Visit Our Booth--It Sleeps 8

At the giant Comdex trade show, digital heavyweights battle for attention, banner to banner, promotion to promotion.

Microsoft’s and Intel’s cathedral-like booths tower above the masses. Irvine-based AST Computers has built an enormous tribute to the exploration of Mars, complete with monstrous high-definition screens, NASA footage and a model of the Pathfinder.

On the fringe of all this, Anawave Software is planning its guerrilla marketing attack.

Forget signing up for a booth. The lavishly catered party and posh hotel accommodations are out. Instead, the small Newport Beach company--which hosts Web sites and builds software tools to create these sites--plans to live, sleep and work its way through Comdex in the back of a Winnebago.

“It’s so expensive to go” to Comdex, said Paul Summers, Anawave’s president and chief executive. “We figured that between the air fare and hotel rooms and transportation and renting a booth and throwing a party, it would cost us a solid six figures. We had to find a less expensive way to go and still stand out.”

Like many of the technology companies showing their new products in Las Vegas this week, Anawave feels the annual onslaught of software and electric gadgets is an event it can’t afford to miss but really can’t afford to attend, Summers said.

For small companies like Anawave, the show’s enormous scope is both tempting and terrifying. The privately held firm has a staff of 30. Last year, Anawave did about $2.25 million in sales and this year has been growing about 5% a month, company officials said. Its clients include game company Interplay Productions and Ralphs Grocery.

“If Microsoft and Intel have trouble getting a lot of attention, how can a small company like ours compete?” asked Summers, 32, who started Anawave in 1995.

Their solution is simple and true to the computer industry’s do-it-yourself mentality. Instead of following the masses along the traditional show path, the company opted for the chauffeur-driven Winnebago adorned with banners touting Anawave’s products.

For the five-hour trek to the computer show mecca, Summers and Senior Vice President Philip Kaplan swung by a convenience store to pick up the necessary supplies--chips and salsa, stacks of soda, and a copy of the “Beavis and Butt-head” movie.

“C’mon, that’s a great movie for a road trip,” Summers said.

They are setting up shop in the parking lot of the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino several miles from one of the main draws, the Las Vegas Convention Center.

“All told, it’s only going to cost us about $10,000,” Summers said.

The idea for the portable showroom originated last year. Kaplan and Summers had recently started Anawave and were curious to see what other Internet-related firms were doing. With few products to show and even fewer resources to pay for travel, the pair decided to rent an RV and zip over to Comdex for a couple of days.

While cruising down the Strip, they spotted long lines of Comdex conventioneers waiting for cabs and shuttle buses outside the hotels.

“We recognized some of our buyers and potential customers,” said Kaplan, 31. “We pulled up and offered them a lift to the convention center. Suddenly, we realized we had a captive audience.”

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They repeated this pick-up-and-pitch method throughout the week and sealed several deals. The pair even threw an impromptu cocktail party in the RV.

The formula worked so well, Anawave plans to do the same thing at this year’s show--just on a slightly larger scale.

Each year, a few companies use similarly offbeat tactics at Comdex, said group show director William Fell. But many find it’s difficult to lure visitors away from the show’s heavily congested hubs, he said.

“Most attendees plan their trips,” Fell said. “It’s like going to a shopping mall. You may do some window shopping, but you already know who and what you’re looking for.

“A group of people in a Winnebago ranks pretty low on your list of things to do.”

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Anawave officials say the gamble is worth it. From the relative comfort of their mobile office, they’re debuting a new product called CoolCat 4.0, a software program that lets people build Web sites. They’re teaming up with another small software firm to host a party at the Monte Carlo Pub & Brewery.

And they are using a very large Winnebago--a 36-foot beast equipped with a shower, microwave, wet bar, entertainment system and enough sleeping space for eight people.

“Going to Comdex is like going to Mardi Gras,” Summer said. “It’s wild and crazy and everyone spends way too much money. If we can cut our travel costs by doing something outside the norm, our expectations aren’t so high and it’ll be easier for us to recoup our investment.”