Tackle & Guns Trade Show 2007 ReviewI don’t know what manufacturers expect of these events, but it was, just like last year, well organized and fairly well attended I thought, although I don’t have the attendance figures (The 2006 event attracted 120 exhibitors and visitors numbered 2,500, representing 700 retailers from the U.K.). For me, there were three very important companies missing, Leeda (including MAP and Wychwood), Fox, although they weren’t there last year either, and worst of all, Shimano. Shimano were definitely there last year with a brilliant display, so I don’t know what it was put them off attending this year.Exhibitions like this are what you make of them and I have to say that although many manufacturers did take out stands, some of them really nice, the organisation on many looked sadly lacking. I couldn’t believe how many times I got the reply to my request for a business card, “I seem to have run out.” or “No, we didn’t have them made up in time.” You should never attend a show as an exhibitor without a plentiful supply of business cards with all of your contact information on them. If not that, then the stand should have a pad or forms that can be completed with the retailer’s name and contact details so a follow up can be organized soon afterwards. I saw only one company, there might have been others, actively doing that. OK, so I am not a retailer, I was wearing a ‘Press’ badge and I readily stepped away if anyone wearing the green ‘Retailer’ badge approached because, after all, the show is for their benefit. Since my visit was on the last of the two days and I stayed late in the afternoon, much of the hustle and bustle had disappeared and staff were starting to relax a little. However, when I walked on many stands no notice was taken of me whatsoever, not even to see what kind of badge I had. Not that I should consider myself so important, but were I on their side, anyone wearing a ‘Press’ badge would get the same maximum attention. It also surprised me, judging by some of the questions I asked, how little the people selling knew about their own products. Q – “What kind of material is this braid made from?” A – “Not sure. I don’t think they say.” Even then, in one case, the guy had to look at the price list to see what breaking strains the line came in when he really should have known! The Best of the Stands I have to say I was very impressed with the Hardy/Greys/Chub stand. I was greeted by the marketing manager and then passed to a young fellow (sorry, his name now escapes me) who was certainly not short of information of their products. He first of all took me around Chub’s new weigh slings (very nice), their new quiver (very expensive, but well thought out) and onto their new bivvy with lightweight aluminium supports.
It was a clean stand and all the staff were wearing the same shirts with the company logos on and it just looked so fresh and very professional. He also showed me the welcome return of the Hardy name to coarse fishing with their Marksman range of rods. The finish on these rods is like the paintwork on a Rolls Royce, it’s an olive green colour, but the rods themselves are so light and crisp. (Mine’s the 11′ Specialist, please). My first hollow fibre glass rod was a Hardy bought from their shop in Manchester. To go with the new range of Marksman rods, Hardy have produced what is perhaps the most beautiful of centrepin reels I have ever seen. Called the ‘Conquest’ the reels come in either 4 inch or 41/2 inch diameters and in either silver (Mmmmmm!) or black and made from 6061 aerospace grade aluminium. Beautifully lightweight and so free spinning, they feature an unusual three handles, but two of these can be replaced with counterweights, if you wish, to maintain the balance. Primarily made for trotting all sizes of stick floats you won’t get much change out of £ 300 for one of these, but what pleasure they will give you!
I met up with Steve Harrison of Harrison’s Advanced Rods, at long last. A nice chap who reminisced about the old days with Graham, Dave Chilton, and some chap called Eddie Bibby? Their latest introductions include a Torrix barbel rod, very much like the Chimera (just about the best rod I own), yet lighter still. You predator anglers must take a look at the red (yes, RED) treble hook he’s distributing from Owner! (Review soon – Graham).
Just a short walk to the Korda stand to meet Ali, Danny and Joe Morgan just to pass on my compliments for a well produced DVD that’s FREE! Rather than me telling you what’s new, get the video and watch it. It’s a brilliant way of marketing your products and why some company hasn’t done it before (without charging a king’s ransom) I just don’t know. Good thinking guys! There were quite a few other stands I went on in this hall, the more popular one for coarse fishing, and on some, there was a few staff just sat around a table chatting with one another. How many potential dealers could have passed them by without so much as a nod I don’t know, but quite frankly I doubt they’ll be attending that many more shows if that’s how they see business developing. I asked on one baits stand what the nice smell was and after pointing to the strawberry and peach (?) pellets was left alone yet again. On the Cotswold Bait Creations stand I did get the attention of a guy called Ian who told me about some of the new boilies and drilled pellets. Now he had my interest, especially with the 16mm red/brown Crab flavour ones and I asked if he had any samples (don’t ask, you don’t get, although that shouldn’t be). He said he’d find a bag to put some in, but I suppose realising the lateness of the hour by now and the fact there was only 30 minutes of the show left, he kindly gave me a full tub. I sense a review coming up for them, which hopefully will include a barbel caught on them.
What Attracts the Punters? I worked in the PC software industry for about 12 years and attended many exhibitions and seminars including one held at a hotel called Softeach. Wherever possible, we would always see that any potential customers received a demo disc or, if it was press or a dealer, a fully working copy of the package. I have known times where I left a Softeach meeting with so many t-shirts, software copies, cables, key rings, video cards, and 6 bottles of Laurent Champagne I once won in a raffle, I had to make several trips to the car. The opposite to such a successful show must be going to a tackle trade show. I didn’t see any dealers walking away with any great bags of ‘freebies’ and there was nothing to hold the masses there until the final bell, whereas at the Softeach seminars, there was always the grande draw (where I won the Champagne) at the final reception. So the retailers came and went as they wished. What attracted them onto the stands? I reckon if they were genuinely interested in the product being sold or actually knew someone working on the stand, they went on. Otherwise they wandered around looking for someone to take some interest in them and that, at times, looked rare. One stand of a well known manufacturer was almost completely enclosed and suggested to me, at least, “KEEP OUT”. Inside was like a party and if you were one of the great and the good, you were in and got a drink. Otherwise, it looked like intruders would be shot at the entrance with a 9mm Schmeisser MP-40 submachine gun, which would have been borrowed from one of the gun stands, I suppose. This is NOT the way to attract potential buyers to the show. You want them to come long distances to see you so give them something in return, a free gift, a few samples, a catalogue, or even just a damned business card! If you sell hooks, for example, have some packets made up with a selection of styles or sizes, same for swivels, or boily stops, or beads, whatever. If I were in this trade as an importer/manufacturer I would look at the cost of the stand and allow at least as much again for samples to give away. Compared to other running costs and staff salaries it is a mere drop in the ocean. With freebies for your customers you will have a success, without them just doesn’t bear thinking about and we are talking about freebies for retailers here who are going to recommend YOUR products to their customers. The alternative is to send a representative or agent around to every shop to try and sell the goods, and that costs an absolute fortune. Samples, by comparison, are dirt cheap and you will have a captive audience, retailers will be desperate to see you and who knows, two days or two weeks later when they’ve tried out their freebies, there could be an order for you. It’s symbiotic, you reward them and they reward you. You encourage them to attend and the show gets more popular encouraging other manufacturers to fight for stands thereby encouraging even more dealers to attend – and it’s one big whirligig of a success! Most of all, and I say this not because I was wearing a ‘Press’ badge, but DO NOT ignore anyone from the media. Make sure they’re quite reputable like AT, AM, CF, and FM (amongst others), not some jumped up overnight website, and make sure they get a pack of all the latest goodies to review and test. The cost to benefits ratio of doing this and getting review space are incalculable and to ignore it risks alienating the press from your business forever. I know there were many companies there that were really trying and I would say keep on trying, but this trade must start to think on its feet, much like the American businesses. In fact, I would bet that they laugh at our puny and tightfisted way of marketing and I have seen in the software industry how it is done in its finest examples. When you get quiet speakers like Dave Hewlett, of Hewlett Packard, command and enthrall an audience that were brought in on the strength of getting a free T-shirt you have seen it all. Meantime, keep looking in on FishingMagic for some interesting products reviews and maybe next year’s T&G show will be even better. |
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