Montreal Expo Inquiry of Future....

[Grant Crossman 0]

Just a quick follow up that I was asked to comment on regarding the Montreal Reptile Expo this past two weeks….I apologize to the Repticlic.com family for creating this thread but I was asked to do so by a member….

I was asked by a vendor a vendor on the future of the Montreal Expo as well this vendor was representing a couple other vendor concerns regarding the Expo’s logistics (I guess that’s what you call it). To get a real sense of the questions I should post the questions but I don’t want the inquirer to feel I am calling them out because I am not I truly respect this vendor’s inquiry and request to respond via a forum….

The implementation of the Montreal Expo in to the schedule was an event that I have looked at since 2005. After finding a location that was very open arms to our hobby I offered the chance to work with another local forum. This offer was never accepted. However a friendship was created that I will always appreciate with Stav. Stav assisted me in getting my name and the Expo name out to the local hobbyists. This really sealed the fate of the many future Expo’s there. Thus my reason for aligning with Repticlic.com….

Why are we not seeing an increase in attendance like Mississauga? Well this is a question that a couple vendors have asked over the past couple Expo’s. First let me explain that the Mississauga Expo is now in it’s 19^th year….Our first Expo there had 75 people through the door and 17 (that’s right seven vendors) tables….The third Expo had 27 tables (growing too 13 vendors)….So comparing that part to the Montreal Expo we are already surpassing those memories….Will it ever be Mississauga, that’s upto the local groups and vendors….In my opinion and experience it will be very close and just as great….

Have I had any hostility towards the Expo in Montreal? Heck ya hahah….I have had retailers, breeders and wholesalers threaten to not do outside business with me and some have stopped doing business with me. Many (like 90%) of them refuse to promote the Expo and the supporters to the point of returning posters and postcards to me. Some with some new French words I am learning LOL….Funny thing is a number of these nay sayers were present at the past two expo’s….

I have a hard time understanding the ones that won’t support the growth of the reptile hobby as the Expo’s create so many new reptile owners it’s un-measurable….As a store owner I would much prefer to have a regular customer for feeders and supplies handed to me then having to sell them a live pet LOL….

So the promotion aspect has been left upto emails, great forums like ReptilesCanada and Repticlic.com, postcards, word of mouth from the vendors-supporters and finally a couple local papers including Journal du Montreal....

Working together by promoting the Expo through word of mouth, the internet and distributing postcards etc we will expedite the growth of the Montreal Expo. I am open to any and all suggestions on marketing. Phil was great in offering an avenue of promotion that I worked with for this date that in time will show its success….

So in short please be patient we are still really only in our second year of the Expo in Montreal. I am very excited to work with the group of vendors and the people that make the Quebec reptile hobby so great….

I am open to everyone’s comment’s via email, phone or fax….To the individual telling everyone that the Expo will be no longer in the next few months, your dead wrong….It will be twice as big in that time period….

Grant Crossman

905 302 5321

905 274 5550

reptileexpo@rogers.com

[Jaelle1 0]

I was not able to make it to the last Expo for personal reasons (forced to move) but I think it's a really good thing for the hobby and it's a wonderful place for serious hobbiest breeders to share their passion and to publicise their work and knowledge.

Events like that help the reptile world to be recognize by the large public and show how responsible people are involved in this hobby.

Please continue your good work for all reptiles hobbyist!

[Nir 0]

I must admit I had my hopes set a bit high for the expo in october. I surprised there wasn't more attendance, but I must agree with what you said regarding the fact that the expo is in it's 2nd year. Also, it's a shame people are not open to promote this kind of activity in our hobby. We saw many clients of our store at the expo and they were glad to see us there and learn more about what we do.

I have no doubt that the expo can only grow in the years to come!

It's always to see you and your team grant!

Continue the great work!

[lamaisongecko 0]

I used to own a retail store in another domain (scrapbooking) and we had shows like yours 1-2 a year, and frankly, they were our best sales ever. If I owned a reptile store, I would be attending your show, not trashing it or returning postcards. Once the show is over and we have now bought our new reptile home, we are looking for stores to buy our supplies and feeders. To me, it only makes sense that if I wanted to increase the traffic in my retail store or online store, I would 100% take a booth and get my name out there, where people probably didn't even know I existed before.

So, all this to say, I truely hope this does not discourage you to continue to come to Montreal and hopefully, one day, we will grow as big as Toronto! LOL Thanks again for a wonderful year (in which I happily all attended all three shows!) and perhaps will attend as a vendor next year

[WYZ1 0]

Grant, thanks for that post. You're answering and explaning alot of questions I had (have) and I'm sure many vendors feel the same.

I was seiing the vendors side of the table, now you're giving me the chance to see the other side.

With that in mind, I will absolutely think about all of this and try to come up with something to help this great event.

Rene

[Stav 0]

Grant for those Bashing the expo and everything that comes with it ..... Dont bother with them . I have a "Delete" and a "Trash" can in my brain ( well whats left of it ) and store everything in there for a few minutes before blowing it out to the birds and flowers ( you should do the same )

Seriously ..... i'm not surprised with all your says , here in quebec we are the poorest region of Canada . Poorest from a to z..... poorest as we have a "closed view and mind" on the "outside world" ..... The politics here since the beginin of politics is .... Stay in your litle appartment or cottage , "you have all you need" and dont bother with whats hapenning around the world and ......... Especially Try to be as rude as possible and as "selfish as possible " when someone offers you another point of view like something that goes on around the planet ( in this case the reptile shows ) ...... This is the state of mind from those who dont agree with your show.

When someone is succesfull in something, you'll have tons of wannabe's wanting to do the same but with a twist ..... " No Guts " to do it , resulting in a distorted , paranoïa state when someone who " Has the guts " does it in their place. Then everybody gets pissed ( for absolutely nothing ) and world war III and IIII starts .....

As for the attendance of the show, we here in Qweeerbec are used too ......" I want my candy "right f***** now otherwise i'll commit suicide ....... " ( why we have the highest rate of suicide in north america in my opinion ) . We are used to "simplycity " and cry when something is hard to accomplish or obtain ........... I would like to see those people that are here in this hobby only since the arrival of the net , who are criticizing.... trying to sell snakes 15 - 20 yrs ago , paying 25 per news paper add only for a saturday litle add ( 3-4 news papers weekly ) for a cpl months with almost " no attendance " in the news papers ( if i can say it like this ) .

Maybe only then they would realize how much a " Succes" the Montreal Shows ARE .


Anyways ..... My frenglish dosent allow me to says more ....

Reptile Canada Family ..... Continue your great work here in Montreal as well as in other cities and dont bother with anything .... life is too short , the stubborns " close minded " , the ones that dont like the idea of having shows here , will realize it only when they'll be on their beds , on their last breath dying from their breats , lung and prostate cancers .....

From my point of view ..... the show was a success from the it time it was only a though

Forgot .........On a different note , Be sure on the otherside that you have "tons of supporters" and " Openminded people " that break the general wheel of politics that turns forever, here that support you . Vendors but also tons of Hobbyists .



A bit of philosophy ( Mine ) ...... hear this ..... ( for the lyrics see "So What" on google )

[tarcan1 0]

Hello Grant, thank you for this post...

I have to admit, I felt that the previous had a very low attendance (do not remember which month it was). Sometimes it is hard to tell, might be the weather or something else we have no control on but I felt there was not a whole lot of publicity made.

The last one in October, I was very worried. I have to admit, I even questioned wether or not I should attend. But it seems there were more people then the previous which was very good. Wether or not we sold is irrelevant (but of course sales help! LOL) as long as there were people there we could show our animals to.

But I still felt there was very little publicity made. Maybe I am wrong, maybe there were an I did not see them. But nevertheless, as a vendor, I would like to be kept updated in those e-mails you send us about what publicity is being made and when it is being published to promote the show. I think this would secure a lot of vendors knowing concretly what is being done to promote the show. This would avoid any frustrations in thinking there is no publicity made (and I am openly including myself here) and would contribute to help vendors be patient in slowly building the fondation blocks of the Montreal show.

Advertising on forums is good, but then again, it just invites people that already know about all of this.

Although I understand why pet shops should advertise it, I also understand why they refuse to do it as they do not seem to see what's in it for them. I am not sure what can be done for that (maybe prepare a communiqué in French explaining to them why it would be good for them to promote it), but it is now clear we cannot count on them on short term basis for publicity, so something else must be done.

Did you explore the possibility of publicity in local weekly newspapers (at least the ones in the sector of the show)? This must be much cheaper then advertising in the daily ones like The Gazette, La Presse and Journal de Montréal. I think this could bring a lot more people in. Even if they are not buyers, I do not care, they might buy in three years, but again it is not my concern, as long as people come in to look. Then it is my job to interest them, if there is no one, there is nothing I can do.

You are right to say that we cannot expect it to be like the Miss. show since it has been running for years. This + a nice dose of quebec mentality which Stav expressed contributes to a slow start for this show. But the greater Montreal area being what it is, there is a huge potential, we just need to be patient.

I hope my comments are received as constructive critics and not complains.

Martin

[The Red Queen 0]

I feel another issue for the expo may be location. Yes, the Holiday Inn is easy to find by car, but for those people who use public transportation, it is not so easy. If the expo could be located near a Metro station, the attendance may be higher.

-Amanda

[Noodles11 0]

The Red Queen a écrit:

I feel another issue for the expo may be location. Yes, the Holiday Inn is easy to find by car, but for those people who use public transportation, it is not so easy. If the expo could be located near a Metro station, the attendance may be higher.

-Amanda

This is very true...

[WYZ1 0]

Noodles a écrit:

The Red Queen a écrit:

I feel another issue for the expo may be location. Yes, the Holiday Inn is easy to find by car, but for those people who use public transportation, it is not so easy. If the expo could be located near a Metro station, the attendance may be higher.

-Amanda

This is very true...

true but.... I don't think locations to hold such a show are very easy to find. My guess is that was the best out of 100 locations that have been looked at.

This post is great, I think there will be alot of input and great things will come out of it.

WYZ

[tarcan1 0]

WYZ a écrit:

true but.... I don't think locations to hold such a show are very easy to find. My guess is that was the best out of 100 locations that have been looked at.

WYZ

What about Maisonneuve College? Martin and I are there a few times a year for shows (exotic pet show and the insect show).

-Amanda posting under Martin's username (too much in a hurry to log into my own username)

[Grant Crossman 0]

Thanks everyone for your input and suggestions. I am also true to my word that I do appreciate all inquiries and questions....I will also look into future venues if the information is forwarded to me....

The Holiday Inn is a great location for a number of reasons, the main being that it offers accomodations on the spot for the out of town vendors that offer support to the Expo....This is a real solid plus that a vendor can literally roll out of their pre-made bed and right in behind their table....

The transit question is something that has risen in the past in Mississauga as well....So for the fun of it two Expo's last year I parked a staff in front of the bus stop in front of the hall....There were less then 30 people that used the transit....Generally most people coming to an Expo come with the possibity in the back fo their minds that they may go home with a new pet, and being responsible will not cart them on public (sometimes unreliable) transit systems....

We have the past two Expo's utilized the Journal and a local english paper there that we actually printed admission coupons in....

Lets put in perspective here....The March Expo was the snow storm of the century....The August Expo was the first day that did not rain in what someone told me like 17 days....This past Expo the weather was great, the travelling was sweet and the attendance was pretty much where I expected it....

As a retail store person its hard to explain to the stores that really they should be there, just to let people know where they can get support, dry goods, feeders etc....But many of them choose to NOT think this way and think of the one day event margin their daily totals....Almost like a horse with blinders on I best describe it as....

I am always promoting the Expo's and really would hope that most vendors have the confidence in what I and the team do in promoting each Expo....I could or should maybe consider keeping vendors updated on promotional materail and avenues, however time is limited....The other avenue is to hire a marketting company and offset the costs to the vendors $$$$, LOL....

You have a great hobby in Quebec and really as we work together we will grow it into an even larger and better hobby. The business side of it will fall into place not to worry once the hobby out grows the word itself....

Again though contrary to all the rumours and bullshit out there I am open to everyones input and conversation....If I need a translator I will call Stav to do so or another person....I am not as Asshole or the disctator that some new players are stating....I will work with everyone to see the hobby grow over time....

Be patient grasshopper....


Grant

[stevie 0]

Nicely said Grant and Stav couldn't have said it better,i orignally from montreal find people aren't patient enough and hell ya there is a lot of negativity towards to reptile market over there that said thank heaven they are only the 2% of people who think that way,all i have left to say is the seed is alreaduy planted now sit back and watch it grow into somekind of monster that will go on a rampage and it all these 2 percenter mites,lol.Cheers Stevie.