Maybe it would help to put a little more marketing spin into the party. Don't get me wrong--it's very cool to attend a party without vendors breathing down your neck.
Yes, I've been to Gartner conferences. But maybe you can do some small things to make it more clear to attendees just what services you provide. I know in past years, there are plenty of people at the party who aren't real clear on what Stonehenge does. How about:
- Giving out a different color t-shirt to attendees who have been customers in the past. That way potential customers can start a conversation with past customers and ask about their experience.
- Give out teaser printouts of slides from various courses.
- Highlight some of your new course material including testing and mod_perl.
- Come up with a 'training theme' where you ask people Perl questions at the door or during the night. If they get it right, they get something. If not, you can say, "Hey, if you had taken our XXX course, you'd know that!"
If possible, I think you want to walk the line between a fun night and getting your message out. You want them to go back to work after OSCON and think, "We need some Perl training from Stonehenge."
Maybe some of the other Monks have some ideas? Any MBAs out there?