TRAFFIC Down Under Preview

A preview of TRAFFIC’s upcoming Australia show.

The popular TRAFFIC domain name conference heads to Australia this year for the first TRAFFIC Down Under November 18-20. The event is being promoted by Fabulous.com and TRAFFIC founders Rick Schwatz and Howard Neu. I recently caught up with Fabulous to understand how this show came regarding and what we can expect.

Reglike: How did this event evolve?

Fabulous: There has always been a lot of interest from the domain community for a show to be held in Australia. We were constantly asked to throw a conference and everyone promised they will be there if we did. So we finally stated “Yes, let’s do it”. Over a quick drink and five minute negotiation Dan Warner, Fabulous.com Chief Strategy Officer, pitched the idea to Rick and Howard (founders of TRAFFIC). They loved the idea and as they say, the rest is history!

Reglike: Is TRAFFIC Down Under meant to attract a local audience or from people all over the world?

Fabulous: We are hoping that TRAFFIC Down Under will attract a lot of local individuals and firms who are based in the Asia-Pacific region. Still, the domain industry is global so we have received a lot of interest from industry professionals based in the USA and Europe. We expect the crème of the industry to attend, and those people will be traveling from all over the world.

Reglike: I just priced airfare from Austin to Australia for this event and it is $2,000? What will make this event worth the cost and time?

Fabulous: We priced the tickets on Expedia.com and Kayak.com with these results:

$1,600 USD via Vancouver, Los Angeles, and San Francisco

$1,500 USD via London

(Air Fresh Zealand allows a stop-over in Auckland if you want to include Fresh Zealand in your trip for no extra cost)

This is a premium event. It isn’t designed to be inexpensive. The event is pulling out all the stops and delivering an intense experience for the participants. Part of that experience is the exclusivity that naturally occurs when expenses exceed the “budget” conference range. We look forward to welcoming a smaller and dedicated group of professional domainers to our exotic location and events.

Reglike: Do you anticipate having a live domain name auction at the event?

Fabulous: It wouldn’t be a TRAFFIC show without a live domain auction, so of course the famous TRAFFIC Live Auction will be part of the agenda at TRAFFIC Down Under.

The auction will consist of 100 handpicked domains. Each of the domains will have qualified interest and underlying metrics that ensure they are highly desired. Over a course of only two hours the auction will be more compact and intense. The auction will be held in the Australian morning which will suit bidders from the USA and Europe who are internet bidding.

For more information regarding TRAFFIC Down Under, visit TrafficDownUnder.com.