SHOT Show New Product Center: Top 5 Most Popular

Often the first stop for Buyers and Media, the SHOT Show New Product Center hosts many of the industry’s latest innovations. Here are 5 of the most popular products in the 2015 SHOT Show New Product Center. Product popularity is based off of the number of times product bar-codes were scanned during the SHOT Show.

SHOT Show Product Spotlight – Schmidt & Bender

SHOT Show Product Spotlight visits the Schmidt & Bender booth, #15151, on Level 2 of the Sands Expo. Schmidt & Bender brought several precision quality scopes to the 2015 SHOT Show, including the new 2.5-10×50 Polar T96 high transmission hunting scope. For more, be sure to visit the Schmidt & Bender website at www.schmidtundbender.de.

SHOT Show Product Spotlight – Streamlight

SHOT Show Product Spotlight visits the Streamlight booth for the latest flashlights including the brand-new Ultra Stinger, Stinger HPL, Strion HPL, TLR HPL Rail Mounted Light, a few additions to the ProTac family and more. For more on these products visit Streamlight at booth #12563 on Level 2 of the Sands Expo or go to the Streamlight website at streamlight.com.

SHOT Show Product Spotlight – Zenith Quest Corporation

SHOT Show Product Spotlight is inside the Zenith Quest Firearms booth to talk about the latest selections of ammunition they’re bringing to the U.S. market and to check out their latest firearms being shown at the 2015 SHOT Show. You can find Zenith Quest Corporation at booth #620 and visit their website at zenithfirearms.com.

Media Picks: Some Favorite Products of the Press at Media Day

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The 2015 SHOT Show Industry Day at the Range proved to be a success to industry media members. Everyone in the media we talked to were decidedly upbeat about the day in general and the number and variety of hot new products exhibited.

Ace Luciano, book author with Gun Digest, told us, “I was very impressed with the new Benelli over/under. It’s probably the softest shooting stack-barrel double I’ve ever shot.”

Phil Massaro, another book author with Gun Digest and freelance writer for Guns & Ammo, Gun Digest the Magazine and several other industry publications found two pieces he wouldn’t mind adding to his gun safe. “The Smith & Wesson M&P .45 with the suppressor attached was so quiet and had what I felt was zero recoil. Truly an experience to shoot,” he told us. “I also fell in love with the new Stevens Model 555 over/under. Now, I’m not much of a shotgunner, so when I tell you I couldn’t miss with this gun, I’m speaking volumes about its fit. I don’t think I’ve ever had a shotgun fit me so well out of the box. It’s available in 20- and 12-gauge, and retails under $700, far below most of the over/unders on the market these days. I think one of the 20-gauges is going to find a home with me this year, though I think after my wife shoots it, I’ll probably never get to lay my own hands on it again.”

Two veteran outdoor writers, Ed Noonan and Steve Zahurak, both hailing from New York, found there was just as much value in some of the non-gun products setup for trial as they did the guns themselves.

“I saw a demonstration of the new all-in-one firearm cleaner and lubricant,” said Zahurak. “What I liked, besides that I didn’t need two separate products for gun maintenence, is that it was both nontoxic and biodegradable.”

Zahurak was also a fan of Ruger’s new drop-in trigger for the 10/22. “It’s very user-friendly,” he said.

“Two things that caught my eyes, literally, were the shooting glasses from Edge Safety Eyewear and the new Sightmark firearm sight. The glasses were very flexible, and that tells me they can take a beating without becoming damaged, while the Sightmark sight, a lightweight dot-within-a-dot arrangement looked to be a very intelligent design, one I’m looking forward to using for turkey hunting this year.”

Noonan and Zahurak also discovered a new product they think may be the ultimate training tool when you can’t make it to the range.

“Steve and I both thought the Coolfire product was pretty ingenious,” explained Noonan. “You fit the device in your gun’s barrel, fill it with air just like you would a bicycle tire, then dry-fire the gun. Though there’s no noise other than a click, the gun recoils as if you were using live ammo. That’s a great way to improve the realism of this kind of practice routine.”

Still, it was the guns that were center stage.

Another veteran writer, Tom Tabor, favored another offering from Savage, as did several others we talked to. “The new Savage rifle in .17 HMR is likely to be a hit this year,” Tabor told us. “It’s a new semi-auto chambered for that round, and Savage worked closely with CCI to develop ammo that works reliably in the action. It’s also accurate—I started shooting at small rocks behind the 100-yard silhouette targets they had set up, and this gun was spot on. With that kind of accuracy and reliability, and at the user-friendly price point Savage will be selling this gun, I expect it to do very well with consumers.”

For those looking for something at the other end of the price spectrum, Massaro told us that the Mauser 98 was one of the most beautiful guns to be shot during Industry Day at the Range, “Very true to the original, beautifully made,” he said. “For me, too, the Rigby rifle in .416 was, very simply, a privilege to shoot, and a little closer to home, the Christiansen Arms .308 with its carbon fiber barrel has almost no recoil, yet it weighs just six pounds, and its titanium muzzle brake does an outstanding job of keeping muzzle rise to almost nothing.”

As for the event itself, both media members and buyers were quite pleased with the new format of the event. Long lines into the range were eliminated thanks to dual drop-off points for the buses, and the invitation-only format allowed for better connections and engagement between exhibitors and invitees. That the chili from one of the many food trucks on the premises apparently rocked the house was just icing on the cake for everyone.

Follow the latest news from the SHOT Show on Facebook, as well as Twitter at @nssfshotshow and #SHOTShow.

New This Year for Media and Buyers: SHOT Showcase Theater

Do not miss the inaugural SHOT Showcase Theater, a collection of exclusive exhibitor presentations, backed with spectacular video support across multiple high-definition big-screen displays, high-definition audio and special lighting. RSVP today.

WHAT: SHOT Showcase Theater
WHEN: Tuesday, January 20
WHERE: Sands Showroom at The Venetian

The 2015 SHOT Show is just days away now and we know that all attending are finalizing their meeting and event schedules to maximize their time at the show. We want to make sure that you include the presentations being offered at the SHOT Show’s newest event, the SHOT Showcase Theater.

Modeled after the success of the New York International Auto Show press conference format, the SHOT Showcase Theater features a special 742-seat presentation center that allows media and VIP buyers a chance to experience the SHOT Show’s hottest new products in a dynamic, multi-media environment.

SHOT Showcase Theater schedule:

 

FNH USA 10:30 – 10:45 a.m.
Nikon 11:15 – 11:30 a.m.
The Greatest Family in Hunting: Nikon’s family of hunters has grown dramatically over the years through its dedication of providing hunting optics and technologies that are not only useful and relevant — but that help assure hunting success. Like our extended family of hunters, Nikon’s product families continue to grow with over 30 new products being introduced during SHOT Show 2015.
XS Sight Systems 11:45 – Noon
Faxon Firearms 1:00 – 1:15 p.m.
Manufacturing Strategic Solutions for Tactical Problems
Leupold & Stevens 1:30 – 1:45 p.m.
Special Delivery
Outdoor Channel 2:00 – 3:30 p.m.
Safe Haven is a documentary that looks at the history of Gun Free Zones in the United States. By utilizing original interviews with law enforcement, research experts, public school officials and survivors of attacks, Safe Haven explores how effective, or ineffective, these gun free measures have been and what possible solutions would better protect schools, businesses and the public at large.

Mark your calendars to attend now and RSVP today. We look forward to seeing you there.

New SHOT Showcase Theater Enhances Product Introduction to VIP Buyers, Media

venetian-showroomOne of the hottest features to debut at the 2015 SHOT Show is the all-new SHOT Showcase Theater. Modeled after the success of the press conference format held at the New York Auto Show, this special 742-seat theater will allow media and VIP buyers a chance to experience SHOT Show’s best new products in a dynamic, multi-media environment. This new Showcase Theater will be located in the Venetian near the show entrance.

Ongoing during the first day of the show from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., exhibitors will provide 15-minute presentations of the products SHOT Show attendees need to know about, backed with spectacular video support across multiple high-definition big-screen displays, high-definition audio, and special lighting. Exhibitors will present in categories, allowing buyers and media to attend the sessions they most need.

Prior to the opening of the 2015 SHOT Show, all Showcase Theater presenters will be sent a pre-press list so that you may contact media members individually. NSSF will also be reminding the 2,500 press members and 2,500 buyers to attend this very special event through its own press channels. For the Showcase itself, all audio and visual mechanics will be met by NSSF—all you need to do is provide the content and we’ll produce the event. After the show, you’ll also be provided a full list of Showcase attendees to enhance your post-show marketing delivery.

Exhibitor presentation slots are limited for these special sessions, so be sure to secure your spot now. Contact me at ctatulli@nssf.org or 203-426-1320 ext.214.

SHOT Show Exhibitors—10 Tips For Successful Press Kits

As an exhibitor at SHOT Show, your primary focus is, without a doubt, about selling. For just a few short days, you have the highest number of current and potential clients available to learn about what you offer in a face-to-face setting—and there’s no better way to sell. But wholesalers and retailers aren’t the only folks who need what you have.

I’m talking about the media. No, they don’t need 20 or 2,000 or 20,000 cases of what you’re selling like a buyer for a range or retail store would (though they might need a sample for testing and evaluation). What they need from you at the show is information—and they need it in a press kit.

Truly, the magazine staff, bloggers, photographers, radio hosts and videographers you’ll meet at SHOT are, perhaps, your greatest selling tool after the show. These are the people the consumer trusts to tell it like it is before they invest their next paycheck in a $35 duck call or a $55 box of specialty ammunition or a $2,500 binocular. But they can’t get the word out without you.

Press kits should be at the top of your show marketing tool lists. If you haven’t composed one before, and even if you’ve provided them in the past, here are 10 tips that can make this easy on you and have every media person there grinning from ear to ear and sharing your business all year long.

  1. Digital is a must. Gone are the days when media returned home from with SHOT lugging cartons of catalogs and CDs. At the most, your press kit should sit on a collection of portable computer flash drives. Even better? Make it a website portal and put that website address on a media-only business card to hand out, eliminating annoying passwords and IDs media members have to remember.
  2. At the very least, your products should be photographed on a white background. All photos should be hi-resolution, full-color and with a minimum size of 300 dpi. That said, writers appreciate it when they have a variety of images to choose from. Variety helps your products appear fresh and exciting in the many publications and websites they may appear—and most writers sell their stories to more than one place. Take photos of your product from varying angles, with different backdrops, and include realistic action photos with humans actually using them if possible. Not sure of your photographic abilities? Hire a local photographer to spend a day with you—it’s a few hundred dollars that could reap huge benefits for you when those pics get coverage by the press.
  3. This may sound tedious, but rename your photo files with the product they are. Happyduckcall1.jpeg, 223bestboattailever2.jpeg, Riflemodellongrange2miler3.jpeg. When writers are working with editors and graphic artists to coordinate text and captions and photos, having a list of photos with file names like 987X$5nh123@#.jpeg can get very confusing, very quickly—and the last thing you want to see is your tack-driving wondergun Long-Range 2-Miler identified as a .22-caliber youth model.
  4. Put photos of both your brand new products and all other current products you’re selling in your media kit. If you’re still making it, you’re still selling it. Remember, too, that media need material all year long, and the brand new stuff gets covered early and often.
  5. Create a press release or at least a full specification sheet for each new product you’re introducing at SHOT or soon after. Help the press selling your product by selling them on it first!
  6. Put your press releases in Microsoft Word documents at least of generation Word 97-2004 Document (.doc suffix). Most writers we talked with didn’t like PDFs, and don’t even think about using something weird like Google Docs or Microsoft One Note, or some other ancient typing foundation like Word Perfect or Text Maker.
  7. Clearly identify exactly who your media contact person is and be sure to include their phone number and e-mail. One of the constant complaints we hear from press members is that all they often get for a contact is some media@whatevercompany.com general mailbox that never gets looked at, never gets responded to.
  8. Clipart of your company logo and branding images are appreciated.
  9. Most press members we talked to say they do not need your entire catalog PDF’ed in a press kit.
  10. Keep it organized. Simple things like labeling product folders on a jump drive (or in a dropdown on a media-only web page) as “New Products 2015,” “All Current 2015 Products,” “New Product Images 2015,” etc., can go a long way toward making sure your products are correctly identified in the press.

One final tip. If you run out of press kits during SHOT and a press member asks you to mail them one, do it—and we do not mean months after SHOT Show is nothing but a distant memory. Magazines and other print media highlighting new products go to press within weeks of SHOT Show ending. Web, of course, is most often in real time. After the flurry of new product write-ups are over, the press is in the field, this time using and testing all those products so that they can produce more articles on them. Take six months to mail a press kit and you might as well just say, “I’ll catch you next year.”