Hunters are afraid of downtown Tulsa

[Townsend]

Do you think the company did a bad job advertising or do you think people in the market for this type of thing are convinced they won't find parking at the Convention Center?

http://www.newson6.com/Global/story.asp?S=13864652

TULSA, Oklahoma -- A trade show touted as the "largest hunting and outdoor exhibition in the Midwest," turned out to be everything but.

Thousands of dollars were spent and thousands of people were expected, but that wasn't the case at the Tulsa Convention Center.

The organizer says some of the biggest names in hunting outfitters and fishing lodges were on hand at the Tulsa convention Center.

It was supposed to be the best yet.

They took aim at an attendance of 20,000, but really missed the target, because only about five hundred showed.

The Global Sporting Expo had all the elements. The brand new Tulsa Convention Center, booths and vendors from 19 countries and the lure of deep discounts on hunts and fishing trips.

"We had a great show, everything looked great... The public just didn't show up," said Tyler Lowery, Global Sporting Expos.

The Arkansas based company says it spent more than $50,000 in advertising alone.

"In hindsight, we probably should have put the money into billboards after speaking with other producers that do shows in that market like the Tulsa gun show and the Tulsa boat shows," Lowry said.

Lowery says they expected to profit $100,000 and another $30,000 for charities, but instead, they lost $120,000.

Some of the vendors, like White Peaks Ranch out of Utah, say the excitement to hit the Oklahoma market turned sour. And they say they feel scammed.

"If it was a scam, we wouldn't be here. We wouldn't have spent the money to get the venue. We wouldn't have spent the money to get the booths set up. Insurance for the event. I wouldn't have stood at the venue all three days if it was a scam," Lowery said.

Though it wasn't a total loss, Lowery says one in ten consumers bought a hunt.

"If we had the numbers that were projected to have, and paid for in advertising it would have been one of the most successful shows in the country," he said.

But the touted "best" experienced the "worst" due to the no-shows.

Lowrey says they counted on the Tulsa market to be a launch pad for other hunting trade shows. But after this weekend's flop, they say they have to step back and reevaluate.

They do not have any other shows planned for this year.

[jne]

I never heard about it and don't think any of the hunters I know did either.

[Breadburner]

Who ever promoted it should be shot....Never heard a word about it.....

[BKDotCom]

saw something on the news about it... might have been something about "things to do this weekend" or something.

[Conan71]

Count me in as one more who didn't hear about it.  Poor planning or hunting trade shows is not a viable attraction, especially with the economy somewhat sluggish. 

A lot of the bubbas were at the Chili Bowl this last weekend anyhow and are probably saving up for the Boat, Sport, & Travel show in a couple of weeks.

[cynical]

"Build it and they will come" philosophy. 

[BKDotCom]

"Build it and they will come" philosophy. 

There's usually a "and let people know about it" component there.
I drive by the convention center twice daily..  never saw it advertised on the marquee

[sgrizzle]

Never heard of it.

Did they spend all their advertising on urinal signs?

[BKDotCom]

A few obvious place to post some signs would be Bass Pro, Academy, Sportsman's World, etc?
Anyone know if there were an notices at any of the above?

[waterboy]

Not unless they were co-sponsors.

[DolfanBob]

50 Thousand would have went a long way on Radio 5 to 7 day's before the event.
All the Country Stations and a couple of Sports Stations would have been perfect. 2 to 3 run through out the day should have worked.
Very bad planning on their part.

[TeeDub]

Wow.   Add me again to the never heard any advertising.  And that sounds like something that might have been fun to get me out of my honey-do list last weekend.

[Conan71]

This must have been someone with a bag full of money and the marketing sense of a bag full of hammers.

[swake]

I never saw anything about this show anywhere either. Something really isn't right.

I wonder if someone set up a show, spent the 15-20k or whatever it takes to rent the convention center for the weekend, and then took in a bunch of booth fees pocketing that money as profit while not ever bothering to spend a dime on marketing or staffing because they didn't care if anyone ever showed up?

[Conan71]

I never saw anything about this show anywhere either. Something really isn't right.

I wonder if someone set up a show, spent the 15-20k or whatever it takes to rent the convention center for the weekend, and then took in a bunch of booth fees pocketing that money as profit while not ever bothering to spend a dime on marketing or staffing because they didn't care if anyone ever showed up?

From what I've seen of trade show booth pricing, that usually will just about cover the rent.  Promoters count on the gate for the profit.  I simply think this guy was an idiot who had never promoted a show before but figured it was an easy way to make money since so many trade shows travel the country.  He must be a terrible media buyer, because with $50K more than 500 people had to have known about the show.  He also is relying on the idea that outdoor advertising was the best alternative.  In reality you need a good mix of all media available.  The gun show promoters even use mailing lists in addition to outdoor, radio, TV, and the newspaper.