Also available in: Deutsch (German)

Bernhard Bradatsch:
Andreas, first of all, I’m delighted that you’re willing to do this interview. Practically everyone in the industry has known you for years as the organiser of the TES Affiliate Conference. We even know each other from your time before that. I remember that you worked for a payment service provider in Barcelona. That was certainly well over ten years ago. After that, you launched TES.

How did you originally come up with the idea?

Andreas Bischoff:
The idea wasn’t actually mine 🙂 The organiser of another event approached me at the time to see if I wanted to work with him, as his event was very local at the time and I had a very extensive international network of contacts. However, the deal didn’t materialise in the end. I then thought to myself: “You have the international contacts that nobody else has – how hard can it be to rent a hotel and order a bit of food and drink?” I then asked some people in Las Vegas and Phoenix at the beginning of 2009 whether they would be interested in a genuine pan-European event and, based on the feedback, we held the first “The Barcelona Summit” in June 2009, at that time still, as the name suggests, in Barcelona. The name has since changed due to our very strong growth from less than 300 participants back then to over 2,000 participants per event today. Apart from that, Walter and I have largely remained true to ourselves. At least I hope so.

Bernhard Bradatsch:
At the start, platform operators, payment service providers and the webmasters of the time were probably the core target group that your event wanted to address. Have other “verticals” been added over the years?

Andreas Bischoff:
In the beginning, our main target group were indeed the operators of erotic internet sites. Then we added operators of online dating websites, and gradually more and more verticals decided to visit us and the events became more and more a mix of almost all the “high-risk verticals” that exist on the Internet.

Bernhard Bradatsch:
This market has changed dramatically in recent years. Can you briefly say how these changes are reflected in your event in addition to the expansion of verticals?

Andreas Bischoff:
Well, the classic “affiliate” or “webmaster” hardly exists these days. Their role is increasingly being replaced by “media buyers”. Furthermore, in 2009, eroticism was still the actual product with which erotic site operators earned their money. Today, erotic sites are unfortunately mostly free and only act as “feeders” or for lead generation from other sites/products. Regrettably, this development has taken a lot of capital away from the online adult industry.

Bernhard Bradatsch:
The TES has also continued to grow in size over the years. You currently have around 2000 participants twice a year. Is that the end of the line, so to speak, or are you aiming for even higher visitor numbers?

Andreas Bischoff:
Our current plan is to offer 2,200 tickets for the existing events in Cascais and Prague in the future. After that, latecomers who register too late will no longer be able to take part in our events. Which is not nice, of course. If we then see that the demand is always 2,300 tickets and the supply is 2,200, then we would leave everything as it is. However, if at some point we see that the supply is constantly 2,200 tickets – but at some point we have, let’s say, a constant 800 people on the waiting list for a ticket for every event, then we would endeavour to find a new location for 3,000 – 4,000 participants. But this is all hypothetical and I don’t expect us to find ourselves in this extremely fortunate predicament in the next few years.

Bernhard Bradatsch:
When I look at the event calendars today, I see an event almost every week in our segment worldwide. Is this almost inflationary development a problem for the TES?

Andreas Bischoff:
That should be the case, but strangely enough, it’s not the case for us at all. During the time TES is taking place in Cascais this month, two other major affiliate conferences are taking place almost simultaneously. So you would assume that this would have a negative impact on us. But the absolute opposite is the case. We have never sold so many business lounges for Cascais as this time. Walter and I definitely hadn’t expected that. Strange, but true.

Bernhard Bradatsch:
The presentations are obviously a central point of your event. I can see high-calibre speakers on the central and current topics in the market today, such as AI, SEO, affiliate marketing and much more. What role do the presentations play for the event?

Andreas Bischoff:
Presentations are of course an important part of our events and we always receive compliments on the quality of our speakers. But to be honest, we are more of a networking event than a conference. I always say that if we were to stop offering seminars tomorrow, it would certainly hurt us, but it wouldn’t take us out of the market. But if we cut back on networking at our events tomorrow, we would disappear from the market in less than 12 months.

Bernhard Bradatsch:
Everyone in the industry knows your event. But of course it’s always particularly interesting for everyone to see new faces and possibly initiate business relationships. How do you approach them and get them interested in your event?

Andreas Bischoff:
Honestly – we don’t. Okay, what I mean is that the TES is an “industry project” and has become what it is because the entire industry has pulled together and helped. Walter and I would definitely never have managed this on our own. How could we? We are just two people with four hands and 24 hours a day. No, the way TES started out was mainly through word of mouth. There were less than 300 people at the first TES. They then told their business friends that we were good for the industry and that they should come along next time. Then we had 400 participants. They then brought another 100 business friends with them and by then we had 500 participants and this has been going on steadily and constantly for 14 years. Fortunately, the industry chose the TES as its home, after which it was “not so difficult” for Walter and me. Now, after 14 years, we have also started doing a bit of advertising on social media, but that is still just an add-on. Our growth continues to come from positive word-of-mouth in respect of our events within the global affiliate industry.

Bernhard Bradatsch:
Over the years, the TES has been held in several different cities. In the meantime, Cascais near Lisbon and Prague have largely solidified as venues. In the run-up to the dates, you also discussed Sitges near Barcelona, but the vote was quite clear. So will Cascais and Prague remain the venues in the future?

Andreas Bischoff:
As mentioned above, I think until we consistently break the 2,200 participant mark twice a year at every event, we are in good hands in Cascais and Prague. But of course we are always looking around for suitable alternatives to Cascais and Prague. But finding a “boutique hotel” for more than 2,200 participants where the participants feel comfortable is not as easy in Europe as it might sound. But as I said, if we see that too many participants are permanently unable to get hold of one of the 2,200 tickets available, then we will definitely look for a new location.

Bernhard Bradatsch:
Andreas, thank you very much for the interview! See you in Cascais!

Andreas Bischoff:
I have to thank you! See you in Cascais!

More Infos:

https://tesaffiliateconferences.com/

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