Help Me Sell Gen Con to my Employer!

[Markn]

Hi all,

I work for an IT company that specializes in network infrastructure. One of the perks with the company I am at is they have a Professional Development (PD) fund that we can use for courses, conventions, etc. Generally, they prefer stuff that will advance you professionally but they aren't overally strict. I am putting together a proposal that would allow me to go to Gen Con and I would like to solicit your help. Going to Gen Con has always been a dream of mine and this year and I want to do everything I can to help make that a reality. I live in Canada so there has always been an extra hurdle or two for me to go. Since I have never been to Gen Con I don't know a whole lot about the content of the events. I know there is a ton of gaming, miniature tournaments, boardgaming and a whole lot of fun. I know that there are some writing seminars that I have read about in the past (I am thinking specifically of one by Michael Stackpole regarding novel plots and so on) but beyond that I don't know what else is there. Is there any way I can point out some fringe benefits to my line of work by going to Gen Con? It doesn't have to be technically related, as the company considers things like technical writing courses, management training, etc as a benefit to the employee as well as the employer. Are there any great resources on the net where I can read about the events/seminars that are available?

Thanks in advance for your help and heres to hoping my employer will foot the bill!

 

[dmccoy1693]

I work for an IT company that specializes in network infrastructure.

Dude, I think you're going about this the wrong way. Ask yourself this: what can your company offer an rpg company? RPGs are produced on computer, many are written by freelancers that work a considerable distance away. And you can sell it to your boss as, "I speak their lingo; I would be in a better position to market [insert most applicible product name] to these many companies because I am one of them and they will warm up to me easier then some random marketting person."

Does that help?

 

[Mistwell]

Dude, I think you're going about this the wrong way. Ask yourself this: what can your company offer an rpg company? RPGs are produced on computer, many are written by freelancers that work a considerable distance away. And you can sell it to your boss as, "I speak their lingo; I would be in a better position to market [insert most applicible product name] to these many companies because I am one of them and they will warm up to me easier then some random marketting person."

Does that help?

That depends on whether he is in a sales/marketing/pr type department. Generally, actual IT selling stuff isn't looked on as a good excuse to go to a convention.

You're idea is a good one however. I know as an attorney I have been able to write off San Diego Comic Con as a means of getting new clients (and it worked - I more than paid for the convention with new client income).

 

[Markn]

Dude, I think you're going about this the wrong way. Ask yourself this: what can your company offer an rpg company? RPGs are produced on computer, many are written by freelancers that work a considerable distance away. And you can sell it to your boss as, "I speak their lingo; I would be in a better position to market [insert most applicible product name] to these many companies because I am one of them and they will warm up to me easier then some random marketting person."

Does that help?

Unfortunately, programming is not our specialty. While there is some merit to your suggestion I'm not sure it is strong enough to stand on its own. I will certainly add it to the list of reasons but in and of itself its probably not a strong enough reason. Thanks.

 

[sckeener]

Consider it a diversity expense....and embrace the XYZ generation...the gamer generation.

 

[Tinner]

Lots of ideas.

If you're in any kind of leadership position, point out how RPG's offer a great team-building experience. Getting a diverse group to work together to achieve stated goals is valuable experience for any kind of management. This will work better if you actually take part in some tournament games.

Micro-trends - young male gamers are an emerging trend in the market. Point to the fact that Gen-Con does have a growing electronic gaming presence. Point out how many billion people are playing WOW, DDO, etc, and the sheer amount of money there is to be made courting that market. Should be a no-brainer.

Give us more info about your position, and I'll try to come up with others.

 

[dmccoy1693]

Unfortunately, programming is not our specialty. While there is some merit to your suggestion I'm not sure it is strong enough to stand on its own. I will certainly add it to the list of reasons but in and of itself its probably not a strong enough reason. Thanks.

Ok then, how about recruiting? How many gamers are IT people? More then a small handful, I'd imagine. They ranged from the experienced to the nearly finished with college.

 

[Justin D. Jacobson]

It's an opportunity to experience first-hand and learn about a massive networked system that is also temporary. Gen Con (the company) has hundreds of computers linked together to handle dozens of different tasks by a largely temporary workforce in a location that is only used by them for less than one week out of the year. I'm guessing that's a pretty unique set of parameters that you couldn't just walk down the street to experience. You should e-mail Peter Adkinson directly for his input; he's pretty easy to get a hold of.

 

[Quartz]

I think you've missed this year's Gen Con.

Anyway, I suggest you think about exactly what it is you do and your company does and how your target markets intersect with Gencon's exhibitors and visitors. IOW how is your company going to make money out of this? They'll be sendng you for their benefit, not yours.

You're in networking. Many people likely have home networks. MS is now targetting this market with MS Home Server. So you might suggest you go and give a presentation on how to optimise home networks for CRPGs. You might cover such topics as seperate firewalls, port forwarding, and bandwidth shaping. Of course, you'll be pimping your company's products.

 

[Markn]

Good ideas. Keem 'em coming!

It's an opportunity to experience first-hand and learn about a massive networked system that is also temporary. Gen Con (the company) has hundreds of computers linked together to handle dozens of different tasks by a largely temporary workforce in a location that is only used by them for less than one week out of the year. I'm guessing that's a pretty unique set of parameters that you couldn't just walk down the street to experience. You should e-mail Peter Adkinson directly for his input; he's pretty easy to get a hold of.

Fantastic idea. What is Peter Adkinson's role with Gen Con? Anybody know Peter Adkinson's email address?