hysteria and I WOULD HAVE STILL BEEN THERE!

I know many people who cancelled and changed personal schedules just to attend - the comments about "well it was the first day over 80 degrees in Seattle, I prefer going to the lake" are insulting, to vendors, and those attendees who did choose to come out and support this event, in the hopes that it would continue.

 

[returnofsid]

AMEN!! I know I planned to attend this event back in January when it was first announced (hell, thats when I booked my hotel room) - There could have been an earthquake in Seattle, flooding, fires, looting, and mass hysteria and I WOULD HAVE STILL BEEN THERE!

I know many people who cancelled and changed personal schedules just to attend - the comments about "well it was the first day over 80 degrees in Seattle, I prefer going to the lake" are insulting, to vendors, and those attendees who did choose to come out and support this event, in the hopes that it would continue.

Very well stated!!

Other dates that have been proposed, I could see other issues with, as kids are in school, school events are going on, such as sports and what not. Heck, Angie's taking summer college courses and didn't let that get in the way! She did homework at our booth! lol

There's never going to be a specific date that works for everyone. Therefor, the dates MUST revolve around when vendors, manufacturers, etc. are available. We, as hobbyists, need to be willing to work around their schedules and plan accordingly!

Kevin, I think it's clear, you've got the support of the Spokane/Coeur D' Alene Club! Heck, give us the details for MAX, in California and we'll see what we can come up with!

 

[TJL]

Michael and Joane, definitely well stated. But, that fact is that it is the Promoter and Exhibitors that MUST work around the Attendees times/dates to be successfull. It is WE that support them/hobby, not the other way around. For all the expense and effort it takes to put on an event such as this it is only fair to the Exhibitors that it be at a time that they will gain the most attention/rewards.

A prime example of this for me personally is; KBIS (Kitchen and Bath Industry Show) 100's times bigger than any MAX or MACNA event was held in New Orleans for the first time to get outside of a Chicago / Orlando loop. The Promoter and city COC director jumped into a open date for the Dome without really investigating why. Why= this happened to be 'The Jazz Festival' weekend, and no knowing organization wanted to compete. This was a disaster in the million$ my exhibiting manufacturer spent $200,000 + alone and companies like Kohler, American Std and Masco Corp spent much much more. It was a disaster from the get go with over-booked hotels, unrelated crowds and traffic. Then way over-booked flights out. The city emplyee and promoter alike were fired in a big way. What I'm saying is that if just a little bit of homework would have been done neither this or SeaMax in July would have occurred.

I truley want to see another SeaMax event here in the future and am willing to be personally involved to help out for the benefit of all. Timing wise even right after schools out in late June prior to the July 4th Holiday would/could be a great time frame. Just food for thought and from a different perspective and as Michael stated I too would like to see comments from the Exhibitors as well.

Todd

 

[Herefishyfishy]

Todd, I absolutely agree. The part that also has to be emphasized is that first year shows are almost always under-attended. Second year and beyond have twice the attendance and continue exponentially. Pulling out after the first introductory year which was scheduled in a rough time slot, only brings to mind the excuses used to pull The Supersonics out of Seattle. "Success has many fathers while failure is an orphan."

 

[TJL]

Just one more thing then, I'll let it drop.

The reason I'm so passionate and feel qualified for the comments I've made is/has nothing to do with my status on Reef Frontiers or even decades in this hobby. I have been involved with tradeshows in the Kitchen & Bath Industry, Home Building/Remodeling and Sporting Goods for many years as an Attendee, Independant rep, Manufacturers Rep, Exhibiting Dealer and Exhibiting Manufacturer. Because of this have seen/felt my fair share of successes and failures alike. To give up or blame failure on attendees for a first of ??? Expo does not show integrity or responsability for ones failures to learn by. I think/hope once MAX takes a closer look at the BIG PICTURE the light of day will dawn. We can then hit the drawing board in planning out an even bigger better SeaMax for the future.

Cheers, Todd

 

[Ed Hahn]

I beleive people are a lot more cautious these days! I know I did not want to buy a piece of equipment until it was proven to work.
So maybe the dollar or economy did have a play in hand.
Maybe the weather had a play in hand.
Now I know what the following MAX event will be like even if it was low turn out compared to other events.
People always have choices!

The positives were definitely out weighing any negatives!
I never got to ask for any sponsors! I just wanted people to know that we (midcolumbia saltwater aquarium club) were there and available in the our Area of State!

I feel if Seamax had a loss, We all loss!
There is no one to blame but self!

I truely hope there is a event in our area(PNW) that keeps the comradery of Vendors, LFS, Aquarium Clubs and hobbyist together at one place once a year!!

 

[NWDiver]

I have to agree with that "other Todd".
The idea that we as consumers should feel some responsibility to attend a trade show is backward from the outset.
As a vendor you are offering me a service. A very nice service and one that I enjoy. Still, the responsibility to offer your services at a time that best fits your customer is all yours. If your customers don't show up during your chosen business hours, you don't blame the customer, you change your hours.
You as a vendor always have the option to stop doing business, but it is foolish to blame the customer for not shopping with you. Best practice is to see how you can better to serve the customer. Many companies spend a lot of money to get the feedback that folks are providing here for free.
I hope that you will choose do more research and that the research will show that there is in fact enough interest here to do the show during the months that natives are looking toward inside activities.
Blaming people for having different priorities than your own is a bit silly.
All that said, I attended on Sat with the family and had a nice enough time.

-Todd

 

[MadMax]

There are some assumptions being made here that are somewhat innaccurate, and please do not take my words out of context thinking I am being mean or defensive. I must admit, I lost far more than money on this venture. We lost clients, we lost credibility, and we nearly lost family members in a near-accident with one of our rigs on the way up here!

But...such are the risks inherent in business. I knew this going in and refuse to cry about it now. I continue to chime in here because we have developed a relationship of sorts over the months and I do not wish that to end. That being said, please do not think of me as anything more than a hobbyist. Though I led the organization called "SEA-MAX", the real entities of authority are the exhibitors, for without them you have little more than a website and useless building lease.

To state that they (exhibitors) should cater to you (attendees) in terms of time of year is a bit overly simplistic. You have to understand that those in the aquatics industry have a very complex time schedule working around many different tradeshows and other business activities....and I must tell you (quite frankly) that consumer shows are at the bottom of their priority list in general. Not that you are unimportant, but rather consumer shows generally produce the lowest return from a commercial standpoint. This holds true no matter where the venue is.

But more importantly, it took a lot of lobbying effort to convince many of these exhibitors to sign up for SEA-MAX in the first place. Remember from the very beginning that there was this overshadowing concern that the Pacific Northwest lacked the demographics necessary to carry such a large show, and now look what happened. And based on our experience, it is the first show that is always the largest! For the MAX show, the first show benefitted from so much excitement and anticipation. Such was the case for Seattle I thought, for at least the first year anyway.

All in all, I think it would be nearly impossible to convince 90% of the exhibitors to try another SEA-MAX, but I am all for it if people wish to ask the vendors themselves. I'm sure the local businesses would do it again in a heartbeat, but the majority of others are not so happy at the moment.

 

[NWDiver]

We have a tail wagging the dog issue here. This is sadly common with many businesses.
I have no desire to convince anyone to sell anything to me.

I do want to thank you for being here on the forum and responding to the comments. If you have no plans to continue SEAMAX, then I feel it speaks well of your character that you take the time to talk about what went wrong in your view. You could have just walked away and cut your loss.

 

[Ed Hahn]

Hey Kevin,
How can the clubs contact the vendors so we can promote businesses? That way they do not walk away feeling it was a loss? I met some really good people at your show!! I welcome any of the vendors/Lfs that want to contact me or visit our club! Spend the night at my lil house! I think any other saltwater aquarium clubs would do the same. I would welcome any vendors sales that are going on, any latest gadgets that vendor is selling, a new up to date on things. I am pretty sure that is how clubs promote business. I remember LFS almost coming to blows in Seattle years ago. THat is just how competitive it is. But treating everyone as equals as always been a goal. I know again from experience we can not share personal email addresses of club members. But I feel its a duty to help prevent losses, educate people with up to date information. Please tell them to contact me.

My true belief is we are all one in this hobby taking care of each other!
We treat each other as equals we go further!

Communication is our best tool!

 

[Red C Aquarium]

well said Kevin!

 

[user 2204]

Finally some really good feedback and comments.

I too would be interested in getting in contact with vendors and manufacturer reps for the area. Not to step on toes, but I would like the opportunity to start networking for another tradeshow/expo in our area.

I don't know what the real attendance numbers came out to be and what the overall NET revenue was for vendors, sponsors and promotion company, nor will I ask. All I ask is that we as a Reef Community here in the Pacific NW have the opportunity to keep this dream alive. Be it another Sea-Max or simply someone else going forward with an idea.