Tommy and Lefebvre president Kevin Pidgeon, shown here outside the chain’s flagship store on Bank Street, says he is disappointed that his store wasn’t chosen as a prize provider.
Kayaking and rafting; float planes and rental cars: this year’s Classic Canadian Adventure Contest showcases the wonder and excitement of Ottawa, but organizers are failing to shine a spotlight on locally-owned businesses, says a local outdoor equipment retailer.
“It’s always disappointing…when you see a company from outside of the city being offered an opportunity that does not exist for homegrown companies,” says Kevin Pidgeon, president of Tommy and Lefebvre, whose flagship store is located on Bank Street.
The contest, hosted by Ontario Tourism Marketing Partnership Corporation and Ottawa Tourism, is about promoting Ottawa’s outdoor adventure industry, says Steve Bruno, partnership co-ordinator at Ontario Tourism Marketing Partnership Corporation.
“We looked at Ottawa and the Ottawa Valley and we know they have a big rafting industry there that isn’t getting as much attention as they’d like from the province in terms of marketing,” says Bruno.
Marketing indeed, the prize is worth over $25,000 for a seven-day adventure trip that includes a stay at the Château Laurier and a $1,000 gift card to Mountain Equipment Co-op.
Pidgeon says he is particularly upset about the MEC gift card because the company is based in Vancouver and his locally-owned store wasn’t even asked to participate. But it doesn’t matter where the head office is based, says Bruno: what’s important is that there’s a store in Ottawa and the employees all live in the city.
MEC can offer certain things a local business simply cannot, including multiple locations across the country and a larger selection of outdoor necessities, says Colleen Mooney, the manager of MEC's Ottawa store.
“We sell things like tents (and) we sell equipment,” says Mooney. “(The contest) is called the classic Canadian adventure and we’re a Canadian company.”
But a contest meant to promote Ottawa should be in touch with the local area, says Pidgeon, adding that Tommy and Lefebvre would have liked to help showcase a region they’ve been a part of for 50 years.
“I’m sure we could have done something, although it’s not our core competency, it’s disappointing when you hear the motivation for somebody to make a choice is laziness,” says Pidgeon.
But putting together a contest takes a lot of effort and time, especially when soliciting companies to donate prizes, says Bruno. While he didn’t consider local contributors, says Bruno, he did ask Ottawa Tourism to bring forward possible ideas. Locally-based businesses were not part of their pitch, he adds.
However, Ottawa Tourism says it was only involved in the planning of the itinerary, including choosing different accommodations and meals for the contest winners.
Ontario Tourism contacted the city’s tourism office about the contest, informing them of the theme so they could suggest local attractions and activities that suited the chosen experience, says Caroline Couture-Gillgrass, communications manager at Ottawa Tourism.
In past contests, Bruno says promoting local business has been a focus, but that it just wasn’t an element this time around.
“We’ve run contests in the past where, for instance, in Thunder Bay, local businesses would come in and add value to the contest prize,” says Bruno.
Whatever reasons the contest organizers give, Pidgeon says he would have appreciated being asked to participate.
“We at least want to be given the opportunity to say we didn’t want to be a part of it.”