Pre- S.H.O.T. Show Introductions.

[Jim Watson]

We have the Savage, we have the DWX (at last) here at the end of the year.
The Equaizer before that, and the Prodigy not long ago.

No doubt there are similar new rifles, shotguns, and equipment.

So why the rush? The SHOT Show used to be the venue for new products, but it seems to have lost its luster.

 

[CNobbe]

And the SCAR pistol......Was thinking the same thing the other day, a lot of product launches before SHOT.

 

[TTv2]

In a world of social media and internet leaks there's little reason not to announce new guns when they're ready for shipping.

Also, SHOT has more become the place that off brand companies announce new guns and they turn out to just be prototypes that never get into high production. Hi Point Gen 2, the Reliant 4 barrel derringer, the rifle barrels for the Midland imported single shot Turkish shotguns, the I.O. mini revolvers, list goes on.

 

[earlthegoat2]

I’m pretty jaded on trade shows in general. Most especially the ones in my own occupational industry.

I think that the manufacturers don’t care about them much either when there are rewards being the first to release a new concept.

Since social media has become advertising for individuals, I have found there is much less teamwork in professional organizations. Each person is trying to “build their own brand” and if it happens at the expense of everyone else in the organization then so be it.

In other words, CEOs and upper managers are all trying to be individual heroes in their work so they can be recognized on their Instagram and LinkedIn or profiled in the next trade journal. If they know they have a winner, why wait a month or a year to start capitalizing on it because of the date of some arbitrary date the trade show takes place on?

Shareholders want the money now.

 

[.38 Special]

It's probably a sign of age, but I can hardly remember a time when I was truly excited by a new gun. These days especially, it seems like every breathless announcement of a revolutionary new firearm is followed immediately by an AR- or Glock-pattern gun that for the life of me is completely indistinguishable from a couple of dozen other ones. Apparently they sell like hotcakes, and I've got nothing against them or their manufacturers, but I'm hardly going to book a flight to go see it happen.

 

[Glockpride]

Trade shows seem to maybe have run their course. They’re expensive, they take a lot of time, enormous travel and time out of the field or office, there’s lots of new products, they just don’t generally generate enough ROI. Several factors with digital marketing and “influencers” probably being some key drivers.

 

[TTv2]

Trade shows seem to maybe have run their course. They’re expensive, they take a lot of time, enormous travel and time out of the field or office, there’s lots of new products, they just don’t generally generate enough ROI. Several factors with digital marketing and “influencers” probably being some key drivers.

SHOT is different tho, it's Vegas based and it's salaried guys that go to work the shows, all expenses paid, and as we have been told "What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas."

 

[LimaCharlie]

Trade shows back in the 1970s and 1980s were great. I can remember large corporations spending a million dollars a night on hospitality suites and entertainment in Las Vegas.

I gave my employer a two week notice that I was changing jobs in the mid-1980s. He asked for a three week notice. He asked if my wife and I would work the trade show in New Orleans that week all expenses paid. My new employer was alright with a three week notice. We spent the week in New Orleans and then I went to work in a new city in a different state on Monday.

 

[Glockpride]

SHOT is different tho, it's Vegas based and it's salaried guys that go to work the shows, all expenses paid, and as we have been told "What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas."

It is still enormously expensive for the companies. I’ve been to SHOT. I know what it’s about. My company has a booth every year. It’s a very expensive proposition and one that doesn’t always pay in ROI.