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The SHOT Show ® is Owned and Sponsored by The National Shooting Sports Foundation
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| September
29,
2009 |
Vol.
5 Ed. 8 |
This
Edition: Exhibitor Manual | Payment
Addresses | SHOT Blog | Media
Registration | Program for Exhibitors | Publicity
Tips | Fast-Draw at Arvo Ojala Holsters | Important
Reminders
Exhibitor Manual is Now Online
This valued reference will guide your SHOT Show ® plans
The 2010 SHOT Show ® Exhibitor
Manual is available online now, and you'll discover that it can make preparation for the show simple and easy for you. Whether you are an experienced or first-time exhibitor at the SHOT SHOW, it's your all-important guide to what, when and how to order the things you'll want and need for your booth. It will quickly walk you through the procedures for getting your exhibit to the Sands Expo and Convention Center, running smoothly, then on its way home again.
Click
here for the Exhibitor Manual.
If
you have any setup questions for which you don't find answers, just call the
Exhibitor Manual Hotline at 203-840-5600 or 888-334-8720.
Exhibitors:
Note Addresses for Payments
Please forward this information to your accounting/accounts payable department
Exhibitor payments to the SHOT Show ® should be directed to the following address:
National
Shooting Sports Foundation
PO Box 7247-7586
Philadelphia PA 19170-7586
Payments
sent overnight should go to:
National
Shooting Sports Foundation
Lockbox #7856
c/o Citibank Lockbox Operations
1615 Brett Rd.
New Castle, DE 19720-2425
Please
be sure that the parties and departments responsible for making such payments
are aware of this new address.
SHOT Show ® Blog Launched
New communications vehicle to keep people up on to date on SHOT Show ® developments
 A
new SHOT Show ® Blog has been
launched to provide consistent updates about the upcoming SHOT Show ® at the
Sands Expo and Convention Center in Las Vegas. The blog will offer news that
caters to everyone planning to attend the show, including buyers, retailers,
exhibitors and media.
The blog can be accessed at www.shotshow.org and
is also available via RSS feed.
Blog posts will also be available through the SHOT Show's Facebook and Twitter pages.
Media Registration to Open Soon
Posting of registration process online is imminent
The
SHOT Show ® is where you will annually find the largest gathering of outdoor
press in the world, but to receive press credentials for the show, an applicant
must meet a high criterion of professional qualifications.
Members
of the media who wish to attend the SHOT Show ® will soon be able to apply online
at the official SHOT Show ® Web site, www.shotshow.org. Keep checking the Web
site for the new application's availability.
Media
who have attended the SHOT Show ® at least once in the last three years and who
have not changed affiliations since the last show they covered will receive
an e-mail invitation that will fast-track their show registration for 2010.
Free Show Specials Marketing Program for Exhibitors
New option to promote your show specials and deals to qualified attendees
Post-SHOT
Show research indicates that Show Specials and Deals are among the top reasons
attendees give for going to the SHOT Show. With that in
mind, SHOT Show ® management is launching a new marketing program that allows
exhibitors to highlight their show specials and deals to qualified attendees.
Exhibitors
can use the program to send personalized e-mail invitations or postcards to
both customers and prospects.
Full
details of the program will be posted online in the exhibitor section of www.shotshow.org and
in the Exhibitor Manual, on the SHOT Show ® Web
site.
Make the Most of SHOT Show ® Publicity Opportunities
Exhibitors have a great chance for media exposure ... if they do things right
 By
Mike Walker, President
The Walker Agency
As
you plan for the SHOT Show, why not make use of the publicity opportunities
it affords to boost your booth traffic and reach prospective customers. More
than a thousand of the top shooting sports and outdoor writers from all over
the globe will be looking to discover what's new for their readers, viewers
and listeners.
PR-savvy
companies make certain their information reaches the editors and writers weeks,
and sometimes months ahead, establishing relationships that can pay off big,
long before the show. What companies are these? Just read the trade publications;
you'll find them.
Don't know where to begin? First, identify the trade media that cover
the shooting sports. Call now or send a letter or e-mail with information
about your company and your new products. Busy editors prefer e-mails. Be sure
to include your contact information. Because most trade publications have lead
times of several months, make contact as early as possible.
If writing a press release seems daunting, just remember the basis of news:
Who, What, Why, When and Where. Explain the newest thing your company will
have on display. Perhaps it's an interactive exhibit. Or the unveiling
of a new product. Or the attendance of the person who came up with the idea
for a new product or service your company now offers.
If
writing isn't something you enjoy, then just use your letterhead and create
a Media Alert listing the five "W's" as bullet points,
and you've made it easy for the writers. Proofread for accuracy. Print
enough copies for the pressroom. Visit the show pressroom daily to make sure
your materials are in good supply. Leave a supply of your catalogs if you have
no formal media kit. If you want a kit, but don't know what goes in one,
contact any of the PR agencies that are members of the NSSF. They are committed
to the industry and know how to produce a kit and work under deadlines. Make
sure your Webmaster puts your news releases and booth number on your Web site
as well.
NSSF reserves a room for press conferences, and it's always close to
the pressroom. Try to schedule a new product introduction, update, or other
announcement early in the show (see How to Hold a Press Conference).
While this effort is good to get you through the show, you will benefit most
from a planned series of publicity releases. A public relations program can't
be turned on and off like a faucet. Out of sight really is out of mind when
it comes to PR. Vince Lombardy once said that winning is not a sometime thing;
it is an all the time thing. So it is in product publicity.
Unless you have developed a publicity plan, hire the services of an outdoor-oriented
PR agency that not only understands how to generate publicity, but also knows
the industry's writers and editors and what the media are covering and
when.
Think
of the SHOT Show ® as first day of the season and the "hunters," the
writers, are on the hunt looking for quarry. But unlike wild game, don't
hide if you want to reap the benefits of publicity.
Mike Walker is president of the Walker Agency, which has been dedicated
to outdoor recreation accounts for 27 years serving clients such as Toyota,
Bushnell, Yamaha, Columbia, ZipVac, Skeeter and others. Visit www.walkeragency.com for
more information. He is lifelong hunter, a member of POMA, vice president of
the Outdoor Writers Assn. of America and past president of SEOPA. His agency
is a member of the National Shooting Sports Foundation.
Fast-Draw at Arvo Ojala Holsters
Inga Ojala will present demonstrations throughout the run of the show
There'll
be some fast action going on at Booth 2010 at the SHOT Show ® in Las Vegas this
January. In fact, Inga Ojala will be slapping both
flesh and leather throughout the SHOT Show ® at the Arvo Ojala Holster Co.'s
booth. Each day of the show the accomplished fast-draw artist will be
meeting and greeting attendees and the press before putting on a fast-draw
demonstration.
Monty
Gardner, representing Arvo Ojala Holster Co., went to the SHOT Show ® Web site
and filled out the celebrity/event/demo
form. We invite you
to do the same if you are staging any special event or demonstration, or plan
to have a celebrity in your booth or at another show-related venue. Once
you've filed the completed form, SHOT Show ® management will consider publicizing
the information in their available communications vehicles.
Important Reminders
Links to Attendee, Exhibitor Registration, Travel Desk
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To contact the SHOT Show ® Travel Desk, for flight,
hotel, car rental and a variety of other travel-service arrangements, click
here.
Free Webinars for Exhibitors
In
a big show like SHOT Show, you cannot just rent space, show up and hope things
work out. To get results you must address critical strategic issues in the
months and weeks leading up to the show. In these "must-view" webcasts
SHOT Show ® staff and tradeshow expert Jefferson Davis of Competitive Edge
will share important information about SHOT Show ® and walk you through pre-show
planning and marketing skills critical to your exhibiting success. Click
here for details.
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For attendees to register online, 
