Saffire Blog

Our trip to sunny California for WFA

Well, to say that last week was a whirlwind doesn’t seem to say quite enough! We had back-to-back conventions and trade shows, starting out with a trip to sunny Anaheim, California. Since we had worked with the staff at WFA to give them a new website for the WFA Convention, we were excited to see … Continue reading “Our trip to sunny California for WFA”

Well, to say that last week was a whirlwind doesn’t seem to say quite enough! We had back-to-back conventions and trade shows, starting out with a trip to sunny Anaheim, California.

Since we had worked with the staff at WFA to give them a new website for the WFA Convention, we were excited to see how the website was received. Several people stopped by our booth to tell us how user-friendly the website was, which was the best compliment we could receive.

We set up our booth and had a chance to chat with our friends Carrie and Liz for just a few minutes. And we finally got to meet Lori! We’ve worked with her for months, but it’s always nice to actually meet face-to-face.

The trade show was filled with lots of interesting attractions including butterflies, alligators, knights in shining armor and lots of clowns!

And congratulations to the winner of the TV giveaway: Katherine Rosser from Flying U Rodeos!

After two days at the trade show, Kendra presented on the benefits of Mobile Marketing. We had quite the crowd; over 80 people joined us. If you’re interested in learning more about what Kendra discussed, please feel free to email us at info@saffireevents.com and we can send you the slides from her presentation.

Overall, we had a great time visiting several of the suite parties, the entertainment showcase and listening to keynote speaker Kelly McDonald.

Congrats to our friends at WFA for a job well done on this convention! Hopefully, we’ll be back again next year.

IAFE 2011: Top 6 Questions from the Trade Show

One of the best parts about the IAFE Convention was getting to talk to individuals in the fair industry. It was a great chance for us to find out exactly what you want to know about Saffire! We compiled a list of the most popular questions, so if these were your questions…here are your answers! … Continue reading “IAFE 2011: Top 6 Questions from the Trade Show”

One of the best parts about the IAFE Convention was getting to talk to individuals in the fair industry. It was a great chance for us to find out exactly what you want to know about Saffire! We compiled a list of the most popular questions, so if these were your questions…here are your answers!

1) Does Saffire help with people using Google to search for us?
Yes, in fact you have the ability to control not only the content within each page you create, you can also individually manage all SEO related page information (page title, keywords, meta description) from the same tool. This ensures you can target searches most likely to bring people to your site.

2) Can I sell tickets with your software?
You bet! In January, Saffire will be implementing a new bar code system to let you create and validate tickets with barcodes right on the receipt to the customers. Already have a ticketing system you love? No problem! Saffire also lets you link directly into your existing ticketing system from each page to drive your customers to EXACTLY the tickets and purchases they are looking for.

3) My current site doesn’t let me change the layout of my pages, does Saffire?
Absolutely! Our content management lets you decide what to include on your pages and how you want it to layout. We currently have over 10 page modules you can include and we’ll be adding more. Have something you’d like us to include? Send us an email with your suggestions! Saffire features are customer driven and we are always looking for new features and ideas!

4) Can I get include Google analytics in my site?
Of course you can! Saffire is built to include Google analytics with every site. You’ll also receive training on how to view and interpret your site stats so you can continually improve your content and offerings to your customers.

5) My biggest issue is I have to wait forever for my guy (or gal) to make the updates we asked for. We’re still showing stuff from last year!
Well…that’s not really a question, but we understand! The whole point of Saffire is to let YOU control and update you site whenever YOU want to. No waiting for us or anyone else. Just update your site and see results instantly!

6) Can I get an extra koozie?
Of course you can!

– Aaron

Las Vegas Bound

It is a busy week around the Saffire offices. We’re getting ready to go in several different directions to spend time with loved ones for Thanksgiving, but will be meeting back up on Sunday to head to the IAFE Convention in Las Vegas! We’ve been planning this trip for months, and its hard to believe … Continue reading “Las Vegas Bound”

We’ve been planning this trip for months, and its hard to believe it’s finally here.

Being in Las Vegas for a convention can be very busy, but we don’t want to miss the chance to see you. Here are a few places you can be sure to find us in Vegas:

Stop by trade show booth #1122. If you play your cards right, you could walk away the winner!
Kendra will be leading a Round Table Discussion about “Online Marketing Best Practices,” Monday, November 29 at 8:45 a.m. Bring a cup of coffee and be a part of the conversation.
Join us in the Product Showcase Room on Tuesday, November 29 at 3:00 p.m. where we’ll be telling you what’s new in marketing your event online.
Last but certainly not least, we are hosting a special happy hour for our friends and colleagues. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for more information about our cotton candy cocktails. Yum!

Our team is looking forward to seeing you in Las Vegas. We’ll be easy to spot in our matching blue hoodies, so please stop us to say hello.

Since this is our first trip to the IAFE convention, please feel free to give us any inside scoop on what to expect!

2011 Global Rodeo Conference

I just got back from the Global Rodeo Conference in Omaha, Nebraska and I’m so excited to tell you about the great experiences I had on September 22-23. I attended the conference to give a presentation called “Is Your Website All Hat and No Cattle?” It focused on the importance of Google being able to … Continue reading “2011 Global Rodeo Conference”

I just got back from the Global Rodeo Conference in Omaha, Nebraska and I’m so excited to tell you about the great experiences I had on September 22-23. I attended the conference to give a presentation called “Is Your Website All Hat and No Cattle?”

It focused on the importance of Google being able to find websites, the benefits of using social media and how web design can help increase revenue online. I was especially happy to see that our friends from Rodeo Austin, were in Omaha for the conference! I really appreciated their support for my presentation and it was great to see them.

Although my presentation went well, my trip ended up being about so much more! I was thrilled to learn as much as I could about rodeo from the other speakers. One of the presentations was given by the Vice President and COO of Rodeo Houston, Leroy Shafer.

He gave the history of the rodeo from the time it was established in 1931 and how they now run the biggest rodeo in America. It was great listening to their story of success over the years from someone who has actually been there through it all. He mentioned how the current rodeo audience is growing older and it made me realize the necessity and relevance of the work we do here at Saffire. Online marketing reaches a younger crowd and will help keep rodeo relevant.

I was also thrilled to meet so many great people in attendance at the conference. After working with Rodeo Austin, one of my favorite things to do is to listen to how different committees make their rodeos tick and how each of them are unique in their own way. By the end of my time in Omaha, I felt like I knew so much more about how rodeo works, and I really enjoyed meeting a lot of new friends.

Finally, since the conference was going on at the same time as the 2011 Justin Boots Championship Rodeo & the Ak-Sar-Ben 4H Stock Show, I had to go see some of the action! (You all know I’m a rodeo girl at heart!) I had the chance to see some of the animals out back behind the conference center and some of the cattle in the livestock show. At the end of the two day conference, I felt that the Global Rodeo Conference was not only fun but also such a learning experience.

I want to personally thank the members of the Association of Rodeo Committees for allowing me to participate! I had a wonderful time and can’t wait until next year!

My Trip to NALS & RMA Conference

I’ve just returned from the North American Live Stock and Rodeo Managers Association conference in Red Lodge, Montana. And I can sum it up by saying, what a hoot! These are the nicest people you’ll ever come across, which really validated our decision to focus on this industry. I couldn’t decide whether the people were … Continue reading “My Trip to NALS & RMA Conference”

I’ve just returned from the North American Live Stock and Rodeo Managers Association conference in Red Lodge, Montana. And I can sum it up by saying, what a hoot!

These are the nicest people you’ll ever come across, which really validated our decision to focus on this industry. I couldn’t decide whether the people were more like a family or a small town, but they were so welcoming and appreciative of our sponsorship; I truly loved my time with this special group.

I sponsored the conference on the advice of Bucky Lamb, the CEO of our wonderful partner Rodeo Austin. He said there were no guarantees, but he felt this would be a receptive audience to our message. I only went with the hope that I’d make some friends in the industry, and I certainly did. But I think I even gave some events something to think about in raising the bar on their online presence.

One thing I was struck by is just how many issues these event coordinators face besides online marketing and their event websites. I am so engrossed in the online world that it’s easy to forget it is only a small (but important!) part of the myriad of details it takes to put on a successful event.

There was a great session on social media, where I got to hear Steve Richo and Mark O’Shea from Noise New Media give some fascinating statistics and advice on integrating social media into an online marketing plan. There was also a surprisingly informative presentation by Marion Gellatly at Powerful Presence about business etiquette, where I learned I break approximately 76.8% of the rules! Oops. (More on that in another post.)

But the most fun was in the amazing places Justin Mills of The NILE (the host of this year’s conference) arranged for us to see – from a cattle tagging manufacturer to a bull testing facility to a belt buckle store to the Buffalo Bill Historic Center to World Famous Pig Races and great meals at Irma Hotel and music by a very entertaining songwriter who shared this funny quote: “Drink, because the brain cell you kill might be the one that was holding you back.”

Thank you to everyone at NALS & RMA! It was great to meet you, and I’m already looking forward to next year!

SXSW

Our team has been busy at SXSW Interactive the last few days and we can’t WAIT to share with you all the new stuff we’ve learned. Still not sure what SXSW is exactly? Check out this fun video from CNN.

Our team has been busy at SXSW Interactive the last few days and we can’t WAIT to share with you all the new stuff we’ve learned.

Still not sure what SXSW is exactly? Check out this fun video from CNN.

The guy down the street

I started doing market research today on what people are looking for in their event websites. On my first phone call to a fair about her event website, I found out that she was pretty happy with the guy down the street who does their website. This was great to hear, since most of the … Continue reading “The guy down the street”

I started doing market research today on what people are looking for in their event websites.

On my first phone call to a fair about her event website, I found out that she was pretty happy with the guy down the street who does their website. This was great to hear, since most of the time, I only hear from people who have had very bad experiences with their web developers.

But on the other hand, it’s hard to know how to sell against this guy. Our team isn’t that big, but we have people who specialize in project management, writing, marketing, user interface, HTML, graphic design, programming, server/security management, etc. And they are all different people… in some cases more than one who perform the different skills needed to build a high-quality event website!

What I want to tell event directors is, we want to be your guy down the street! What would it take for you to give us a shot? Seriously, we want to know!

We know it’s scary to call a company in Austin, Texas. Whether you’re a couple hours away or a several hour plane ride, you may be concerned about being able to get a hold of us.

But having been in business since 1998, we can assure you we’re not going anywhere. And we give you the tools to manage your site yourself (and with all our resources, your site will surely be so much higher quality than a one-man show). So you can rest easier that you have everything you need to manage your website.

Since a picture says a thousand words, here are photos of some of our team members. See? We’re really not that scary!

Getting Up Off the Couch

I’ve always told customers that it’s really hard to get online leads and sales from offline marketing efforts. I’ve said this not to discourage them from doing it, but to set realistic expectations. It’s just really hard to overcome inertia to get people off the couch where they read their email and to their computer … Continue reading “Getting Up Off the Couch”

Well now I’ve experienced this for myself.

We sent out about 1,700 postcards to fairs and rodeos across the country, and we’re holding our breath to find out if anyone is interested enough to call us. I have to remember that it will take several exposures to our name before people respond, but like I also always say, patience isn’t my virtue!

Here’s the postcard. I think it’s so fun, but let us know what you think.

What are your experiences with direct mail? We’d love to hear success stories!