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During the times of Covid, we swore not to miss any conference once things got back to normal. Now, when it’s possible to travel, we realized it was a bit of a dramatic promise and decided to cover at least the bigger events in the industry. Such as one of our favorite conferences ever – AWE in Barcelona!
Now that we’re back and full of impressions, we can’t wait to share them all! All the business, fun, moments to remember, and lessons learned made it, once again, a worthwhile experience.
Here’s how our days in Barcelona went:
So it begins! A couple of hours before the start, the venue buzzed with people running around. Everybody was making the final preparations before the show started officially. Between carrying this box there and that laptop there, we were already catching up with familiar faces who were in the same rush as we were.
We knew how hectic the day was going, so we devised a strategy for getting the most leads possible. And from this perspective, I’d say it was a good one.
Maximizing your efforts at the conference is important since you only have a limited time there. However, the sky is the limit when it comes to reaching potential partners.
If you didn’t come prepared to AWE, it would be good to come prepared to future conferences, with preset tasks for each of your team members. That’s how you’ll avoid confusion and minor slip-ups that usually occur. All the excitement and distractions at conferences are not helping here.
With all the business talks and networking, we were wondering if we’d have time to listen to the conference’s official speakers. In the end, we managed to squeeze them into our tight schedule.
From TikTok trends to Ad strategies, our geeky team wanted to get all the knowledge possible from the AWE speakers. I must say, we did learn a lot. It’s always a pleasure to listen to the greatest minds in the industry. Affiliate World Conferences never disappoint with the speaker lineup.
In order to get the most out of your first day at the conference get ready not to pause for a second. Get snacks and drink a lot of water (your throat will thank you, trust us) since you’ll be speaking a lot (a lot a lot). Marking down the speakers we wanted to hear and booking our calendar definitely helped us since you lose track of time.
Even though the only time we actually sat down was to hear the speakers, we weren’t tired by the official end of day 1 – we were ready for the party, more chatting, and more networking. And Barcelona by night didn’t disappoint.
The energy of people in affiliate marketing will never stop amazing me. Of course, no one went home to sleep after an exhausting day at the conference. The party lasted until early morning, and we were there to witness it.
As we usually do, we gave our best the day before, so it was a bit more challenging to wake up on the second day. We helped ourselves with a couple of coffees and a quick bite. Now, we were ready to take on day two!
Yes, we gossip sometimes, don’t judge.
It seemed that the official part of day two passed by a blink of an eye. Soon enough, we were hanging out with our peers in a less formal environment. A bit slower and with a bit heavier legs this time. We’re not superhumans, after all. Still, although no one slept – no one, people were still coming up and doing all the networking.
The great thing about coming in big groups is that you can make a strategy. Of course, the strategy needs to be done ahead of time, which is exactly what we did. Write this down for your next conference if you haven’t done this already.
We enjoyed this evening as much as the previous one while soaking in the warm air and playful atmosphere Barcelona is known for.
So, the AWE’s official and unofficial parts ended after two rollercoaster days!
With all that work and networking, we only had a couple of hours left to truly explore Barcelona. Luckily, some of our teammates have already been there. So they already knew the best spots to see in such a limited time. We even squeezed in a coffee with a view. What else would you expect from such an efficient crowd?
Soon enough, it was time to pick up our luggage and return. First, we rushed to the hotel and then to the airport.
On the plane, we were already dreaming of warm showers and sleeping in our beds, and recapping the best moments from the conference. And then, we entered major turbulence, which stopped our daydreaming. Long story short, we could not land, so we had to make a detour to Rome.
This leads us to…
After all the effort and sleepless nights behind us, we got a surprise chance to bond more. We had to spend a weekend in Rome until the next connecting flight could finally take us home.
We used this chance to unwind and relax a bit. The days went by with the exchange of some great stories, exploration of the eternal city, and a general feeling of gratitude for the good times we were having.
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Needless to say, with such activities and such people, time flew by. Soon enough, warm showers and comfy beds at our homes were a reality. Also, we got an extra adventure to share with our friends and family!
Finally, we could look back and reflect on our experience in Barcelona. This one has taught us a lot.
Every new conference is an opportunity for us to learn something, and that’s the attitude we go to each. AWE in Barcelona was no different.
Again, we were proud of the team and the effort each of us put into it, from the preparation to the execution. Not to mention partying. You guys rock! We couldn’t believe how many new faces were there and how quickly the industry is developing. I mean, it was only a couple of months since Dubai!
Our experience in Barcelona was similar to the one we had in Dubai in some aspects. But we also learned a lot of new things. Only the industry updates blew us away!
We learned that hard work pays off. Coinis is a well-known name in affiliate marketing, and it feels so good to acknowledge that and the path we’ve crossed so far. At times, we wondered if we should have brought more people – our booth was constantly full!
We’re not complaining, though. Hopefully, the future brings even more of this.
A bonus lesson was one in enjoying the good times and being spontaneous. Our weekend in Rome bonded us even more as a team. Even though we were tired after a couple of consecutive days of non-sleeping, we created some lovely memories.
Stay tuned for our next destination…
