The digital edition of the Day 4 issue of SHOT Daily is now available online. SHOT Daily is brought to you by The Bonnier Corp. and the National Shooting Sports Foundation.
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SHOT Daily — Day 3 — 2015 SHOT Show
The digital edition of the Day 3 issue of SHOT Daily is now available online. SHOT Daily is brought to you by The Bonnier Corp. and the National Shooting Sports Foundation.
Getting Social—Social Media, That Is—#SHOTShow
The mantra “If you build it, they will come” just isn’t enough these days. The good news is that the mileage potential on your marketing effort has grown exponentially in recent years, and you can now reach hundreds, thousands, millions of customers with little effort. No one knows this better than renowned trade show industry consultant and thought leader Traci Browne, author of “The Social Trade Show,” who offered these valuable tips for 2015 SHOT Show.
I’ll be giving away free copies of Traci’s book to the first two people who share this blog post on Twitter. Be sure to include #SHOTShow! Ready. Set. Go!
How To Find Potential Customers On Social Media
Before you can decide which tools you are going to use in your social media strategy, you have to find out where your customers are and what tools they are using. Where are they going to be receptive to your messages? And by messages, we don’t just mean advertising and product pitches. Your customers are looking for support and helpful information.
Facebook – The SHOT Show has a very active Facebook page where they post, not just news about the show, but valuable industry information. This is a great place to meet members of your community and see what they are interested in. Just remember, you want to participate in the conversation…not force your marketing messages on the community.
LinkedIn – If Facebook is a casual party, LinkedIn is all about business. The SHOT Show has its own LinkedIn group, but do a group search on LinkedIn for “sport shooting” and you’ll see there are more than a few groups. Some have just a few members and others have thousands.
Start by observing what members are discussing and jump in when you can offer information people are looking for. This is a great place to bounce around new ideas for products and services off enthusiasts.
Twitter – Do you think Twitter is just a place for Justin Bieber fans? Think again. The SHOT Show (@nssfshotshow) has more than 41,000 followers and the official Twitter account of USA Shooting (@USAShooting) has more than 31,000. Start connecting to their followers and share valuable information with them, as well as the companies you do business with or with which you want to begin a relationship.
Remember, on Twitter you want to practice the 80/20 rule. Spend 80 percent of your time talking about others and 20 percent talking about yourself. In no time, word will get around and you’ll develop a good following of your own. Also be sure to stay up-to-date with show information by following the SHOT Show hashtag #SHOTshow. Twitter is great during the show, because it’s quick and easy to use when you are on the move.
What’s in it for you?
It’s important to remember that it’s not only potential customers that are part of your community. The media is spending a lot of time in these online communities as well, and they are on the lookout for a good story and/or experts to interview.
Social media gives a voice to many who would never have been heard from before. Someone in your company could be the next industry thought leader just by participating in these social media communities and putting people in touch with valuable educational information.
When the SHOT Show rolls around attendees will know you as more than just a brand, but a provider of valuable information.
Don’t forget to share this blog post for a chance to receive a copy of “The Social Trade Show” by Traci Browne. Good luck!
Traci Browne Author of “The Social Trade Show – Leveraging Social Media and Virtual Events to Connect With Your Customers”; TheSocialTradeShow.com.
Chris Dolnack is Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for the National Shooting Sports Foundation. Follow him on Twitter at @ChrisDolnack.
SHOT Show Attendance Soars to New Record
Attracting industry professionals from the United States and more than 100 other countries, the SHOT Show shattered attendance records this week, giving industry professionals good reason to believe that 2014 will be another strong year for sales of firearms, ammunition, outdoor gear and law enforcement equipment.
The 36th SHOT Show ran Jan. 14 to 17 at the Sands Expo & Convention Center. Attendance figures eclipsed last year’s total by the second day of the show and finished at more than 67,000, an increase of 5,000. “I think that really speaks to the quality of the event and the enthusiasm and passion of our industry to provide quality products for hunting, target shooting and personal and home defense,” said Chris Dolnack, senior vice president and chief marketing officer for the National Shooting Sports Foundation.
NSSF, the trade association for the firearms, ammunition, hunting and shooting sports industry, owns and manages the SHOT Show.
The $6 billion industry has enjoyed robust sales the last several years, fueled in part by newcomers to the shooting sports who, according to an NSSF First-time Gun Buyers Report, are younger, more female and more urban based. Newcomers have identified target shooting and personal and home protection as the top reasons for purchasing their first firearm.
During the show, NSSF issued a first-of-its-kind report that confirmed the importance of the shooting sports to the U.S. economy. “Target Shooting in America: Millions of Shooters, Billions of Dollars” revealed that the money target shooters spent in 2011 resulted in $23 billion being added to the nation’s economy and supported more than 185,000 jobs nationally.
Combined data from Target Shooting in America and Hunting in America, a report released last year, shows that spending by target shooters and hunters had a total impact of more than $110 billion on the nation’s economy in 2011, supporting more than 866,000 jobs.
“Communities and businesses of all sizes benefit from these activities,” said NSSF President and CEO Steve Sanetti. “Our industry is proud to be an economic driver that has helped workers keep their jobs and support their families even during the most difficult economic times.”
Displays by more than 1,600 exhibiting companies filled the convention center and also rooms in the adjoining Venetian. Total show exhibition space was 635,000 net square feet, or 13 acres of product display.
Manufacturers of firearms, ammunition, optics, cutlery, apparel, accessories and law enforcement equipment introduced new products and services that retailers will offer consumers during the course of the year.
The past year was a challenging one for industry, which battled state and federal legislative efforts to restrict ownership of certain types of firearms. In addressing 2,000 industry leaders at the State of the Industry Dinner, Sanetti declared, “The State of our industry is renewed. More persons are entering the recreational shooting sports than ever before. More hunters, more target shooters, more women, more diverse groups, more licensed gun owners and, as you all know, more firearms sales.
“Perhaps the best news of all is that, despite tremendous increases in these numbers, violent crime with firearms has decreased dramatically during the last five years, to early 1960s levels.”
Sanetti also pointed out that firearms accidents account for less than one percent of all fatal accidents in the country, according to the National Safety Council.
Safety was on display at the SHOT Show, with many companies showcasing the latest gun safes, cases and lockboxes. Also, NSSF’s national firearm safety education program, Project ChildSafe and its “Own It? Respect It. Secure It.” campaign, was highly visible at the show.
Outdoor Channel was once again the show’s Pinnacle-level sponsor.
Some of the country’s most well-known radio personalities, including Mike Gallagher and Lars Larson, broadcasted live from the show’s new “Radio Row.”
Among the many awards bestowed during the show was the NSSF Ken Sedlecky Achievement Award presented to Bob Morrison, longtime industry executive and former president and CEO of Taurus. SHOT Business magazine presented NSSF’s Sanetti with the Bonnier Outdoor Group Special Achievement Award in recognition of his industry leadership during the past year.
For the third time, NSSF hosted a charity golf event at the SHOT Show in partnership with the PGA Tour for Birdies for the Brave. The event at TPC Summerlin raised more than $100,000 for military homefront groups.
The SHOT Show is not just about selling and buying products. The show provides educational opportunities for firearms retailers at SHOT Show University and other seminars, and for law enforcement professionals at the Law Enforcement Education Program.
This was the first SHOT Show under its new management company, ConvExx.
The SHOT Show, which pumps more than $73 million into the Las Vegas economy, is committed to the Sands Expo & Convention Center through 2017. Next year’s SHOT Show is scheduled for Jan. 20-23, 2015.
SHOT Show: The Event That Keeps on Giving
The SHOT Show may only be a few days long, but its impact is year-round!
When more than 60,000 industry members converge in Las Vegas at the Sands Expo and Convention Center in January for the SHOT Show, millions of people gain the immediate benefit of the greatest show on earth for the shooting, hunting, and outdoor trade. How’s that? You see, the SHOT Show provides NSSF with the majority of its income.
The year 2013 has been a year like no other with record-breaking sales coupled with unprecedented attacks against the shooting and hunting industry. These attacks by headline seeking politicians and their willing accomplices in the media have upped the ante in Washington, D.C. and in an increasing number of states that threatens the very existence of our industry like never before.
NSSF has stood fast as the industry’s trade association in the face of this onslaught, promoting our industry’s lawful position on countless topics such as so called “assault weapons,” high capacity magazines, background checks for private sales, firearms safety in homes, and the shameful failure to put disqualifying mental health records in to the NICS system.
In addition, NSSF invests SHOT Show revenue in customer-recruitment campaigns, such as Families Afield and First Shots. The former has actively remedied legislative barriers preventing family hunting participation, and the latter has offered newcomers the opportunity to learn firearms and firearms ownership fundamentals at member ranges, while actually experiencing the fun of shooting under the careful supervision of qualified instructors. Other NSSF investments of SHOT Show revenue in hunting and the shooting sports’ future come in the form of the Collegiate Shooting Sports Initiative (CSSI). CSSI helps strengthen existing collegiate varsity and club shooting programs, and it aids in the founding of new ones.
NSSF also launched Project ChildSafe, a nationwide initiative to promote firearms responsibility and provide safety education to all gun owners. Since 1998, the program has provided more than 36 million free firearm safety kits that include a gun lock to gun owners in all 50 states and five U.S. territories.
These activities of NSSF are only a sampling of the programs that are funded, in great part, by the revenue generated at the SHOT Show, a four-day event in January that’s success is felt throughout the year by millions of hunters, shooters and firearms owners. Thanks for your continued support of the SHOT Show and NSSF in our continued fight for our industry and to promote, protect and preserve hunting and the shooting sports.
Chris Dolnack is Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for the National Shooting Sports Foundation. Follow him on Twitter at @ChrisDolnack.
SHOT Show Update – Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed
Since we last gathered at the Sands Expo in January, it’s been an exciting and challenging year for the industry as a whole, and in particular for your industry’s trade association and its signature event—the SHOT Show. Throughout the process, our focus has been to maintain continuity for our exhibitors and attendees while delivering a continuously improving SHOT Show experience.
In May, NSSF ended its 30-plus-year association with Reed Exhibitions. After a thorough national search involving the trade show industry’s top management companies, we named Las Vegas–based ConvExx as our new show management partner for the next three years. ConvExx is privately held and has produced more than 200 shows and events, including the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show. Trade Show Executive magazine ranks the SEMA Show as the fourth-largest trade show in North America (SHOT Show is ranked 16th), with 2,250 exhibitors, 135,000 attendees, and more than 1 million net square feet of exhibit space.
ConvExx offers a unique combination of extensive large-show and Las Vegas experience, which will serve our exhibitors and attendees well. Rest assured that ConvExx is a pro–Second Amendment organization. We wouldn’t have selected them otherwise.
We have also struck a new five-year agreement with our long-time partners at Freeman as the official exposition services contractor for the SHOT Show. This new agreement with Freeman provides our exhibitors with the best-in-class services and cost certainty.
Freeman is the leading global partner for integrated marketing solutions for live engagements. It produces more than 4,300 expositions annually, including 135 of the 250 largest U.S. trade shows, and 11,000 other events worldwide. What’s more, the Freeman family is made up of avid hunters and shooters.
Also in May, NSSF selected CSG Creative as its agency of record for marketing the 2014 SHOT Show. CSG was selected at the conclusion of a national account review that included a number of well-known trade-show marketing agencies. Their experience in the trade-show and face-toface event business is unparalleled, and we have enjoyed working with them to make the 2014 SHOT Show the best event yet.
Based in Alexandria, Virginia, CSG Creative is a strategic marketing and creative agency with unparalleled insight into event promotion, branding, and strategy development. Its award-winning creative staff, stellar service, and innovative approaches have made CSG one of the premier agencies in trade-show, conference, and event promotion. We’re confident that our new SHOT Show website and new attendee promotion campaign, combined with our participation in the U.S. Department of Commerce International Buyer Program, will deliver new qualified buyers for our exhibitors.
We’ve also reached new agreements with our official housing partner onPeak, our registration services provider CompuSystems, and our mobile app developer Sherpa. All have done a great job for us, and we look forward to working with them to make the SHOT Show the industry’s “must-attend” event.
Here’s what’s in store for you. You’ll receive the same outstanding customer service you’ve come to expect from NSSF and the SHOT Show, and enjoy the comfortable familiarity of our registration and housing systems. There will be additional newly designed, high-impact signage to help you find your way around, including arrows pointing to the main hall exits on Level 1 and Level 2.
Retailers will have more opportunities to learn new skills and take innovative ideas back to their stores from SHOT Show University and our expanded retailer education seminars. In addition, select retail buyers will be invited to participate in a hands-on shooting range experience on opening morning.
The Law Enforcement Education Program will begin the day before the show opening, providing LE professionals with the opportunity to earn continuing education unit credits while learning from nationally recognized experts.
Outdoor Channel has returned as the Pinnacle Sponsor of the 2014 SHOT Show and will be providing attendees with amenities such as mobile-device-charging stations and Internet hotspots. State of the Industry Dinner attendees will be treated to a performance by renowned illusionists and Second Amendment supporters Penn and Teller, courtesy of Outdoor Channel.
The 2014 SHOT Show is just too good to miss. I hope to see you in Las Vegas.
Chris Dolnack is senior vice president and chief marketing officer for the National Shooting Sports Foundation. Follow him on Twitter at @ChrisDolnack.
SHOT Show Veterans Join NSSF Staff
If you haven’t heard, two accomplished SHOT Show professionals have recently joined NSSF.
Dave Jeannette has assumed the new position of Senior Director, Sales, responsible for developing sales and sponsorship opportunities, forging strong relationships with members and industry customers to achieve event revenue goals. Dave will report directly to me.
Chris Tatulli is now Director, Exhibit & Sponsorship Sales, reporting to Dave Jeannette. He is responsible for sponsorship sales and fulfillment for exhibitions and events including SHOT Show, Industry Summit, Legislative Fly-In, Import and Export Manufacturer’s Conference, retailer seminars and shooting range workshops.
Dave and Chris previously fulfilled similar roles with Reed Exhibitions.
“Both Dave and Chris have contributed to the success of the SHOT SHOW,” said Deb Kenney, NSSF vice president, human resources and administration, “and we are thrilled they will continue their success in expanded roles working as NSSF employees alongside the rest of our great team.”
I couldn’t agree more.
Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade Show Sets Attendance Records
The Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade Show (SHOT Show®) concluded four successful days at the Sands Expo and Convention Center, setting new attendance records and marking the 35th anniversary of the event.
The largest trade show of its kind in the world and the fifth largest trade show in Las Vegas, the SHOT Show attracted a record overall attendance of 62,371, including a new high for buyers and more than 2,000 media representatives. More than 1,600 exhibitors filled booth space covering 630,000 net square feet. The show, which is a trade-only event, attracted industry professionals from all 50 states and 100 countries.
Exhibitors and attendees alike said the SHOT Show is critical to the success of their businesses.
“The SHOT Show is the springboard for every new product that we introduce each year,” said Frank Devlin of Otis Technology. “It gives industry the opportunity to see our new products and allows us to get feedback from them to know that we are heading in the right direction.”
John Anthon, president of GATCO Sharpeners/Timberline Knives, said, “For the 24 years we’ve been going, the SHOT Show is the most important show we do each year. It is the largest venue globally and the most important. Every important customer comes to the show for that reason.”
Industry veteran Ron Coburn of Savage Arms said, “It’s the industry’s trade show. Everybody who’s in the trade needs to be here to see what’s going on. It’s the place to see friends and showcase our own products.”
Dwight Van Brunt of Kimber said, “It’s a powerhouse show—the place where you can talk to writers, dealers and industry VIPs.”
“We get to talk to our biggest customers and show them what we have,” said Ernie Callandrelli of Quaker Boy Inc. “We’ve been here all 35 years of the show, so two important benefits are seeing old friends and building key relationships.”
The SHOT Show is owned and sponsored by the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the trade association for the firearms and ammunition industry. Revenues from the show support NSSF’s many programs that carry out its mission of promoting, protecting and preserving hunting and the shooting sports, along with promoting responsible firearms ownership and safe storage practices.
Showgoers recognize that the SHOT Show’s importance to industry extends beyond selling and buying on the show floor. “What this show generates for our cause is absolutely critical,” said Tom Taylor of Mossberg. Added Steve Lamboy of Micheli-Lamboy Marketing, “We need to communicate more to our members that the funds from this show are going to build the entire future of our industry.”
The $4.1 billion firearms and ammunition industry supports many small businesses and helps preserve the more than 200,000 jobs associated with the shooting sports.
NSSF added significantly to its membership ranks at the show, pushing its overall total of supporters to more than 8,300.
With the show taking place amid heightened national attention about firearms ownership and potential legislation, NSSF President and CEO Steve Sanetti addressed more than 1,800 industry leaders at the State of the Industry Dinner. “I don’t think many of those who disagree with what we do appreciate the many things we’ve done to advocate personal responsibility with firearms,” Sanetti said.
“Ours is a responsible industry,” said Sanetti, “that makes and sells lawful products to law-abiding citizens. They in turn exercise their constitutional right to own, use and enjoy firearms safely and responsibly for all lawful purposes.”
NSSF supporters filled the sold-out hall for the State of the Industry event, which was sponsored by Outdoor Channel and included a review of NSSF’s accomplishment from the past year and entertainment from popular ventriloquist and impersonator Terry Fator.
Many awards are presented at the show. NSSF presented FMG Publications with its Ken Sedlecky Achievement Award for its longstanding support of NSSF’s First Shots program through funds raised at its Shooting Industry Master events.
Retired NSSF President Doug Painter was honored with the Professional Outdoor Media Association-NSSF Grits Gresham Shooting Sports Communicator Award for extraordinary achievements in communications in support of hunting’s heritage and firearms freedoms.
Approximately half of the media on hand to cover the show attended SHOT Show Media Day at the Range, where they had the opportunity to review and test products offered by 100 exhibitors.
In conjunction with the SHOT Show, NSSF sponsored the PGA Charities’ Birdies for the Brave golf tournament that raised $100,000 for groups that provide support for injured armed service veterans.
The SHOT Show will return to the Sands Expo & Convention Center January 14-17, 2014.
“Hats off and thank you to the NSSF for putting on a great SHOT Show,” summed up Dave Baron of Baron Technologies.
SHOT Show: The Event That Keeps on Giving
The show is a few days long; its impact is year-round
When more than 60,000 industry members converge on Las Vegas and, more specifically, the Sands Expo and Convention Center, in January for the SHOT Show, they will gain the immediate benefits of the grandest show for the shooting, hunting, and outdoor trade.
Many other benefits, however, result from SHOT Show revenue. Much of the funding that propels the National Shooting Sports Foundation, owner and sponsor of SHOT, to fulfill its mission comes from the SHOT Show. “Promote, protect, and preserve hunting and the shooting sports” is the mission of the trade association for the firearms, ammunition, hunting, and shooting sports industry, and NSSF invests in hunting and the shooting sports to do just that.
Participation in the SHOT Show generates as much as 80 percent of the funding for NSSF programs. One such effort is a proactive government relations program to guard your rights and business interests. Today, for example, NSSF continues its multifaceted campaigns against legislation that would enact microstamping, ballistics imaging, and limitations and outright bans on traditional ammunition. One visible result of its efforts this year was New York’s deactivation of its costly ballistics imaging program, which never contributed to the solving of even one crime.
In addition, NSSF invests SHOT Show revenue in customer-recruitment campaigns, such as Families Afield and First Shots. The former has actively remedied legislative barriers preventing family hunting participation, and the latter has offered newcomers the opportunity to learn firearms and firearms ownership fundamentals at member ranges, while actually experiencing the fun of shooting under the careful supervision of qualified instructors.
Other NSSF investments of SHOT Show revenue in hunting and the shooting sports’ future come in the form of the Hunting Heritage Partnership (HHP) Grant program, the Range Partnership Grant program, the Collegiate Shooting Sports Initiative (CSSI), and the Boy Scouts of America Challenge Grant program. HHP awards grants to state and regional wildlife management agencies to create hunter access and opportunity. The Range Partnership Grant program funds new marketing approaches to put more shooters on the firing line at shooting facilities. CSSI helps strengthen existing collegiate varsity and club shooting programs, and it aids in the founding of new ones. The Boy Scouts of America Challenge Grant program funds and equips BSA Councils with shooting equipment while directing their spending to NSSF member retailers.
In the long run, the entire hunting and sport shooting industry benefits from the revenue produced at the SHOT Show, and the greatest beneficiaries are the members of NSSF.
NSSF’s government relations actions led to the passage of legislation that preempted the frivolous lawsuits that nearly crippled the industry. The law allows the manufacturing industry to concentrate its resources on constructive research and development, rather than on unwarranted legal defense. NSSF’s successful efforts on behalf of firearms and ammunition manufacturers to gain uniformity with other industries in the schedule of Pittman- Robertson excise payments alleviated much paperwork and debt, freeing manpower and money for further R&D.
First Shots has demonstrated that participants come back to the introductory range to shoot and to make purchases. The Boy Scouts grants can be used only at NSSF member retailers’ businesses.
NSSF research gathers information, including customized market surveys, that help businesses better understand industrywide trends as well as local demographics. At SHOT Show, formal educational opportunities present themselves through SHOT Show University and Retailer Seminars. Throughout the year, in different parts of the country, Retailer Education Seminars give FFLs a better understanding of ATF compliance requirements. Planned meetings, like the Indoor Range and Retail Development Workshop held in St. Louis this past year, give start-up businesses a practical education.
These many activities of NSSF are only a sampling of the programs that are funded, in great part, by the revenue generated at the SHOT Show, a four-day event in January that’s success is felt throughout the year.
ArmaLite Returns as Title Sponsor of SHOT Mobile App
ArmaLite Inc., the internationally known manufacturer of AR-10, M-15, AR-30 and AR-50 rifles, has again signed on as the title sponsor of SHOT Mobile for the 2013 SHOT Show®.
SHOT Show attendees will find the SHOT Mobile app an invaluable tool for searching exhibitors, navigating the show floor via interactive maps, finding new products, learning about show specials, viewing the show’s education schedule such as for SHOT Show® UniversitySM, setting up appointments with exhibitors, requesting callbacks and finding show services.
We’re excited to have ArmaLite return as our partner for SHOT Mobile. It’s fitting that a company that prides itself in product technology innovation is sponsoring the navigation technology that will enhance the SHOT Show experience for our buyers and attendees. With its renewed sponsorship, ArmaLite joins pinnacle sponsor Outdoor Channel as major industry supporters of the SHOT Show.
“The 2012 SHOT Mobile app was successful beyond all our expectations. The traffic it drove to ArmaLite’s booth, and the resulting sales, proved the app’s efficacy. From what we’ve already seen, the 2013 SHOT Mobile app will be even better,” said ArmaLite president Mark Westrom.
Learn more about the mobile app by going to the SHOT Mobile website and while you are there, sign up to be notified when the 2013 SHOT Mobile app is ready to download to your smartphone.