Advertising / Marketing Principals

I’ve had numerous inquiries lately about my advertising background, consulting services, and marketing principles. First of all, I do consult businesses on an hourly rate as well as formulate marketing plans and construct media buys on a percentage basis. I do accept additional work from time to time, but keep the number of clients I work with very limited.

A lot of advertising agencies talk about the amount of research they do for a client, and research can be very important especially if you aren’t an outdoorsman or are new to the sport. I’ve been very surprised by the number of large and small outdoor-related companies that hire either a full time marketing manager or an advertising agency that has little to no hunting and fishing experience; no wonder they need to do research. Often times their marketing plans are quantified by the numbers only. I agree that the number of households, demographics, etc are very important but they are not the only thing to consider when it comes to outdoor advertising. Outdoor marketing is a different beast, and knowing outdoorsmen's perceptions, thought processes, past product successes/failures, the different types of hunters and game by region, are just a few things that also need to be considered and can lead to better market share and penetration. One of the main reasons I was successful in the fishing industry is because I had it in my veins, I lived and breathed fishing, boat designs, trailer designs, national advertising campaigns, etc; and that’s actually what I’ve been doing in the hunting industry. I base marketing plans off what other industry professionals tell me, what the networks are saying, what I hear from hunters at dozens of hunting camps/shows across the country, what the numbers say, and what my years of sales experience has taught me.

I started selling early in life; at first, door to door for school projects, then at age 14 I started selling newspaper subscriptions after school, and eventually moved on to selling athletic shoes at the mall after wrestling practice. By the age of 18, I became the youngest salesman in the Tulsa area for new and used cars. My point is that I have a lot of different sales experience and I've always been a top producer. I’ve done well because I’ve always studied my customers, studied my products, educated the consumer, and I always make sure the deal is win/win for both parties. By doing a good job for your clients through sales/marketing, takes hard work, determination, and drive. I've always been an extremely hard worker but I’ve learned through the years, that being the hardest worker doesn’t always make you the most profit. You need to have a good plan that is flexible to change and revision, as well as evolve and become stronger as it reacts to the market. I’ve always believed in keeping marketing plans fairly simple so that they might actually be fully implemented, if a marketing plan seems complicated then it probably hasn’t been thought out thoroughly enough.

I tell companies in order to be successful with any business you need four things:

The right PEOPLE
The right PRICE points
The right PRODUCTS
And the right amount of PRODUCTIVITY

One of the things you’ll notice in the outdoor industry is that most of the companies copy one another. They copy products as well as concepts. The outdoor industry as a whole needs more original ideas and companies need to look outside the box more often. Businesses are unique so their marketing plans should be as well. If you’re advertising is too conventional, then how can you expect to outperform the competition?

All in all, it’s about a return on your marketing dollar; you spend money to make money, you want and need to stay competitive. I believe in not only staying competitive but thriving as well, taking market share from the competition, creating new avenues, and seeking new markets.
Thank you for your time. If you would like to consult with Jason about your outdoor product or idea, give him a call at 501.525.9240 or send him an email at Jason@Pwrhousetv.com.