QUESTIONS
CONTESTS
- How do I enter the trophy contest?
- When can I bring in my trophy?
- How do I enter the photo contest?
- Do you have security?
- How do I enter the turkey calling contest?
- Am I considered an exhibitor if I bring a trophy for the trophy contest?
- Do you have a shed antler contest?
- What does a big game trophy entry cost?
- Who measures the trophy?
- What measuring/scoring system is used?
- I'm from out-of-state. Can I enter my deer?
- What prizes are given for trophy and photo contests?
- Do I have to leave my trophy all weekend?
- Can anyone else pick up my trophy?
- What can I do if I want my trophy measured but not entered in the contest?
ATTENDEES
- What other expos do you have?
- Who's going to be at the expo?
- Do you have anything for kids?
- Are there nearby hotels?
- My wife isn't a hunter. Is there anything for her?
- What's it all about?
- Is there anything else in the area to see and do for those members of the family who may not want to spend the entire weekend at the expo?
- How do I make sure I receive the Giant Postcard with the money-saving coupons?
- Do you have group tickets?
- Will there be food at the expo?
- When do ticket sales begin?
- Do you have multi-day tickets?
- What’s new this year?
EXHIBITORS
- Do I have to be an exhibitor to advertise in the PREVIEW?
- How do I get a booth at the Expo?
- Who is your audience?
- Can't my dealer do your expo for me?
- How much product do I have to sell at the expo to make my time and dollars worthwhile?
TRADESHOW SUNDAY
- What is Tradeshow Sunday?
- What benefits do I get from exhibiting in the Tradeshow?
- Does it cost extra to exhibit in the Tradeshow?
- Do I have to exhibit all weekend to participate in Tradeshow Sunday?
- What extra visibility do I get when I participate in Tradeshow Sunday as an exhibitor?
- Can I exhibit in Tradeshow Sunday if I don't have a new product?
- How do dealers know I'm a participating manufacturer?
- How do I as an exhibitor know they're a dealer?
- Where are you getting dealers names from?
- Who is invited?
NEW PRODUCTS SPECIAL DISPLAY AREA
- What is the New Products Area?
- Is there a fee to put my product in the New Products Area?
- Can I put my new product in the New Products Area?
* Have a question we haven't answered?
E-mail your question to us (judy@deerinfo.com)
ANSWERS
CONTESTS
How do I enter the trophy contest?
Just bring your trophy to the expo. All registration will be done on-site. There is NO advance work. DO NOT buy a general admission ticket. (People with you must buy tickets.) Take your trophy to the ticket turnstiles and ask for the trophy contest registration table. Look for orange directional signs.
When can I bring in my trophy?
Any time between noon Friday and 10:00 a.m. Sunday.
How do I enter the photo contest?
After you have purchased your general admission ticket, take your photos to the show office. Register them there.
Yes. There is security during the day and armed security at night.
How do I enter the turkey calling contest?
Contact the National Wild Turkey Federation state chapter in the state where the expo contest is being held, or enter at their booth at the expo. At the moment, this is only at Illinois and Ohio expos.
Am I considered an exhibitor if I bring a trophy for the trophy contest?
No. You are an attendee with a trophy to be proud of.
Do you have a shed antler contest?
No. In fact, we don't even let shed antlers in the building, except for exhibitors bringing them in as part of their booth display. Shed antlers tend to get carried in hand, which happens to be right at kids' eye level. That's too dangerous. Kids don’t look where they’re going. There’s not enough insurance in the world to replace a kid’s eye.
What does a big game trophy entry cost?
$20 at Ohio, Illinois and Wisconsin; $15 at Michigan, no matter whether it is entered in the trophy contest or just brought in for scoring. Measuring work and time involved are the same. In return for entering a trophy in the contest, you get a three-day pass to the expo. Contest entries are measured first, so they can be put on display. Measure-only trophies are not put on display, and you must buy a one-day general admission ticket. If the measure-only trophy does not get measured, the fee is returned. No three-day pass with measure-only trophies.
Measurers certified by a state record-keeping group, or Boone & Crockett Club, or Pope & Young Club. There are B&C and P&Y measurers at every expo. State groups: Michigan -- Commemorative Bucks of Michigan; Ohio -- Buckeye Big Buck Club; Wisconsin - Wisconsin Buck & Bear Club; Illinois -- no organized state group. Measurers are certified by Illinois Big Buck Recognition Program, Pope & Young Club or Boone & Crockett Club.
What measuring/scoring system is used?
The system used by the Boone & Crockett Club and the Pope & Young Club.
I'm from out-of-state. Can I enter my deer?
You can at some expos, but not at all of them. Check the trophy contest rules and entry categories on the expos' individual pages.
What prizes are given for trophy and photo contests?
Award trophies for the trophy contest. Award plaques for the photo contest.
Do I have to leave my trophy all weekend?
No, but if it is in the contest it must be there until 4:00 p.m. Sunday, when the award program begins, to be eligible to win an award. Any trophy checked out of the contest early is automatically removed from award competition, and there is a $10 early check-out fee. No trophies, contest or non-contest, are released between noon Sunday and 3:00 pm Sunday; contest administrators are too busy measuring final entries, maintaining all paperwork and determining contest winners.
Can anyone else pick up my trophy?
Yes, if they have your gold copy of the trophy contest registration form. Without that form, the trophy stays in the building. It's the only secure way to handle trophy release.
What can I do if I want my trophy measured but not entered in the contest?
First, get a general admission ticket. Then bring your trophy to the same registration area that contest entries come to. You will pay the measuring/scoring fee and be given the appropriate registration forms there.
ATTENDEES
Deer and turkey expos in Illinois, Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin.
Who's going to be at the expo?
Knowledgeable hunters/seminar speakers ... a lot of manufacturers of hunting equipment and accessories … guides/outfitters ... and a whole lot of deer and turkey hunters.
Speakers vary from expo to expo and year to year, making this a question impossible to answer here. Check our web-site (www.deerinfo.com) throughout the year for updates. Check on our Social/Viral media sites, too.
Do you have anything for kids?
Yes. Natural history displays (deer and turkey skeletons, fur-bearing animal hides/pelts/furs), archery shooting lessons, airgun range, flint knappers at a couple of expos, laser ranges (shooting at video footage of game animals filmed in the wild), live game animal display.
Yes. Check the Hotel Page on the individual expo home pages.
My wife isn't a hunter. Is there anything for her?
Yes. There are several exhibit booths with ‘outdoor lifestyle' items - crafts, gifts, clothing (adult & kids, camo and non-camo), artwork, jewelry, cookware, seasonings/marinades, meat processing equipment, sausage and jerky making items, binoculars/scopes (for bird and wildlife watching), books, videos, and a range of products for home/den/cabin décor, tables, mirrors, etc, and sometimes some campware. Plus the natural history items, shooting ranges, photo contest, venison butchering and cooking demonstrations.
There are three main legs of the tripod, so to speak, supporting the expo - seminars, trophy contest and display, exhibit booths and new products. All the other special displays, shooting booths and such enhance the experience.
Is there anything else in the area to see and do for those members of the family who may not want to spend the entire weekend at the expo?
Yes. Many families stay at a full service hotel with a pool, game room, etc. There's plenty of shopping near all the expo facilities, too. Call the Convention & Visitors Bureau of the host city and ask them, or go to their web-site. See the individual expo home pages for details.
How do I make sure I receive the Giant Postcard with the money-saving coupons?
Attend an expo and put your name on your ticket stub, then drop it in one of the plastic boxes on the registration tables. BONUS: Door prize winners’ names are drawn from these plastic boxes every 2-1/2 hours. There are adult and youth winners.
Yes. Minimum group of 25. Two-dollar discount on one-day adult tickets. No group discount on youth tickets, because an individual discount already exists. See ticket prices page for details on each expo.
Will there be food at the expo?
Yes. Every event has standard concessions service and fare. There also are a handful of jerky/sausage exhibitors selling their product, and other exhibitors selling toasted almonds or nuts.
Friday - approximately 30 minutes before the expo opens. Saturday - 30 to 45 minutes before the expo opens. Sunday - 30 minutes before the expo opens. There may be outside sales of one-day-adult/exact-change-only tickets to help move the ticket line. All expos have multiple ticket sales windows. (Wisconsin Tip: Ticket window lines change as parking lots fill and empty and refill. For fastest entry, go to the parking lot least filled. See the floor plans for ticket window locations.)
Do you have multi-day tickets?
We have two-day adult tickets. We tried three-day tickets, but so few of them sold that the effort proved impractical.
Several things: Women’s Hunting Apparel & Related Gear, DVD Theater, Puppies & Kids Sunday, U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance raffles, sweepstakes and Sentry proram, plus Deer Hunting Answer Man and Turkey Hunting Answer Man at the expanded Tech Information Center. Of course, trophy contest entries are new, most of the seminars are new, the exhibitor mix has many new individuals.
EXHIBITORS
Do I have to be an exhibitor to advertise?
No. But if you are an exhibitor, advertising will help drive people to your booth. You will help your sales by letting them know you're there. Exhibitors get discounts on their advertising costs.
How do I get a booth at the Expo?
Get the booth information packet from our main office and study it, then call 1-800-324-3337 and talk with Cheryl Keller or email her -- cheryl@deerinfo.com
You have to be a committed outdoor person to attend a hunting show in the off-season. Our attendees are exactly that. In addition to purchasing product at the expos (see demographics for exact percentages and dollar amounts), attendees are opinion leaders. They go back home and talk all year about the products they saw and liked at the expo. They become unpaid sales ambassadors for you. That's a valuable ripple effect your exhibiting created. Attendees create that invaluable word-of-mouth advertising ... “the BUZZ” -- that is growing in effectiveness day by day in all aspects of all marketing.
Can't my dealer do your expo for me?
Not really. The dealer can sell your product, but you'd better be there with all your bells and whistles if you want to have the necessary impact throughout the expo's major market area. A dealer has dozens of products from several manufacturers while, as a manufacturer, you have your product line.
- No one knows your product like you do. No one cares about it like you do.
- No one can show, explain and sell your product like you can.
- No one knows the features and benefits like you do.
- No one knows your product's value to the customer like you do.
- No one can build your total market like you can.
- No one else can support ALL your dealers ... or sign up new ones.
You're the expert on your product. You shouldn't hand the ball to someone else at an important time in your company's marketing program. And since each expo has a multi-state draw, no individual dealer can affect your entire market area.
How much product do I have to sell at the expo to make my time and dollars worthwhile?
This is difficult to answer, for you should have more objectives than on-site sales.
Keep in mind the multiple benefits of exhibiting:
- Introduce new products
- Build your corporate brand name
- Open new markets
- Build customer confidence
- Deepen existing market penetration
- Build word-of-mouth promotion for additional sales
- Reach prospects the way they want to be reached --
face-to-face, interactive, immediate, hands-on, personal - Support your dealers and
- Sell product
TRADESHOW SUNDAY
It is a TRADESHOW for all dealers of hunting and shooting equipment throughout each expo's multi-state market area. This is a BONUS OPPORTUNITY to write orders and meet new dealers when you exhibit.
Less than 25% of all hunting/shooting dealers attend national tradeshows. Many solid dealers never or very seldom see people “from the factory”. This is a market you now can reach easily. You never know which of those smaller dealers may be tomorrow's powerhouse.
What benefits do I get from exhibiting in the Tradeshow?
More sales at low cost. The dealers come to you, saving you time and money. Introduce your new products; show your product line; write orders; make the valuable personal contacts that create more business, follow-up business. The value of your investment in time and effort for the entire weekend increases.
Does it cost extra to exhibit in the Tradeshow?
No.
Do I have to exhibit all weekend to participate in Tradeshow Sunday?
Yes.
What extra visibility do I get when I participate in Tradeshow Sunday as an exhibitor?
You will be listed in a directory given to all attending dealers; your booth will have on-site identification, and you will have badge identification indicating you are participating.
Can I exhibit in Tradeshow Sunday if I don't have a new product?
Yes. The New Product Special Display Area is a separate item that will be in place for the entire weekend.
How do dealers know I'm a participating manufacturer?
By on-site, in-booth identification above the booth; by checking the directory they receive when they register, and by noting the special identification you and your booth work crew will be given. In addition, products displayed in the New Product Area will have identification information, including booth number.
How do I as an exhibitor know they're a dealer?
Dealers will be given special, highly visible identification badges when they register.
Where are you getting dealers names from?
Wherever we can -- from publishers, exhibiting manufacturers, web-sites, industry associations.
Dealers of hunting and shooting equipment from throughout each expo's multi-state market area.
Part or all of fourteen states make up the major market area for the four expos. This equates to 40%-45% of the total U.S. deer and turkey hunting/shooting market. See the DEMOGRAPHICS pages for details.
NEW PRODUCTS SPECIAL DISPLAY AREA
What is the New Products Area?
It's a bonus to all exhibiting manufacturers. This special display area will be set up as close as possible to the main entrance on the show floor at each expo, right where everyone will see it first. Many people want an opportunity to examine a product before talking with a factory representative or a sales person. Interested prospects will come to your booth for details.
There is NO EXTRA COST to place your product in this special marketing area. Each displayed product is identified by name, manufacturer and booth number.
Can I put my new product in the New Products Area?
If you are an exhibitor, yes.
Is there a fee to put my product in the New Products Area?
No.
