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July 1, 2019

National Shooting Sports Month Moves the Needle for Mossberg


By Scott E. Mayer

Mossberg teamed up with NSSF® for National Shooting Sports Month® last August in an effort for what Mossberg’s Senior Director of Marketing, Rich Kirk, says directly tied back to a number of things the venerable North Haven gunmaker was doing. He also says Mossberg would have partnered with NSSF on National Shooting Sports Month regardless because they believe in NSSF’s mission, but the collaboration also moved Mossberg’s engagement needle.

“We saw about a 6 percent increase in unique visitors [to our website] for a couple of those weeks during National Shooting Sports Month,” says Kirk, “and we were able to directly tie that back to some of the things we were doing on the social side, as well as the traffic being generated from what NSSF was doing.”

Mossberg - National Shooting Sports Month
According to Mossberg’s Rich Kirk, National Shooting Sports Month is a great opportunity to bring someone new to the range as part of the +ONE movement.

Though an experienced marketer in his own right, Kirk credits NSSF’s Zach Snow, Director of Retail & Range Business Development, with the specific tactics that Mossberg utilized. “I’ve known Zach for a few years. He called up and asked if we’d be interested in helping out, and by the end of the conversation, I said, ‘Yes, whatever you need. We’re in.’

“We all know the days where every kid, whether it’s through Boy Scouts, camp or parents bringing them out in the field to teach them about guns and the lifestyle of the shooting sports, are long gone,” says Kirk of the change in America and why partnering on National Shooting Sports Month and the +ONESM Movement are so important. “We agree with what NSSF is doing to bring the most people we possibly can into the fold and show them that shooting is actually fun and entertaining.”

In addition to donating firearms and the social effort to promote National Shooting Sports Month as Mossberg did last year, Kirk says the company is also participating in NSSF’s Gearbox Giveaways this year to make them “a little richer.” Though Kirk wouldn’t give away exactly what would be included in the Gearbox, he said it will start with a rifle, a shotgun and a handgun. “This is really a vehicle for us to help get the message out,” says Kirk, who noted that it’s exciting to Mossberg’s fans and followers to see such a promotion with a massive giveaway tied back to the NSSF’s messaging about National Shooting Sports Month.

Mossberg - National Shooting Sports Month
Mossberg partners with NSSF for National Shooting Sports Month and the +ONE Movement because the programs have the overall future of the shooting sports in mind.

Kirk says NSSF’s +ONE Movement mentoring initiative will be an important part of what Mossberg does this August. “It goes hand in hand with the month, so for sure we will be promoting it.” In fact, Kirk says he doesn’t know why people wouldn’t get involved, calling it a “good cause” and how, by working through NSSF, Mossberg can make the biggest impact.

“We get calls every day from people asking for sponsorships. That’s great and we get all that, but this program has the future of our industry and our livelihood in mind,” he says. To him, the more people we can get out in the field and get involved with the shooting sports, the better we are going to be down the road. According to Kirk, when it comes to National Shooting Sports Month and the +ONE Movement “it’s a no-brainer.”

Take the +ONE Pledge here and here.

You may also be interested in:

https://www.nssf.org/10-ways-to-celebrate-national-shooting-sports-month/

https://www.nssf.org/nssf-launches-onesm-mentorship-initiative/

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