What Will Be Covered at the Marketing and Leadership Summit

Get valuable marketing insights and trends, learn from inspirational speakers and innovators, and find more networking opportunities than ever before at this industry super-conference.

Tuesday, May 7

Travel Day

2:00 – 5:00pm: Registration – Conference Center Lobby

Wednesday, May 8

7:30am – 4:30pm: Registration – Conference Center Lobby

7:30am – 8:30am: Breakfast – Golf Club Dining Room

8:30 – 9:00am: Welcome & Introductions | Joe Bartozzi, NSSF President & CEO – Ballroom

Join us as we kick off the NSSF Marketing and Leadership Summit with some introductory remarks from NSSF’s President and CEO and also get to know your industry peers in attendance.

9:00 – 10:00am: What the Best Do Better Than Everyone Else | Jon Gordon – Ballroom

10:00 – 11:00am: Election Review | Larry Keane, NSSF SVP for Gov’t & Public Affairs – Ballroom

11:00 – 11:30am: Networking Break – Conference Center Lobby

11:30am – 12:30pm: Thrive Through Artificial Intelligence Impact, Disruption & Change, and Today’s Sea of Sameness | Mike Evans, Award-winning Author/Speaker – Ballroom

Seven powerful forces have joined together and are gunning for your job, to displace your department and to reinvent and disrupt your industry. Complacency and clinging to the status-quo are the death knell to individuals, teams and organizations. Among these forces:

• Artificial Intelligence Impact – Upon Individuals, Teams and Organizations
• White-Collar Robots
• Revolutionary and World-Changing Software
• Expansion of Internet Capabilities
• Today’s ‘Commoditized Economy’ (Sea of Sameness)

12:30 – 1:30pm: Networking Lunch – Ballroom Patio

1:30 – 2:15pm: Managing E-Commerce Marketplaces | Corey Thomas, AMZ Atlas – Ballroom

How Amazon, and e-commerce marketplaces more broadly, are causing lasting damage to the shooting sports industry, and what can be done about it. We’ll look at the innovative strategies that Amazon pioneered and leveraged to create the modern marketplace along with how these techniques fueled the platform’s growth and how these same innovations created massive disruption within the Shooting Sports industry impacting brands, distributors, dealers, buy groups, and retailers.

2:15 – 2:45pm: Customer Segmentation & Personas Research | Rob Southwick, Southwick Associates – Ballroom

In recent years, Southwick Associates has shared the personas of U.S. firearm consumers. Join this session to learn about the latest consumer segmentation research that presents the personas of people who hunt and target shoot. By understanding their motivations to participate, your business will be in a better position to serve hunters and target shooters and boost your sales.

2:45 – 3:15pm: Networking Break – Conference Center Lobby

3:15 – 4:00pm: How to Successfully Connect with Non-traditional Customers Without Getting Cancelled | Chris Cheng – Ballroom

This talk will equip listeners with strategies and tactics to connect with “non-traditional” customers such as women, Blacks, Latinos, Asians, LGBT and religious minorities. Leveraging NSSF trend data on first time gun owners along with personal and professional anecdotes and case studies, Top Shot Chris Cheng will highlight success stories as well as failures and pitfalls to avoid.

4:00 – 5:00pm: Big Little Breakthroughs | Josh Linkner, a New York Times bestselling author, serial entrepreneur, and venture capital investor – Ballroom

Instead of high-risk moonshots, the most innovative leaders cultivate a high volume of ‘micro-innovations’ and build a culture of everyday innovation. Gain the tools to become an everyday innovator.

5:15 – 6:45pm: Networking Reception – Surf Club Patio

Kick back, enjoy some refreshments, and build relationships with your fellow NSSF Marketing and Leadership Summit colleagues, sponsors, and speakers.

Thursday, May 9

7:30am – 4:30pm: Registration – Conference Center Lobby

8:00 – 8:45am: Breakfast – Golf Club Dining Room

9:00 – 10:00am: Panel Discussion: The State of the Industry—From a Marketing Perspective – Ballroom
Eric Barnes, Marketing Partner, COO of Idea Ranch; Patrick Finnegan, Executive VP and Group Account Director of Swanson Russel; Tim Brandt, President of Murray Road Agency; Moderated by Daphane Cassidy, Digital Media Specialist, NSSF

10:00 – 10:15am: Networking Break – Conference Center Lobby

10:15 – 11:15am: Marketing Roundtable Sessions: Focused conversations on marketing trends to watch and challenges within the industry. – Stockton

Topics to include: Leveraging Podcasts; Brand Ambassadors & User Generated Content; AI/Marketing Automations; Online Advertising; Social Media Marketing & Advertising; Trending Content Formats

11:15am – 12:30pm: Optional Networking Activity – West Lawn

12:30 – 1:30pm: Lunch – Stockton

1:30 – 2:00pm: Latest Industry & Hunt/Shoot Consumer Trends | Nancy Bacon and Ben Scuderi, Southwick Associates – Ballroom

The shooting sports industry is constantly changing. Attend this session to learn about the latest firearms, ammunition and accessory sales trends and insights and the factors driving change. Plus, we will share the latest information resources available to help your business stay informed.

2:00 – 3:00pm: FTC and State AG Legal Update | Brian Boyle, Partner at DLA Piper LLP and Counsel to the NSSF – Ballroom

The Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general have taken aggressive positions on social media and other advertising, with important implications for the industry. This presentation will explore recent developments and trends and share best practices.

3:00 – 3:15pm: Networking Break – Conference Center Lobby

3:15 – 4:15pm: Create Distinction: What to Do When “Great” Isn’t Good Enough to Grow Your Business | Scott McKain – Ballroom

How can you stand out from your rivals? What does it take to become their preferred choice in a volatile marketplace? In this keynote, Scott teaches how to create distinction. He will show you how to deliver ultimate customer experiences^® to earn customers for life.

The most important question we must confront is: “WHY would we get chosen instead of our competition?”

5:00 – 6:00pm: Closing Networking Reception – West Lawn

Enjoy some refreshments and network with your fellow NSSF Marketing & Leadership Summit colleagues, sponsors and speakers.

Friday, May 10

Travel Day