Mississauga Boat and Sportsman Show

[Jeremy Ray Green]

(02-22-2013 09:01 AM)OldTimer Wrote:  

(02-21-2013 12:11 AM)Jeremy Ray Green Wrote:  That's my rant.

~Jeremy

Interesting rant …………. Here is mine:

In my thoughts………………….SHOW – does not equal – SALE

One dictionary’s definition of Show: ”an exposition for dealers or the public of products by various manufacturers in a particular industry -usually held in an exhibition hall, convention facility, or the like”.

Perhaps what we desire is to have manufacturers, dealers, lodges, charters, sport fishing organizations and government agencies at the fishing shows that have an honest and sincere desire to:

- have their name, service, information or unique product to be seen by the public.
- be recognized by their peer organizations, while competing to look the best to us (the anglers).
- Give back to (us) the anglers (and customers) through financial support and/or attendance at such events.
- Create a positive image and atmosphere for all aspects of angling.
- And most importantly – PROMOTE THE SPORT.

The reason I may seem harsh on the position of some retailers, manufacturers, or organizations - is that they make a lot of money off you & I…… do remember….. Our interest in the sport drives the reason for their existence, ongoing employment, and both corporate & personal income.

Honest – nothing would make me happier than to see the end to the huckster environment and selling crap, or the dumping of outdated, seconds, or unpopular merchandise at a show………….. Good riddance!

I think it’s great for new companies to use it as a way of being recognized.

I believe the MNR (who isn’t selling a dam thing) has the idea.

I don’t think many of the major players suitably support the events or just do token gestures.

I do think there are way too many shows in TORONTO. (Canada is a large country)

I’d rather see LESS sale of merchandise, and more interesting displays or free presentations that work towards the shows being a quality educational and entertaining experience for kids as well as adults.

And on the costs to you and I…………. if more of the big boys “officially” supported the event – just perhaps the parking and tickets could be sold at a much lower price. Do note that my definition of “big boys” is not just limited to fishing related items and also includes clothing, fuel, food, and beverage firms.

Example: a corporation or two sponsors FREE or reduced parking on a week day, or discounted tickets for all at the gate – probably cost them a hundred grand – but lottsa pay back, fantastic advertising, and goodwill…………. And way less cost than some magazine or TV ads………..

.............etc

Cheers,

OldTimer

You are right Oldtimer,

maybe in the past these would be great options,

imagine seeing a gas company Actually hand out a donation for the outdoors sporting sector?
it would show good face for all the habitat they have decimated.

With the amount of shows in the GTA,/ southern ontario, It would be hard to get great support from some of the Few big comglomorates that serve our interests, and if the big company sets out 100K but the show only brings in 5K, then they are back peddling.

I run a raffle for a slamon boat charter,
every year we gather a charter operator to donate their time and boat.

if we do not get a minimum of 700 dollars than our raffle doesnt even break even on the boat,
Yes its all donated, but if we only earned 200 dollars on the raffle we would loose interest from other charter boat operators into the future.

much goes the same for these shows, if they do not get the attendance, all their advertisers and exhibitors loose interest and faith.

yes these companies make allot of money of the public that is going to these shows, but if they are paying out 5 grand every weekend to attend these shows, and not getting even a fraction of that back in interest, They will loose interest and these shows will die like the dinosaur.

I agree these vendors/exhibitors should maybe do more to draw attention from the public, and allow them to walk away with a better feeling about the show they just attended.

It was hard enough on them in the past when the aisles were full of 15 thousand visitors a day to the toronto sportsmanshow, they barely got that all weekend this year.

something similar was brought to discussion on another board,
about the interest from the GTA public to actually get out and fish, compared to the us significant of the lake ontario water basin.

Down there they have tackle shops like we have coffee shops, and fish cleaning stations/ smoke houses as abundant as our gas stations are here.

What is the Real Difference?

It is the publics Desire to utilize the sport as it is intended.

I agree in most places the fishing is very slow, fish are caught few and far between, and this would turn anyone off.
Something i liked about this board when i first started watching it, was the members of the board are actually interested in MICRO-FISHING

I Mean who in ontario really cares? YOu guys do..
If we could get more mothers and fathers to get their children into fishing this would be a great way to help them into it, catching the minnows and identifying their catches, while the children are small, so that when they are age of majority they will appreciate the industry allot more, than just always trying to target the Bigger species of fish and never understanding whats at the bottom of the feed chain.

Our fishing industry in Ontario is slow compared to the US counterparts.

And it all comes down to numbers,
Numbers of anglers and numbers of fish caught per angler.

MNR needs to step up with stocking efforts and the Public needs to educate their neighbours better about what they do.

~Jeremy

[MuskieBait]

Agree with much of what OT and Jeremy had said.

I'm recently taking a miniMBA course...so forgive me if I'm always sounding like I'm doing a case study of things...but we do need to do some analysis and provide some recommendations...

1) Too many shows

There are different issues here...

a) Too many shows on similar topics and similar target consumers.

b) Too much variety and lacks focus.

c) Consumers has limited time and money to attend similar shows.

d) Lack of corporate sponsors.

To address these issues...

a) A couple of "big variety show" is adequate. Niagara is 1 hour away from Toronto, London is just 2 hours away. There is no need for a Niagara show and a London show. Strategically, you can have one in Toronto, and one in Ottawa or Kingston to capture most of the target market. If people can drive 1 hour from Markham to the Mississauga show, they can drive 1 hour from Niagara to Toronto. The Toronto Sportmans Show is good to serve this "variety show" premise. These big variety shows are great for average joes, beginning anglers and people who just like to hang out. But it offers little to the more experienced and refined anglers who know what they want to see and learn.

b) This concept of "everything one roof" is good for big shows...but it really fails for the little shows (like Niagara or London shows). In a big show, there can be a mix of "desirable" and "undesirable" products and services that people are looking for...and given a large selection to choose from, everyone will always walk away with something they want to see or buy. But in smaller shows, you have limited selection...and unless you know what you are looking for, it is often more miss than hit. For smaller shows, I think it is important to really focus on a niche market. There has already been a start with a recent Icefishing Show in the fall. I think that's brilliant. For example I think there are capacity for a Spring Trolling Show. The same organizers can host this show at a smaller space (cheaper venue cost) with a much more focused offering. Owen Sound, Long Point and Mississauga can be the targeted location (instead of Toronto...since Mississauga would already capture all areas from Port Dalhousie to Port Hope...within reasonable driving distance). With a focused show, manufacturers can properly reach their target market. As such corporate sponsors should be more willing to support such shows (eg. Scotty, Northern King, Okuma, Daiwa...etc). Do they same for a Spring Bass Show in May in Peterborough and Parry Sound. Do the same for a Musky/Pike Show in again in Peterbrough, Parry Sound and Ottawa. I'm aware there are smaller seminars and shows done by clubs...but what I envision is a bigger show with more manufacturers and more speakers. A booth from Daiwa, Shimano, Okuma, Fenwick, St. Croix, Musky Mania...speaking about their species specific tackle and seminars from the pros...plus lure manufacturers and small home business lure makers to showcase their products.

c) I really hate the shows bringing back similar content every year. I get the mentality that "Hey, Bob Izumi did a great job this year talking about flipping for bass. We'll bring him back next year to give the same seminar to draw the large amount of people again!" Sorry...maybe that's great for people with the attention span of a child. Personally, I see a seminar once, glean the info that I need, and I don't need to see the SAME seminar again, and again, and again for years and years. DIVERSIFY!!! All these shows talk about, year over year, are the same bloody techiniques that are 10-20 years old. I want to learn something new...something radical...something I've never thought about...not how to fish crankbaits over a rocky hump. I already knew how...and I'm not learning anything new! Same thing with some of the tackle vendors. They are there every year selling the same baits over and over again! I think the show organizers need to review who and what they are hosting...and spend more time on the product (the show exhibitors and the seminars). Mix it up a little! We don't need 5 vendors selling senko imitating worms at the same price! We need some revolutionary products...and I would much rather see these products showcased by the manufacturers at their own booth, than have an airhead temp salesman at "name your store" trying to sell me a lure that they had never used...just because "it looks good". I want to talk to reps from LiveTarget...not "Joe" at LeBaron. We need more of that. It's all about quality and not quantity when it comes to exhibitors. The show organizers need to put pressure on speakers and vendors to deliver innovations. (To me, adding a few new colour patterns to a mix of lures is not a significant an innovation...it's just adding variety. Adding a little more salt to make your worm float a little better is not an innovation...it's an improvement, but it's not going to make me go WOW! Now, show me a new drag material, or a new line material, or a new rod construction, or a new hook placement like that of the Killer Frogs that radically improve performance...that would get my attention). When suspending crankbaits came out 15 years ago, that was the WOW! When Japanese oiled fiber drag washers came out, that was the WOW! When you give me a new colour for Rapala F7...that's just meh...

So in conclusion, I think we need just a couple of big shows, a number of smaller focused shows at strategic locations, and really bring quality back to the shows.