playing to your audience

i'm in chicago today and tomorrow, on a quick business trip.

there's some sort of convention in town -- for chicago, that's almost an absurd statement, as there's always a show somewhere -- and as a result, it's impossible to find a good hotel room downtown. i was lucky to find a spot at the red roof inn; it's not at all as expensive as, say, the marriotts or hiltons of the world, which is good for my company, but not at all good for me.

my first thought upon entering the room: yeah, this is about right. it definitely plays down to its price. it's not roach-motel material, to be sure, but one could mistake the wallpaper for faux wood paneling, and the floor lamp in the corner looks suspiciously like one i had in my dorm room back in 1992.

i had an OK sleep, and woke up groggy, looking for coffee out on ontario. i shared the elevator with a bunch of people wearing those around-the-neck nametags, and that's when i learned that the convention in town is for promotions people -- and i get the feeling it's the "crappy-company-logo-giveaways" kind of promotions, not the "we're-out-pushing-a-new-product-or-event" kind of promotions.

why?

everyone in the elevator and the jammed lobby (red roof inn has one "cappuchino" maker machine there) (("there" as in "lobby," not "elevator" -- that'd be awkward)) ... wait. i lost my train of thought.

oh yes. everyone was dressed in bad-used-car-salesperson clothes, with lots of poofy and/or slicked-back hair, gold chains and general unpolished fashion sense. that said to me: these people would sell me 200 coffee mugs with my company's logo on it.

i guess the hotel fits the crowd, in a way ... and i'm not saying that's a bad thing at all. i mean, i am staying here as well, you understand. i wouldn't do it again for business, but a weekend in chicago where you're not going to be in the room much? it's perfectly affordable, and has a great location.

but let's take it somewhere: let's move the promotions crowd to the four seasons in downtown san francisco, where i had a business dinner a few months ago. i don't know if this crowd would feel comfortable there, just as the people enjoying the $20 tuna tartare would probably not feel "at home" in front of the crappuchino machine down in the lobby. people tend to gravitate to where they feel comfortable, and those places know "their" crowd and play to it accordingly.

all those words for that last sentence ... i need to edit this crap more often.