ASE NEWS – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NASCAR Sprint Cup Driver Martin Truex, Jr. Joins African Sporting Exposition (ASE) Team as Spokesman and Ambassador

Charlotte, North Carolina – September 30, 2011: The African Sporting Exposition (ASE) is pleased to announce that NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver, Martin Truex, Jr., has joined the ASE team as spokesman and ASE Ambassador. Driver of the No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota for Michael Waltrip Racing, and an avid outdoorsman and hunter, Truex will help share the dream of an African hunting or photographic adventure by promoting the 2nd annual Charlotte ASE show scheduled for January 26-28, 2012 at the Charlotte Convention Center.

“I’ve had some great hunting and fishing experiences here in the states - from the east coast to Montana but have always dreamed of hunting Africa. I’m planning my first safari right now. We’ll be going over at the conclusion of the 2011 Sprint Cup season. I look forward to sharing all the details with my fans at the African Sporting Expo in Charlotte this January” Truex stated.

“The Essence of Africa Awaits You!” The African Sporting Exposition is an immersion into the wonders of Africa featuring a "who's-who" collection of the finest photo, hunting and fishing safari outfitters direct from the African continent as well as purveyors of exclusive sporting equipment, optics, African wildlife art, clothing and everything for the African aficionado.

The Thursday afternoon through Saturday evening African Sporting Exposition is open to the public. One of the first of its kind in the southeast, the event offers an intimate private show format where attendees can meet Africa's most respected outfitters face to face, ask questions in an exclusive atmosphere, and plan their dream safari. ASE outfitter exhibitors are the finest safari operators in Africa and all must be members in good standing of their respective country’s professional safari operator associations.

In addition to safari operators and unique sporting equipment, the African Sporting Exposition will showcase premier wildlife artists from North America, Europe and Africa displaying the very best African wildlife art and will include a “Meet the Artist” cocktail reception Friday evening for exhibitors and reception registrants.

Fitting for Charlotte and it’s NASCAR racing heritage, the Expo will kick off with a reception “Africa Full Throttle” Wednesday evening at the NASCAR Hall of Fame Museum featuring Martin Truex, Jr., Africa’s finest outfitters, and expo registrants for an evening of friends, fun, wheels and wildlife.



The African Sporting Exposition event and show hours are:

NASCAR Hall of Fame Museum
Wednesday, January 25, 2012 6:00pm – 10:00 pm
Africa Full Throttle Kick Off Reception

Charlotte Convention Center
Expo hours:

Thursday, January 26, 2012 4:00 pm - 9:00 pm

Friday, January 27, 2012 11:00 am - 5:00 pm
Meet the Artist Cocktail Reception 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Saturday, January 28, 2012 9:00 am - 5:00 pm.

Daily expo admission is only $20 with multi-day passes available. Discount admission for active military and children under 12 are free.

As a very special incentive to attend the Expo, for every one-day pass purchased, show attendees will be entered into a door-prize drawing for a Krieghoff Classic Big Five double rifle package in .470 Nitro Express caliber valued at more than $13,500 and two Land Rover of Charlotte Driving Experience packages at the Biltmore Hotel in Asheville, NC. Three-Day pass purchasers receive four chances and full registration purchasers receive six chances in the double rifle and Land Rover drawings.

For more information on the January 26-28, 2012 African Sporting Exposition, the double rifle and Land Rover drawings, an exhibitor listing, admission pricing and registration or to become an exhibitor or sponsor, visit www.africansportingexpo.com or email at info@africansportingexpo.com.

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NASCAR Sprint Cup Driver Martin Truex, Jr. Joins African Sporting Exposition (ASE) Team as Spokesman and Ambassador

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“I’ve had some great hunting and fishing experiences here in the states - from the east coast to Montana but have always dreamed of hunting Africa. I’m planning my first safari right now.” Truex stated.

This African Sporting Expo sounds pretty serious.

After all, they hired a celebrity spokesman who has never been to Africa.....

Actually, the sponsors are being quite fair. Next year, Truex going to Africa and I'm driving number 56. I just have to call Junior and ask him if you turn to the right or left. I just keep forgetting.

Hopefully the sponsors did some demographic considerations and I understand that Charlotte is a NASCAR hub, but are Truex's (or Newman's or Gordon's or Johnson's) fans the folks who have $20k of disposable income to go buy a ticket to RSA, pay a week's daily rate (that's is about triple what a membership in a year's deer lease cost) pay for trophies, freight and then taxidermy? 2010 NASCAR Demographics

Realtree has started sponsoring African shows. They also sponsor NASCAR. I'll bet they spend lots of bucks on developing their market strategy, of course, and must feel that their market share is boosted when some guy shoots a kudu from a building at a waterhole. But is selling camo britches (to wear when shooting through a window?) the same as effectively selling hunts in Africa. Remembering that ASE is advertised as "Africa only", I don't doubt that Truex is a "right" guy to get folks to Charlotte, but is he the right guy to get folks to Africa?

It just seems to me that the African Sporting Expo might have increased the gate but not increased the sales of the vendors in a way that a famous safari hunter like me could have.

Kidding aside, that brings me to the big question. What celebrity would bring hunters with bucks that might be open to going on safari? A golfer? A football star? What identifiable demographic hunts and has money? I wonder?

Anyway, wish me luck at Daytona.

Hey Junior, was that left or right????

All that said, I went to the same company's first Expo in Atlanta last year and found it to be small, but with very good safari companies. I certainly would recommend it to anyone not making it to Dallas or SCI. You got to start your dreams somewhere.

Six years ago my husband Gray was asked to give a keynote presentation in Africa on the American Market and in that presentation while he was the executive director of Dallas Safari Club and wearing their badge proudly stated that the "safari club secret" is that there is only about 60-70,000 safari club members worldwide of SCI, Dallas, Houston, Shikar, Missouri, African Safari Club of Florida, Pennsylvania and others and at the time he noted that there are 1 million hunters that go into the field each year in Texas, 900,000 each year in Pennsylvania and more than 2 million hunters in the field in southeastern US states...it is time to market Africa to these hunters as well as the many fine safari club members throughout the world.

North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee put 1.7 million hunters in the field each year. And yet we still market and have been targeting our marketing efforts to the same 60-70,000. It’s time for a change - it is the change you requested.

Many of you and/or your outfitter friends are still marketing in the same magazines -
in the same publications – great publications that they are: Safari Magazine, Wild Sheep Magazine, Game Trails Magazine, The Hunting Report, and others...
But it time to ALSO do something different. Is there risk? yes

Will it take time? Yes, you bet!

But there is also great opportunity and that is what we intend to bring you with the African Sporting Exposition in Charlotte.

While a successful show needs both a broad mix of exhibitors as well as qualified attendees it is fair to say that it is easier to book exhibitors than it is qualified prospects for them. Our extensive marketing campaign includes radio, print, internet, and television advertising.

We have partnered with our friends at Krieghoff International and are offering as a door prize a Krieghoff Classic Big 5 double rifle 470 Nitro Express as an incentive to attend the show. We have partnered again with premier wildlife artists to bring African art enthusiasts to this show. We have partnered with African Outfitter and other partners, including regional SCI chapters on collaborative efforts to build a new market. It will not happen overnight but we are committed to building the African Sporting Exposition into one of the finest shows in the country and a compliment to the SCI, Dallas, and Houston "safari club" shows the Wild Sheep Foundation, Elk Foundation and other species specific shows. The market is vast...we all need to build and capture this larger market. Our objective with ASE is to do just that.


Kelli Thornton
African Sporting Expo

10 to 15 years ago there were basically no african outitters at the Eastern Sportsman Show (largest in the country) now there are probably 30 or more.

Ernest as to the bucks at NASCAR races you ever see those 1/2 million $ land yatchs in the parking lots. NASCAR fans have the bucks to afford Africa it is just a matter of priortizing much like the rest of us.

ASE good luck on your venture.

Kelli:

Best of luck with your venture. The website is very professional as is your response to my post. I've modified my above post a bit to really ask the question that intrigued me, and that's "What group has the bucks and likes to hunt?"

Obviously, there are plenty of hunters in the Southeast U.S. and I hope you and your vendors get them in your venue and get them on the way to Africa.

BTW, if you are not affiliated with the Atlanta show, I apologize, but I thought it was a good start last year for them.

Truex Jr. or any NASCAR driver could get some of the US, especially southeastern US hunters interested in Africa. This could open up the "Rednecks with money" to Africa.

As for the general population, get Brad Pitt or David Beckham (or Heaven forbid any of the Kardashian sisters)to go on a hunting safari and publicize it, the airlines would be placing orders to Boeing and Airbus to handle the increase in traffic to Africa. Good and bad Americans is celebrity crazed. I think a great example was the 2008 Presidential Election; I say Obama won on the Paris Hilton Principle famous for being famous.

Kind of funny how the world turns; 20-30 yrs ago in Hollywood an actor would be proud to say they were a hunter and would keep being gay a secret. Now the opposite is true.

In the mid 1990's Forbes magazine featured an article called "the Bang that is worth $10 billion bucks" and in it "outed" hunters Jane Fonda and Madonna and noted the economic contributions of the hunting community. Maybe we need Kim Kardashian on safari and become the spokesperson for the industry! Lol!

Seriously, we all need to work together to promote and protect our hunting and outdoor heritage and the industry it fosters both here in the USA and abroad. Good hunting all and best wishes for a successful safari marketing season this next year!

Hope to see you in Charlotte or at one of the many great shows in our industry!

Kelli Thornton
African Sporting Expo

Does that count as camo, looks a bit like that Zarco stuff

MAN!!!! I’ve seen some snob threads in my time, but this one takes the cake! Some of you guys better not go out of the house while it is raining because you will probably drown with your noses poke in the air!

I think that hunters who pay $15K for a trophy fee on whitetail deer on one of the breeder farms in Texas, or drop $20K on a brown bear hunt in Alaska or watch the NASCAR races from the roof of a quarter million dollar motorhome, can certainly afford a trip to Zimbabwe for a Cape Buffalo or two!

Anyone being called a "RED NECK" by some here should consider it a compliment!
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