June 2005
Best Practices: LinuxWorld in a Box

IDG World Expo packages open source education for export to global markets

By Cathy Chatfield-Taylor

Linux is the same in any language. The open source alternative to Microsoft’s Windows operating system is gaining market share worldwide, predicted to climb from 24 percent today to 33 percent by 2007. To tap the $11 billion and growing industry, IDG World Expo (www.idgworldexpo.com) is exporting the LinuxWorld Conference & Expo (www.linuxworldexpo.com) to 11 countries.

“We’ve identified a number of geographic or national markets with enough critical mass to support a Linux event,” says David Korse, President of IDG World Expo, Framingham, MA, a business unit of Boston-based International Data Group (IDG). “We prioritized by level of opportunity and started the process last year by looking for local partners.”

Korse retained independent business development consultant Steve Monnington of London-based Mayfield Media Strategies (www.mayfieldmedia.co.uk) to research prospective markets and partners. Likely candidates are interviewed to assess their interest, then vetted with a homework assignment: Evaluate the viability of a LinuxWorld event in their market.

“We want to see if they come up with information similar to ours,” Korse says. “We also want them to find out enough about the market so they become passionate about the opportunity.”

Once a partner is selected, the partnership agreement takes one of two forms. In markets where IDG has a presence that gives IDG World Expo access to market intelligence and magazine relationships, the company retains ownership and designates an agent to manage LinuxWorld on its behalf. The agent’s compensation is based on total revenue and profitability against plan.

“If it’s an agency agreement, the risk is ours,” Korse says. “If the event loses money, it’s IDG World Expo that loses.” LinuxWorld is currently produced by agents in Canada, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom.

In markets where IDG lacks presence, licensing agreements allow more established event producers to launch LinuxWorld. Licensees pay a percentage of revenue for the privilege, as well as assume the risk. Licensees include VNU in the Netherlands, Reed Exhibitions in Russia, E.J. Krause & Associates (EJK) in Mexico, Exhibitions for Africa in South Africa, and a Reed-EJK joint venture in Brazil.

IDG World Expo produces LinuxWorld in Japan and China, where the company has its own operations staff. To date, every event in every market has been in the black, according to Korse. The company is evaluating at least eight other markets to debut by the end of 2006.

With so many companies producing the same event in different countries, ensuring the LinuxWorld brand experience is consistent is a challenge.

“The outside world should not be able to tell the difference if it’s IDG-owned and produced, agent produced or a licensed event,” Korse says. “We don’t expect them to be the same, just as much as they can be within the constraints of the local environment.”

Whether they’re agents or licensees, new partners are indoctrinated at a nearby LinuxWorld event. Then they’re given access to the LinuxWorld extranet, which provides the tools they need to produce the event themselves, including:
• Customer databases organized alphabetically and by country;
• Speaker databases with topics and attendee evaluations;
• Conference programs going back several years; and
• Marketing templates with downloadable logos, press releases and
   promotional materials.

As part of the LinuxWorld network, partners report monthly on sales to date, bellwether contracts, confirmed speakers and pre-registration figures. A monthly conference call gives everyone a chance to ask questions and share information about sales leads. And for the first time this year, current and prospective partners convened at LinuxWorld in Boston, Feb. 14-17 at the Hynes Convention Center, for face-to-face meetings.

“We’re getting them used to sharing information openly with those who might otherwise be competitors.” Korse says. “We’re hearing VNU, Reed and EJK talking about what customers want. … The global market truly makes strange bedfellows.”