How much would you pay to attend a DrupalCamp?

Charge 1.5x to 2x for those who cannot make up their minds early enough. Say, regular price until 10 days before, then 50% upcharge for online registration. Twice the price for onsite registration.
It costs us more in terms of logistics and money to accommodate them.

I prefer the more casual approach. Don't charge, if possible and raise money from sponsors. Every camp doesn't have to be a con or a mini-con. I strongly feel that it is much more important to reach out and grow the community than it is to have more bagels (or are those just stale donuts?) and pomegranate juice.

Make it easy for anyone to be a sponsor. The big companies can have banners and booths and get their names on the shirt. Little companies (like mine) can get their name/logo on the site and maybe on a poster at the venue. Individuals can be listed on the site and have the great satisfaction of having supported Drupal without the messiness involved with, say, writing views 3. Individuals could use Chipin.

FWIW -

$10 coffee and bagels / throw in a Drupal bumper sticker, round just like the AAA stickers, would be way cool to put on your car
(haven't seen one yet, still looking)

/ Since its the first ever San Diego Drupal Camp / T-shirts would be nice. but I think $20 for that.

/ or better yet / who cares / Wheres the after-party?

I think most people at this point are going to be way stoked just to even go.

I totally agree w/Cary here. While I don´t know anything about the SD Drupal community, if it´s anything like LA´s, imho, it´s about getting breadth of coverage. Keeping it free will get you MANY more people who´d show up who might not have otherwise- NPOs, college students, educators, etc. You know, the folks on the fence who might just be curious enough to show up if it´s a free event.

However, events like this aren´t cheap. Maybe we could all chip in & send an info packet to 1-3 people we know who might be interested in being a sponsor. I say that only because the time´s creeping up on us so the quicker that gets locked down, the quicker you can get back to the fun part of putting something like this together. I like Cary´s idea on the different levels of sponsorship- individual > sm. biz > bookoo buck$ corporations. Adding on to Cary´s idea- you could create buttons for the various levels that folks could place on their own website (I guess, along the same vein as the Drupal Assoc.) to show they supported. Just trying to toss out ideas.

That bumper sticker idea is awesome, I know I´d rock that. :)

Maybe what we should do is start asking who is willing to sponsor and at what amount? The business environment is tough right now and companies are cutting back on sponsorships. I know at Achieve I have cut back on almost all sponsorships for 09. It is just too hard to predict the market for 09' at this time.

What does everyone else think?

Ron

Just having a web page have a link... not enough. Brand name visibility at the event, in a passive way, unsupported by volunteer staff, would be great! Keep in mind that "LA" Camps tend towards "large", meaning 4+ seminar tracks, totalling 40-80 seminars in 2 days. Smaller events might not be able to handle this suggestion below.

I'd sponsor the event if I got to place my business flyer and card onto a table top, and be able to refresh the piles whenever I went by, from a personal box placed behind and underneath the table. These tables could line the hallways or the booth area, or be inside a seminar room (business matching the topics of that track). Various locations could be a higher sponsorship fee. Different sizes of reserved table space could cost differently. Someone wanting to put down 3 flyes, instead of just one... Or having the corner space. Or having the front half of the table.

The table should be clearly labeled "For Sponsors Only". To prevent unauthorized placement each sponsor would get a "number" that is displayed in their 14x10 foot area of the table, a placard, and that public number would match a private number issued upon sponsorship. The only people who would be allowed to place material would that private number, or similar scheme. Given the table space is "allocated", perhaps divided by masking tape, and each space is "numbered", it would be hard for a 'stranger' to place material. This saves having someone 'watch' the table area. The rear third of the table would have upright signs, higher visibility for both extra fee sponsors or for type of business to be found on that table.

Similar businesses should be grouped together. there should be more tables as needed to avoid "crowding", and only two deep. While the table might hold 3, it gets too messy.

There should be 'chairs' nearby, 2 between each table, with adequate 'comfort' space for big humans, and space to walk to the rear between each chair. The chairs should be marked "Sponsors Only". First come first serve. Get up and you lose the chair (you get up to anwser attendee questions). These chairs can be used to aid the sponsor when answering questions of attendees passing by the table. Of course, between seminars there would be barely anyone passing, and the sponsor would likely be at a seminar themselves. But between seminars, lunch, at the day's end, sponsors could stand or sit at these tables and hawk their services. A lounge area with 10 chairs and 3 round tables would be nice as well. And a supply of water and glasses for the sponsors and for the sponsors to provide to the attendee asking questions.

That degree of visibility would be worth a freelance consultant to brand themselves at the event.

Yes, a "bulletin" board is "nice", but it's not nearly as visible as 6-12 sponsorship tables with business flyers and cards. These tables must be VERY VISIBLY labeled as sponsors, otherwise the value is greatly reduced. A sign hung on the wall behind the tables, or tall signs at each end of the table.

A bulletin board tac for business cards and a second tac for flyers... holds how many? 10? 20? Needing frequent refilling... That level of sponsporship would be worth $10 more than admission price, maybe $15 or $20. So, if admission was free...

Labeled table space, with chairs, and a rest/interview area with water, maybe cookies (sponsor could bring their own as an inducement) would be worth $25 to $50 more than the price of admission. Sponsoring at $100 would be worth 2 table space areas, or one area plus the rear sign. Sponsoring at $250 would get a quarter at the end of the table and a full time chair, clearly labeled as "Reserved for _branding__ Sponsor."

Just how much does such a 'table sponsor' project need to bring in to justify doing it? $3,000? 4?

I recall the last LA Drupal Camp had 4 tracks with 2 morning seminars and 3 afternoon, for two days, for over 35 seminars. An attendee could attend 10 seminars that focused on the areas of their business and personal interest. $5 a seminar seems high, and $2 is way too low. So, somewhere between 20 to 50 dollars. As the years go by, the price should go up. Look at SCALE pricing. That's a great model. SCALE was free to attendees the first 2 or 3 years. Then free to early registration. Now, it is no longer free except to User Group Booth volunteers. So, I vote for the next LA Drupal Camp to be free to early registration, up to 3 days before the event (get an estimate of the number of attendees is good, so that 3 days would change to the time period you need to have the estimate by - Talk with Garret of SCALE to ask about how registration numbers compared to the numbers who just came on the day of the event - Why? Likely 1/3 to half are in the latter group). The 3 days before the event make it $5 this coming year. And at the door make it $8 to 10, or 12. Half day should be half price. Late on the last day should be $2-5 (lower is better as many people are leaving and you want to encourage late comers, so free might be best for several years).

The poll is empty? There used to be a lot more votes on there, and now everything is showing up as zeros. Strange, yes, but disappointing too.

I remember a bug in Advanced Poll a long time ago that did this if two different people edited the poll and saved it after it had been created. I thought it was solved, but maybe a regression has crept back in? I sure hope so, and that it's not a g.d.o. site maintainer editing polling data in favor of their favorite political candidate? :)
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Senpai