Utah County Outdoor Expo.....

[fishon]

LAST EDITED ON Apr-12-12 AT 05:58PM (MST)[p]I was contacted last week by some people I met at ISE. They are looking at putting on a 2 day outdoor expo somewhere in Utah County later this year or the 1st of next.

I met with them today to hear their ideas. They said they contacted me because they know I was involved in doing the hunt expo and wanted my opinion on their idea. I did not know these people other than a 5 minute face to face at ISE but they seem to be hunting/Fishing people.

I asked them their desire for the expo and they said they just wanted something that was not about High priced tags, famous people or the "save the wildlife" theme. They wanted something fun and non pressure. Kinda like a small town everybody feels the same type of an event.

They said they would make it very affordable for people and run it on a Friday/Saturday with about 150 vendors. I asked them how affordable and they said $5 for people 12 and over and kids under that are free.

They also asked my thoughts on them giving away a free hunt/fish adventure to someone that came and attended. They said anyone who bought a pass for $5 would be entered. I told them free is always a good thing.

No seminars or fluff just hunting/fishing booth, taxidermist and outdoor sports related vendors. I met with them for about 45 minutes and they seemed very genuine.

They made it clear that they are not a "non profit" organization.

I told them I would post it on MM and send out a few emails and see the response and they thought that was a great idea. So here it is for you guys to comment on.

Please have the class to not make this a "tony Abbott" bashing. IF you want to do that just start another post .

Just an honest opinion on this and if you would attend and if it would work. IF you thought it would work when would be the best time in your opinion. Also where would be the best location.

Thanks




Tony Abbott

 

[ShowThemToMe]

Where's the Money Going?



[font color=red size=redsize=18"face"]SHOW THEM TO ME![/font]
If You Love Your Country,SHOW THEM TO ME!




It's been a long hard ride
Got a ways to go
But this is still the place
That we all call home

 

[Tikka]

>Where's the Money Going?
>
>
>
>[font color=red size=redsize=18"face"]SHOW THEM TO ME![/font]
>
>If You Love Your Country,SHOW THEM
>TO ME!
>
>
>
>
> It's been a long hard
>ride
> Got a ways to go
>
> But this is still the
>place

LMFAO!!!!


> That we all call home
>
>

 

[AWHOLELOTTABULL]

I think its a great idea as long as it doesn't turn into a craft fair. I know some small town expos that have done that in the past and ended up selling their booth space to the gal down the street that makes hair bows, etc. As long as it stays hunting I would think it would go over well. It's also been done before in Utah County. They should get in touch with those people and see why they don't do it anymore.


It's always an adventure!!!

 

[Muley_73]

The ISE show is terrible and it still draws a big crowd, including myself every year. I think like Bull said, if you keep it actually outdoor, hunting/fishing themed you would have a good turn out.

What do you think Tony you have a ton of experience with these events.(and I mean that in serious way) Would it fly???

 

[elkun]

you have to many all ready.

 

[Camper_A1]

LAST EDITED ON Apr-13-12 AT 06:20AM (MST)[p]We always drive to Salt Lake to attend those shows so it would be nice to have one closer to home. My boys and I would attend.
End of July or first part of August before hunting season starts and school when everything gets busier.

 

[fishon]

1st off they made it clear that this event is "for profit". They are not trying to say it is gonna be something it is not. So I would guess that means their money raised would go in their pockets. I have no problem with that cause they are upfront about it, and they say this will be put on with THEIR own money.

I don't recall an expo in Utah county in the past. Who did that and when? And Where?

As far as my opinion Cody I don't see why it would not work. I told them as much and said I think if they kept it into outdoor stuff it should be appealing. My question to them was do they think they can get enough vendors to fill an event. Will Guides, taxidermist and outdoor businesses account for 150 booths so the flea market people don't fill the space?

They said they were going to be in the $600 dollar range for a 10x10 space and $1,000 for a double space. That is pretty affordable for potential vendors as I believe ISE and Hunt Expo are about $1,200 for a 10x10. And SCI is over $2,000

I told them I was not sure how much money they could make but they said they thought they would be profitable at that price.

I think they could walk about 5,000 people through in Utah County. The hunt expo and ISE both claim 20,000+ so 5,000 I think is reasonable.

I guess it comes down to do they need a draw other then the expo itself in UTah County. Meaning do they need to give a trip away to get people to attend. I told them I don't think so but that giving something away would not hurt.

Anyway in a nutshell I would attend just to see how it is run and see the feel for something new.

Curious as to you thoughts Cody on what I think.



Tony Abbott
The next buck to have a fawn will be the
1st.

 

[bowhunt]

There is a NEW EXPO CENTER in the middle of Provo, do it there.
I would attend.
It would be nice to not make the trip up to SLC.

 

[Broadside_Shot]

>I don't recall an expo in
>Utah county in the past.
>Who did that and when?
>And Where?

I believe it was Mossback or Sneekee, probably around 2006 and it was held in Spanish Fork by the Rodeo Grounds.

 

[fishon]

Thats right Jerry, I do remember that. I thought it was someone else that put it on and had Mossback as part of it, maybe I am wrong and it was a Mossback Show.

How was the show? How big? How many attended?

Tony Abbott
The next buck to have a fawn will be the
1st.

 

[deadibob]

LAST EDITED ON Apr-13-12 AT 10:44PM (MST)[p]The Spanish Fork show was in 2008. From an exhibitors point of view it was a bust, I did exhibit at it and wouldn't do it again. I would not want to be trying to host an outdoor show if it was "for profit".

Ask Don Mecham, he made a try of an August show at Southtowne for 3 years. According to him he lost his butt. If there was money in it, he'd still be doing it. Talk to the Sneekee boys, they tried one for 3 years in St. George and gave up because it was a money loser. The "Great Rockies shows of Montana cancelled 3 different shows this year and only did their Butte show because they couldn't get exhibitors to fill the other venues.

I'm writing this from my hotel room in Vernal exhibiting here at the show this weekend. This is my twelth show (exhibiting) in the last 14 weeks. I've been from Kansas, Oklahoma(3 shows), Oregon, Montana, Nevada and Utah doing shows this winter.

I've done every show location ISE puts on and there are only two worth doing, SLC and Sacramento. Over the past 10 years I've done shows from Alaska to Florida, California to Pennsylvania. I did try one new first year show this year in Topeka Kansas that was very successful. They did it right and advertised for over a year including at a Nascar race. They also paid big money for a lot of celebrities including Lee & Tiffany, T-bone, etc.

Good luck to whoever trys it, I'd look at it long and hard first though, you'll have to dump most your money into advertising just to get any attendance. If you don't have good attendance your first year, you'll never get exhibitors the second year.

 

[AWHOLELOTTABULL]

LAST EDITED ON Apr-14-12 AT 00:48AM (MST)[p]At $600 for a 10x10 booth it's a risk that I think most businesses wouldn't be willing to take. I think you would be really lucky to get 2000 people through the door. One of the reasons Don Mechams wasn't successful was the timing. It was in mid August when outfitters and outdoorsman are trying to get ready for hunting season. That's JMO though and we exhibited with him for 2 of the 3 years. We've done a lot of smaller shows in the past and some have been great when others we lost our butts on. It's definitely a gamble.

If you're an exhibitor and you go into these shows thinking you're going to make a killing you will be sorely disappointed. It's basically cheap advertisement and it's only as good as the numbers you get through the door.


It's always an adventure!!!

 

[fishon]

Don told me the problem with his event is the nut he had to crack renting the SOUTH Town Center was too big. Now ISE seems to do well there so I would have to agree that the August date probably hurt as much as anything.

I attended the home show at UVU a few weeks ago and they said their numbers were just over 10,000 attendee's, Wonder if that is an indication for Utah County?

Also I personally dont think the "FOR PROFIT" will hurt it, I mean no one really believes the hunt expo is non profit and ISE appears to do well with its "for profit" model.

And Jim $600 for a booth is half what the other events are, I actually believe people would jump at that price the 1st year to see if it works, but I agree if only a handful of people attended it would be a short lived event.

Tony Abbott
The next buck to have a fawn will be the
1st.

 

[fishon]

Looks like not much input. 50/50 if you will attend or if it will work. I am guessing if they decide to do it you will here about it. Thanks to those of you for the opinion.

Tony Abbott
The next buck to have a fawn will be the
1st.

 

[Muley_73]

Tony,
PM sent

 

[400bull]

Tony,
The first year I attended the ISE hunting expo it was a ton of fun simply because the show was mostly made up of vendors with gadgets. Over the years I lost interest in going and have not been to the ISE show for 2-3 years now and have only been to the Hunting Expo once. The main reason why I stopped attending the shows is because it seems like 90-95% of the booths are guides, or travel agents. I am a DIY type of guy and have no need for guides or travel agents. If I were to attend this show I would want to see more vendors with camping/hunting/fishing/backpacking gadgets then guides and travel agents.

400bull

 

[fishon]

I met with the guys yesterday and we had an open discussion about the expo. I passed along what I thought and concluded. In a nutshell I told them I think it will work and that they may consider finding a way to team up with a NON profit Wildlife group.

This I believe would give them a "cause" and possibly drive more support.

Off to Florida to kill hogs now for me. Enjoy you weekend.

Tony Abbott
The next buck to have a fawn will be the
1st.

 

[deadibob]

Why team up with a non-profit group? To clarify, the reason I said I wouldn't want to do it if it was "for Profit" isn't because I have something against a private enterprise. I just think it's very risky to make a profit doing it.

The show I did last week in Vernal was $325 for a 10x20 booth. This is an area where there is a strong economy and people spend money. Admission was free. To expect vendors to pay $600 for a 10x10 for an unproven show in an area where it failed before will be tough to market.

To compare booth prices to shows like ISE which gets a crowd of 30,000 or SCI which has a wealthier crowd than any other show in North America is not an objective comparison. Yes I do a lot of shows that cost $1,000-$2,000 per 10x10 (and spend a lot more at shot show) but there's a reason they get those prices. You can't guarantee anything but a wasted weekend for a first time show.

Good luck at it, I don't want to discourage you guys. I'm just trying to be realistic. If you really think you can put on a great show and prices are realistic, I'll probably give it a shot.