``They almost want to hide their name tags,'' Gum said.
``Everyone's searching them out.'' Although attendance at Supercomm may increase, there's some evidence that exhibitors are watching their spending.
JP Davis & Co, a Portland, Oregon-based public-relations firm, canceled a press reception at the Ritz-Carlton hotel where executives from Ericsson AB and other companies were to mingle with reporters over Southern standards like fried chicken and red velvet cake.
The firm couldn't get enough companies to commit an average of US$7,000 apiece for the event, JP Davis spokeswoman Christa Wendland said.
``I guess the budgets just aren't out there at the moment to do things outside the show itself,'' she said.
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