The 15th Relativity Fest was one of the most highly attended Relativity Fests to date with about 2,000 attendees. Sessions were packed with customers. They actually had to turn away attendees from the packed room at Horrigan’s State of the Union.  Market consolidation and other factors may have reduced the number of sponsors, but not the energy level. I managed to chat with a number of first-time attendees excited to get answers and connect with the community. The event team solved many previous friction points with registration, bus transportation to the big party, lots of socializing opportunities and even a massive final day bag check room.

eDJ fast take and quotes:

• Relativity is becoming a mature, enterprise solution stack
• Multiple, concrete success stories from aiR early access customers with real metrics
• 15-minute aiR for Review lab that demonstrated ease of adoption and value (blog coming)
• Slow conversion of exhibit hall to socializing with the sponsors and happy hour gamification with good gimmees
• “I’m still a student, but this may make me change my major.” –
• “We usually stay away from politics, but this year we are diving into judicial intimidation and influence.”
• Take and go lunches…not my favorite idea
• “Fest is more about community development than selling stuff”
• Plenty of quiet places to talk shop and connect during the day
• Ridiculously lovely Chicago weather
• Panels that focused on real customer experiences rather than talking heads (yes, I frequently resemble the latter)

Most of my clients have to fight for their professional development budget and conference time. They have to choose a few key events to invest in for their annual CLE and industry updates. User conferences connect practitioners and providers through a common product lens. Fest has done away with much of the marketing noise to foster a more interactive environment. During my analyst days on the speaker circuit I did 2-3 events every month. Every event had a different vibe and purpose (though the Vegas ones all kind of blended together). Fest still stands out for attendee value and experience. Look for follow up blogs on the Keynote, sessions and sponsor/customer interviews.

Greg Buckles wants your feedback, questions or project inquiries at Greg@eDJGroupInc.com. Book a free 15 minute ‘Good Karma’ call if he has availability. He solves problems and creates eDiscovery solutions for enterprise and law firm clients.

Greg’s blog perspectives are personal opinions and should not be interpreted as a professional judgment or advice. Greg is no longer an investigative journalist and all perspectives are based on best public information. Blog content is neither approved nor reviewed by any providers prior to being published. Do you want to share your own perspective? Greg is looking for practical, professional informative perspectives free of marketing fluff, hidden agendas or personal/product bias. Outside blogs will clearly indicate the author, company and any relevant affiliations. 

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