Remembering this Blast from the Past from a WARM summer several years back!
Every year in Toronto the summer ends with the Canadian National Exhibition running the last two weeks of August until Labour Day. For the first time in 30 years I decided to venture down in search of effective examples of experiential marketing and there were many to be found. In fact I’d say that many marketers are missing out on key branding and customer acquisition opportunities by not taking advantage of this annual event.
First off let’s be clear, it’s been years since I’ve been to the (CNE). This wasn’t always the case, in fact some of my earliest memories are of my Mother loading up all the kids and making the road trip from Burlington in the 1960’s. In the 1970’s I saw many classic concerts at the CNE Grandstand including T-Rex, Three Dog Night, The Guess Who, Emerson Lake & Palmer and The Beach Boys only to name a few. My CNE highlight had to be going backstage to meet RUSH and having a smoke with Neil Peart when we stepped out of the trailer to escape all the girls going ga-ga over Geddy Lee.
In the 1980’s, 90’s and since 2000 ‘The Ex’ and I went separate ways, not with any intention, we just drifted apart. But that was then and this is now, we’ve come back together so let’s dive into some of the experiential marketing seen at this year’s CNE.
When I think back to my early visits to the CNE one of the fondest memories was of all the samples. In those days samples of all kinds food, drink and more were everywhere to be found but especially in the Food Building and sadly this practice seems to have declined significantly and is a real opportunity missed by marketers for these products. When you think of the traffic you get in a grocery store versus the Midway of the CNE, what better place to acquire new customers or reactivate customers who no longer eat or drink your stuff?
One tasty exception to this was the McCain Deep’n Delicious Cake sampling trailer which was set up out on one of the Midway feeder roads and had a continuous line. What better way to introduce new flavours or just remind everyone of the chocolately goodness of their cakes! Inside the Food Building very few if any samples were to be seen, but I was happy to see the Primo 99 cent spaghetti was still around!
Perhaps ‘The Ex’ should think of ways to encourage Food Building vendors to incorporate more sampling into their plans for next year’s exhibition which is sure to attract even more consumers to this food mecca?
Moving up the experiential marketing scale, one excellently developed and positioned program was the President’s Choice Super Dogs show. Not typically something I would go and see, my wife insisted on checking it out. The show consisted of a number of obstacle course races with all kinds of dogs and attracted many, many dog lovers of all ages. Interestingly, before the show I wasn’t even aware that President’s Choice sold pet insurance, but what better way to get in front of your target audience and share product, service and advance your branding in a non intrusive manner. Literally 1000’s would have seen the three daily shows over the 18 days of the CNE. Definite kudos go out to the PC Financial marketing and events team on this one!
As you probably gathered from the intro above, music is a big attraction for me and of course a great co- branding opportunity for marketers. Connecting your brand as the sponsor of a band that appeals to your target audience is always a great way to increase and reinforce brand equity and awareness.
Several examples of such successful pairings were on display at ‘The Ex’ Bandshell this year. Including The Beach Boys sponsored by Boom 97.3, Elvis – If I can Dream by Oldies 1150, Danny Fernandes, Massari & Mia Martina sponsored by Hits 92.5 and last but certainly not least my favorite show Big Wreck by 102.1 The Edge.
When it comes to attracting more people to ‘The Ex’ I think the strategy of including decent concert opportunities at the Bandshell 
with the CNE Admission price is a good one. In an age where concert ticket prices have become absolutely ridiculous and only continue to rise, such a fan friendly alternative if marketed properly will pay dividends for the CNE in years to come.
When I try to determine why I drifted away from ‘The Ex’ over the last several years, music seems to be the differentiating factor. One constructive criticism I will make is that the CNE Bandshell sound system does not cut it and was a constraining factor on the quality and enjoyment of the rock shows. The current sound system seriously needs a major upgrade to provide quality shows in the future (perhaps this is another sponsorship opportunity for some enterprising firm in the audio business!)
Since the demise of The CNE Grandstand the music at ‘the Ex’ has never been the same. Making the CNE Bandshell a marketing focal point with ever improving bands appearing would get my vote on increasing relevancy and keeping this ‘grand old lady by the lake’ a vibrant and growing experience for years to come.
Jeff Ashcroft