more digital marketing, rather than print. We are also now dealing with Cineplex Theatres. So we advertise on the Cineplex movie screens during the pre-shows as well as in their lobbies. It gets lots of eyes there.” And people are using the website to purchase their equip- ment. But part of Cobequid’s diversification efforts brought them into the “wrap kit” business. (You know, those fancy decal- like designs you see on the side of snowmobiles and side by sides) Parker says, “We do a significant business online. A lot of it is wrap kits for boats and other equipment. We are also the largest SCS Unlimited dealer on the planet. We ship vinyl wrap kits all over North America out of little Collingwood. We do the sales and install of these wrap kits, and this has been our biggest year yet for it. Every one of them is custom ordered.” Cobequid also sponsors a Pro Stock race car, and since Parker took over, they partnered with the “Cooke Racing” snowmobile racing team. They now compete North Amer- ica-wide in competitions, bringing even more visibility to the business. When talking about power sports and marine equipment, the conversation always winds its way to the economy. The “toys” are seemingly always the first things that become expendable when the economy tanks. So what is the state of the industry in today’s economy? Parker points out, “The industry is currently very strong. The snowmobile industry is a little down because of lack of snow in our area. But as a whole it is definitely up.”
or anything. So I brought that in. Now we have one of the most active Facebook pages in the Maritimes as far as the industry goes, so that’s a real positive.”
“We also modernized the website and made some changes. We have made it more interactive.
In fact, we have just upgraded to a more responsive website, so that’;s another avenue we have turned down. And we are changing with the times and are currently doing
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SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • APRIL 2018
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