8 POINTS OR BETTER
Well-Known Member
Here is a link for a live blog to the QDMA North American Whitetail Summit:
http://www.outdoorlife.com/blogs/big-bu ... ail-summit
http://www.outdoorlife.com/blogs/big-bu ... ail-summit
QDMA North American Whitetail Summit Live Blog
- Thread starter 8 POINTS OR BETTER
- Start date
The second part of below post from the blog seems to hit the nail on the head. May very well be true that we are our worst enemies...
Thursday, 10:45 AM: Unrealistic Expectations: A Product of Hunters or Marketing?
I love it when the truth is spoken.
And Jay McAninch, the CEO/President of the Archery Trade Association, just spoke it.
As part of the morning's session on this final day of the North American Whitetail Summit, each stakeholder group is sharing its summary of top issues identified over the course of the event.
McAninch identified that hunter recruitment and retention was the most important issue facing deer hunting in the eyes of industry.
�When in an industry that requires a customer base to stay in business, we're closer to the line of how hunter recruitment and retention affects us.�
In other words, without new hunters coming into the store, the industry folks will sell less product.
While that may not deliver the warm, fuzzy feeling one might expect when discussing hunter recruitment and retention issues, it is the stone-cold truth.
The second-most-important issue according to industry representatives was political influence � but perhaps not in the manner you'd expect.
�We have a whole lot of businesses that are terrified of what may or may not happen in regards to health care,� he said. �We have a tremendous number of small businesses in the hunting industry. And when they see the differences between 50 employees, 100 employees, the differences in the costs � it's very, very scary to them. They have a lot of long-time employees that they value highly. This is a major concern.�
McAninch also touched on the subject of the commercialization of whitetails. And this is where the truth was delivered very clearly, for better or worse.
�We are very good at delivering a message and promoting a product,� he said. �The issue of creating unrealistic expectations (regarding the size of bucks hunters can realistically pursue) is harder to handle.
�You don't see a lot of toothpaste companies saying their toothpase will make your teeth 'good.' They show this incredible white smile. When Rapala markets a lure, I'm pretty sure they're not selling a great day on the lake. It's the same with hunting. When guys are sitting in the woods, they are likely thinking 'Maybe, just maybe.'�
McAninch is absolutely correct. And being 100 percent truthful.
As hunters, we have told companies to market to us in ways that are increasingly sensational and unrealistic.
Think about the products you buy, the advertising that catches your eye and spurs a purchase.
Are you likely to buy a deer call based on ads or packaging that illustrates the call's effectiveness on pulling in 80-inch, 2-year-old bucks?
Would you buy a broadhead that claims to be �Hell on yearlings?�
Nope.
We want big bucks. Giant bucks. The kind of bucks, quite frankly, that simply don't exist in much of whitetail country.
Companies must sell products to survive. And they are giving us exactly what we want.
So who is really at fault for creating this era of unrealistic expectations?
Us or them?
--Tony Hansen
Thursday, 10:45 AM: Unrealistic Expectations: A Product of Hunters or Marketing?
I love it when the truth is spoken.
And Jay McAninch, the CEO/President of the Archery Trade Association, just spoke it.
As part of the morning's session on this final day of the North American Whitetail Summit, each stakeholder group is sharing its summary of top issues identified over the course of the event.
McAninch identified that hunter recruitment and retention was the most important issue facing deer hunting in the eyes of industry.
�When in an industry that requires a customer base to stay in business, we're closer to the line of how hunter recruitment and retention affects us.�
In other words, without new hunters coming into the store, the industry folks will sell less product.
While that may not deliver the warm, fuzzy feeling one might expect when discussing hunter recruitment and retention issues, it is the stone-cold truth.
The second-most-important issue according to industry representatives was political influence � but perhaps not in the manner you'd expect.
�We have a whole lot of businesses that are terrified of what may or may not happen in regards to health care,� he said. �We have a tremendous number of small businesses in the hunting industry. And when they see the differences between 50 employees, 100 employees, the differences in the costs � it's very, very scary to them. They have a lot of long-time employees that they value highly. This is a major concern.�
McAninch also touched on the subject of the commercialization of whitetails. And this is where the truth was delivered very clearly, for better or worse.
�We are very good at delivering a message and promoting a product,� he said. �The issue of creating unrealistic expectations (regarding the size of bucks hunters can realistically pursue) is harder to handle.
�You don't see a lot of toothpaste companies saying their toothpase will make your teeth 'good.' They show this incredible white smile. When Rapala markets a lure, I'm pretty sure they're not selling a great day on the lake. It's the same with hunting. When guys are sitting in the woods, they are likely thinking 'Maybe, just maybe.'�
McAninch is absolutely correct. And being 100 percent truthful.
As hunters, we have told companies to market to us in ways that are increasingly sensational and unrealistic.
Think about the products you buy, the advertising that catches your eye and spurs a purchase.
Are you likely to buy a deer call based on ads or packaging that illustrates the call's effectiveness on pulling in 80-inch, 2-year-old bucks?
Would you buy a broadhead that claims to be �Hell on yearlings?�
Nope.
We want big bucks. Giant bucks. The kind of bucks, quite frankly, that simply don't exist in much of whitetail country.
Companies must sell products to survive. And they are giving us exactly what we want.
So who is really at fault for creating this era of unrealistic expectations?
Us or them?
--Tony Hansen
BSK
Well-Known Member
Best talk of the published comments.
