Industry conferences are essential for networking and doing business. However, the cost of these types of conferences has been going up. In fact, it is safe to say that costs for industry conferences are getting out of control! If you want to attend marketing conferences, which don’t cost an arm and a leg, you’ll find that DEFCON offers a lot of advantages.
DEFCON is a cybersecurity conference, which is very popular and it’s possible to get a lot for your money when you attend, so you may want to add it to your list of marketing conferences 2018. Growth hacking conferences don’t get any better than this!
To help you learn about the value of this conference, let’s share some information about what’s available to participants…
Is DEFCON RIght For You?
This cybersecurity conference is also known as a “hacker’s conference”. If you’re looking for marketing conferences 2017, you should know that this conference was already held, from July 27th to July 30th, 2017, at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas.
The 2017 version of DEFCON will be held from August 9th to August 12th, 2018, at the same location on the Las Vegas Strip (Caesar’s Palace).
At DEFCON, all attendees pay the same amount. Whether they are marketing pros with a tech focus, hackers or government employees, they pay a flat rate. This egalitarian system is fair. Everyone pays but volunteers, who attend for free in exchange for their work. The conference costs two hundred and sixty bucks, US. This isn’t a lot of money for a big and notable conference, so it’s definitely a bargain. The rate of $260 is based on 2017 figures. It probably won’t cost much more (or any more) in 2018.
If you want to attend this affordable conference in 2018, you should know that pre-booking won’t be possible. Also, it’s cash only. So, it will be first-come, first-served. If this works for you, planning to attend in 2018 may be worthwhile. The organizers of this event prefer cash because cash isn’t tracked the same way that credit card payments and checks are.
In terms of who goes to DEFCON, there are hackers, just like you’d expect. However, the conference also attracts others who are interested in technology and in marketing technology. It’s a hub for high-tech and gets a big crowd each and every year. If you’re focused on some aspect of tech in your line of work, you may find that networking at this big event is the key to making the right connections and/or promoting your goods and services.
Some Conferences Cost Thousands
These days, affordable industry conferences are few and far between. To put things into perspective, the WSJD Live tech conference, which was put on by The Wall Street Journal, cost attendees five thousand bucks, way back in 2014!
This is a lot of money!
While the WSJD Live conference was by invitation-only and had a couple hundred attendees, it’s a good example of how unaffordable some of these conferences are.
Lots of Tech Conferences Cost a Bundle
Since DEFCON is so affordable and so valuable to marketers who promote tech, it may be the best industry conference deal around. We did some research to see what the competition is charging for similar conferences. The upcoming Digital Summit Detroit costs five hundred dollars per person, which is a lot more than DEFCON. It’s going to be held in August of 2017.
On October 3rd, 2017, the B2B Marketing Forum will be held in Boston and it will cost each attendee a couple of grand to attend! This conference is more about marketing than tech, but tech will certainly enter into the equation. Two thousand dollars is a great deal of money for a conference pass, so we think that those who are considering attending should weigh the pros and cons carefully before they buy tickets. It might be smarter to wait for DEFCON 2018!
Most people have to pay for travel, along with conference costs. Then they have to find accommodation, rent cars and pay for everyday expenses during their conferences. Obviously, the real cost of attending an industry conference in another place is going be a lot higher than the cost of a ticket. This is why finding a truly affordable marketing conference or tech conference will give you more money to play with while you’re there and more money to spend on travel and related expenses.
A lot of people are frustrated by the high costs of industry conferences these days. They find that they can’t afford to attend the conferences, which interest them and this doesn’t seem fair to them. What could be worth thousands of dollars? People are wondering why the costs are so high in the first place.
In most cases, people are paying for well-known speakers with industry expertise. They are also paying for the cost of renting a venue for the conference and related expenses. As well, they are paying for the organization of the event. In some cases, there is a lot of organization beforehand which bumps up the conference budget. Attendees need to pay for it all with high-priced tickets to these conferences.
To make a smart decision about spending money for a conference, be sure to consider how much value (education and connections) you’ll get for the amount of days that you’ll be attending. For example, if the conference cost a grand to attend, look at the speakers, schedule and setup and then try to determine whether or not you’ll receive a grand’s worth of value, in terms of learning or networking, or both. If you don’t think that you will, then the conference is likely overcharging attendees. Finding a cheaper conference will give you access to good value for so much less.
In many cases, it’s possible to get the same education by purchasing some books and it’s possible to get the same networking or marketing value via online channels that don’t cost money.
Considering your overall purpose in attending is important. Some people want to learn, while others are more interested in selling things or marketing themselves. A cheaper conference like DEFCON is going to provide education and marketing opportunities, as well as great networking, and it will cost only 130 bucks a day. This is a good investment, whereas a thousand dollar conference may be unlikely to provide the same ROI (return on investment).
Plus, DEFCON is fun for techies. It’s a playground for them, full of like-minded people, whether they wear black hats or white hats. People go there to learn new things from new people and it’s got a unique spirit about it, which separates it from a lot of tech/marketing conferences.
How to Save Money
First, choose DEFCON or another cheaper conference. Another strategy for saving cash on industry conferences is to find one that’s very close to home. If you don’t need to travel far in order to attend, you’ll be able to avoid flights, hotel and so on. This stuff adds up fast. For example, a more expensive industry conference in your home city may be a good investment if you expect to access great learning value from it, or great marketing opportunities, or both. Since you may avoid paying for travel and accommodations, the higher cost of attending may not bust your budget.
If you’re going to travel, a cheaper conference in a really fun city will be a smart choice. Las Vegas is a mecca for conferences because there is no shortage of affordable accommodations, cheap eats and fun, less expensive entertainment available. Of course, it’s possible to spend a fortune in Las Vegas, but you definitely don’t have to. You can go to MacDonald’s and stay in a two or three star hotel. You may scale your spending to your budget and that’s a good thing.
DEFCON is held in Las Vegas, right on the strip, where it’s possible to walk to all sorts of fun places and eateries. When you choose a conference on the Las Vegas Strip, you may not need to rent a car. This will save you money.
To find out more about DEFCON, visit the official website. It’s got a tongue-in-cheek vibe and it’s loaded with practical information about what DEFCON is, who it’s right for and what happens during the conference. Since the 2017 conference just happened, there is lots of up to date information at the website. When you visit, you’ll see that attendees got a lot of value for what they spent!
Plan for DEFCON 2018
No one deserves to be overcharged for attending a conference. The team at DEFCON knows this and they do all that they can to keep prices super-affordable. They want all interested parties to have the chance to attend…not just CEOs and government officials with expense accounts.
If you want an affordable conference for 2018, which is on the cutting-edge with regard to tech, then you’ll benefit from choosing DEFCON 2018. This conference is unique in terms of not costing a fortune and it’s also unique in terms of attracting a diverse crowd with some serious tech skills.