Quote:
Originally Posted by CarlosTheGaucho
It was actually a pretty good show
If you're an actual affiliate, you can get in on an free sponsored affiliate pass
While there's like 90 % of the business that has little or no connection to adult
You're high likely to connect and be found by the 10 % of the rest
If you have anything with a cross over potential - I highly recommend to visit the show
And even if you don't - there's still a good opportunity that you'll have a good and productive time
An old school presence with roots in our business was there
Just not the openly xxx people - that started happening one week later at the AVN
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Appreciate the perspective, and you're absolutely right about the show's evolution, though I'd argue the ratio has shifted even more dramatically than 90/10. What I saw at ASW 2026 was closer to 95% mainstream with maybe 5% having any adult crossover at all, and honestly? That's exactly why I'm already booked for 2027.
Here's the thing: The most sophisticated operators I know aren't limiting themselves to adult-only events anymore. The real money, the sustainable, scalable, long-term money, lives at the intersection of industries.
Payment processing solutions that work for high-risk? They work for everyone. Traffic infrastructure and automation? Universal application. Influencer acquisition strategies? The mechanics don't care what you're promoting.
ASW gave me meetings with Meta, payment processors handling billions in transactions, merchandise fulfillment platforms, and legitimate mainstream brands, all in three days.
The quality of conversations was higher, the deal flow was faster, and nobody was trying to sell me bootleg Viagra or expired domain lists.
I spent one week later at AVN, and yes, that's where the openly adult crowd congregates.
Good show, necessary show for me, still valuable for certain relationships. But comparing the business opportunities? Not even close. ASW had five times the relevant conversations in half the time.
The "old school presence" you mentioned, those are the smart ones. The operators who figured out that adult is a vertical, not an identity.
You can dominate adult traffic AND scale mainstream operations simultaneously. The skills transfer. The infrastructure transfers. The revenue compounds.
As for other shows happening the same week trying to compete for the adult crossover crowd... I'm not interested in being the biggest fish in a shrinking pond. I want access to the ocean. ASW delivers that.
The other events are still playing to an audience that peaked in 2015 and hasn't figured out that the world moved on.
Already got my 2027 pass for ASW. The choice seems obvious to me, but I'm watching closely to see who else figures it out versus who keeps circling the same tired circuit wondering why the money dried up.
See you in Vegas next January 2027.