Re: Let's talk about booth and goodies

> On Tue, Aug 28, 2012 at 06:25:00PM +0100, Peter Geoghegan wrote:
>> On 28 August 2012 09:31, Dave Page <dpage(at)pgadmin(dot)org> wrote:
>>> - It gives people a reason to stop at the booth, and start
>>> conversations with us about PostgreSQL. That may happen with just
>>> a few pens and stickers on the table, but larger items also
>>> attract many people.
>>>
>>> - People that purchase mugs and shirts will wear/use them. Things
>>> that get given away often end up in the trash. If they wear our
>>> shirts and use our mugs, their friends and colleagues will see
>>> them and become familiar with our brand. They may talk about
>>> PostgreSQL as a result of seeing an interesting mug design, which
>>> can lead to more people trying out PostgreSQL. Word of mouth is a
>>> very powerful form of advertising.
>>
>> Yeah. You have to bear in mind what it actually looks like when
>> we're standing around our booth, talking amongst ourselves. That
>> could appear to be a little bit intimidating to an outsider.
>> Purchasing an item could be used by some as an ice-breaker.
>
> Standing in front of the booth/table rather than behind it makes the
> situation a good bit more inviting to people walking by. People
> behind the table engrossed in their laptops--yes, I've done this--are
> very off-putting to people who might otherwise interact.

With that all said, I actually enjoyed working at the booth because it gave me the opportunity to talk to new people and spread the love of Postgres. Trying to sell Sloniks was actually my most effective way of breaking the ice with people, finding out what they were interested about Postgres and seeing more of what they wanted from either the software, the community, or how to be more involved. Even if they did not buy anything in the end, it provided an opportunity to get more feedback about a) who is attending the conference and b) a Postgres use case.

To weigh in on the overall discussion, I think selling the merchandise is very important for branding Postgres. Whenever people see my Postgres stress ball or Slonik, technical or nontechnical, that always ask about it and it gives me the ability to make a quick pitch on the uses and advantages of Postgres. If anything, I would argue to make it more convenient to sell the merchandise at the conference, e.g. put some Sloniks and shirts right next to the coffee table - all of these things are great tools to help people discuss Postgres after the conference.

I'm not sure about how this is setup for PG.EU, but with respect to the cash box, is there a general PG.EU bank account available to deposit the funds in?

Jonathan