Here’s What’s Happening With Consumer Snowmobile Shows…
Big crowds still attend Hay Days in Minnesota. Sno Barons S.C. photo.
Related: Don’t Be Suckered By Early Snow
What’s up with snowmobile shows? Are we all showed out? Or is that showed off? Even before the pandemic years, attendance at some consumer snowmobile shows was slipping. It seems the days may be going when anyone could put on a show and everybody came.
Certainly some shows are faring better than others. Hay Days in Minnesota, billed as “the official start of winter” still attracts decent crowds. But reports are that attendance hasn’t flourished at the Big East Show (Syracuse) or the International Snowmobile Show (Toronto). And reports are that neither the Novi Show or the Quebec Show are what they used to be. Meanwhile, the all-together Manufacturers’ Sneak Peek shows across the country seem to have gone by the wayside since spring 2023. With the show business apparently getting more tenuous, both show goers and show exhibitors seem to be increasingly wary about showing up. What’s going on?
Previous Manufacturers Sneak Peek Show ready to welcome sledders.
Exhibitors Taking A 2nd Look At Snowmobile Shows
It’s easy to point the finger at the pandemic hiatus, supply chain shortages, rising manufacturing costs and general inflation. Certainly last year’s worst winter yet across the entire North American snowbelt was also a major setback. All of which challenge the previous show status quo. Certainly, these factors compel exhibitors to be more selective about attending shows. And also more demanding about measurable return on investment for the large, upfront expense of buying & setting up exhibit space, staffing it and transporting product to display. To say nothing of the out of pocket costs of staff meals, lodgings and travel. And most are already paying for existing and more viable direct to consumer alternatives to move their goods.
Exhibitors at a previous Toronto Snowmobile Show. Photo by Craig Nicholson.
Show Goers Getting Wary
The quality and quantity of relevant exhibitors is a major draw for show goers. So a show’s immediate attendance and long term reputation can be seriously impacted by fewer booths, scaled back displays and missing vendors. To say nothing of an increasing number of non-snowmobiling related vendors filling in what would otherwise be empty booth spaces. Does anyone else remember the days when a snowmobile show was just that – exclusive to snowmobiles without all the quads and off-roading products? Word spreads quickly on the consumer grapevine when a show admission fee doesn’t satisfy attendee expectations for comparing products, shopping for deals or generating a pre-season buzz – when consumers don’t feel they are getting good value for their time & money. And in some cases, you can’t even pick up new trail maps anymore!
Show goers at a previous Novi Show – photo by SledMichigan.
eCommerce Challenges Snowmobile Shows
Like many other traditional retail models, snowmobile shows are staring a harsh reality in the face. New generations of consumers are already committed online buyers. The rest of us have accelerated our own shift to e-commerce over the past couple of years, starting with online permits and interactive trail guides. So, brick & mortar retail is taking a huge hit. Is it any surprise that consumer snowmobile shows are also caught in the line of fire?
Polaris corporate booth ready for guests at a Toronto Snowmobile Show.
Today, the plain fact is that most manufacturers and distributors have not only a considerable online e-commerce presence. They are also spending much or all of their marketing budgets digitally. This means it’s both harder to justify or approve funding for consumer shows from tighter and metric-driven marketing budgets.
Snowmobiler checking out Arctic Cat at a Toronto Snowmobile Show.
My Last Word
Unfortunately, for those of us who still love to receive print issues of our snowmobile magazines in the mail, these publications are in the same boat as snowmobile shows. Unable to attract the major and consistent print advertising necessary to pay the bills, our fav mags are cutting back on pages and number of issues or stopping the presses permanently. Only powersports media companies who’ve anticipated these seismic shifts by diversifying successfully into other opportunities like TV & video production, and online & social media platforms, will make the cut.
Within this context, I fear consumer snowmobile shows are on their way to extinction. Regardless, snowmobiling is still popular and most snowmobilers remain passionate bout hitting the snow this winter. But just as we want our sledding to be direct to trails, more riders are also looking for more direct to consumer commerce to buy game changer snowmobile products. So we’re going to have to develop new and better ways to show off our fav winter activity!
The tips and advice in this blog are the opinions of the author, may not work in every situation and are intended only for the convenience and interest of the reader, who has the personal responsibility to confirm the validity, accuracy and relevancy of this information prior to putting it to their own use.
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