Andrei Petrik

Yesterday, my friends and I attended The Toronto Ribfest 2008 hosted by The Rotary Club of Etobicoke.  This year, like every year it was held at Centennial Park.  This was the very first time I’ve ever attended this type of event.  I loved it.  It was warm and sunny, perfect day to enjoy BBQ and cold beer.  Among the four of us we got four full racks from four different vendors.  The ribs were just spectacular from all four vendors.  This entry is not about who had the best ribs; it’s about how we selected the rib vendors, about who sold them the best, and how.

First and foremost I’d like to say that the rib vendors all sold their ribs the same way.

• All proudly displayed their trophies at their stands
• All proudly advertised their accomplishments/winnings
• All had the same layout of their signage
• All had the same pricing

None had any differentiating sales and marketing tools.  The only time you could differentiate among them, is after you’ve bit into the rack.  Even vendors’ names were hidden among all the pennants and banners of accomplishments.  If I went into the fair blindly I’d have a hard time choosing a vendor to try ribs from.  So many vendors, so little room in the stomach.  Luckily we had a plan.  Our first two vendors were based on a recommendation by a friend who attended Toronto Ribfest a day earlier.  Both vendors had the shortest line ups and probably the smallest stands at the fair; and their ribs were way better than the other two vendors we visited; who had huge lineups and huge stands.

 
As you can see from my pictures posted.  The stands and signage look identical.  As I was leaving the event, I thought to myself… there’s a got to be a better way to stand out.  Without going overboard or being tacky here are some ideas that would attract the public to a stand.

• Create some kind of fire-shooting contraption at the top of the stand
• Get a giant inflatable gorilla or a pig, and put it on top of your stand.
• Create a sign that is equivalent in size of other stands that basically reads (in tongue and cheek humor) “We also won the same awards!” or “Some pigs dream of becoming doctors, other dream of becoming best ribs in town!”

It’s one thing to attract unsuspecting public, but it’s another to keep them there and spread the good word about your ribs.  That means you actually have to make delicious ribs and keep the line moving fast.