The New Wave of Online Marketing: Revolutionizing Outdoor Information
John E. Phillips 12.05.12
You’ve been hunting a monster buck for the last two weekends. You have trail pictures of that big buck, you know where he feeds and where he beds, and you understand where he shows up at which time every day. But for some reason, you haven’t been able to take that buck with either a bow or a gun. Where can you get information on what you’re doing wrong, or what you can do to take that buck the next time you hunt him? The answer is quite simple. You can go to the Internet from your tree stand or from the camp house and find the answer to this problem. One company that has been very active in trying to solve this type of problem for its consumers is Realtree (www.realtree.com).
“We at Realtree want to be wherever the consumer is trying to find outdoor information,” Dodd Clifton, Public Relations Director for Realtree Camouflage, explains. “We haven’t abandoned our print magazine commitment or our radio and television platforms, but we have moved into the social media market too. Realtree has over 1 million likes on Facebook, 35,000 Twitter followers, as well as mobile media like tablet computers and SmartPhones with 82,434 year-to-date downloads, 1.5-million year-to-date impressions and more than 52,000 year-to-date QR code scans. When our consumers are looking for instant information to solve outdoor problems, Realtree wants to be where they go to obtain that information.”
One of the reasons there has been such a tremendous move by sportsmen to get information from the Internet is the rapidly increasing number of people using portable mobile devices. For instance, if you’re sitting in a tree stand, see a deer feeding out of range and don’t know what to do to call that deer to within shooting range, Internet access on your cell phone enables you to go online and immediately get suggestions from some of the best deer hunters in the nation. Or, you can return to your hunting camp and use a tablet or a portable computer to connect to the Internet and receive ideas from hunters all over the nation on how to solve this problem.
Also, by using the Internet, if you want to read the latest news of the day about what’s happening in the outdoor world, you can pull-up one of the daily news sources available, like Outdoor Hub, which feature news and current, relevant, useful and entertaining information. You can learn about new products being developed by outdoor companies and get directions and maps to any place you want to go and any area you want to hunt instantly. If you’ve built an online relationship with companies in the outdoors, then it’s more than likely that people at those companies can get the information you want quickly and easily and send it to you. If you’re hunting in a remote area, and you have a portable hotspot that many telephone companies now offer, you can get the information you want and need immediately.
When you return to camp, you can use your cell phone or your tablet computer to go to the Internet and download magazines, videos and any information you’re looking for in your hunting camp, even without electricity. If you’re concerned about what happens when the batteries go dead in your cell phone, tablet computer or portable computer, then you no longer have a problem. Outdoor companies like Bushnell (www.bushnell.com) are offering portable solar rechargers like the company’s PowerSync Portable Power Line that pulls power from the sun and converts that power into electrical energy that can charge your cell phone, your tablet computer and/or your portable computer. Another solar charger is The Restore from Brunton Hunting (http://bruntonhunting.com/).
With a hotspot and a solar-powered recharger, you can have Internet access and obtain the information about the outdoors you’re looking for in almost any remote location. The outdoor companies that can provide the latest information and research about wild game and fish are the companies on which consumers will rely for the information they want and also for the products they want and need.
John, the 2008 Crossbow Communicator of the year and the 2007 Legendary Communicator chosen for induction into the National Fresh Water Hall of Fame, is a freelance writer (over 6,000 magazine articles for about 100 magazines and several thousand newspaper columns published), magazine editor, photographer for print media as well as industry catalogues (over 25,000 photos published), lecturer, outdoor consultant, marketing consultant, book author and daily internet content provider with an overview of the outdoors.
Phillips has been a contributor to many national magazines, has been affiliated with 27 radio stations across Alabama serving as their outdoor editor and wrote for a weekly syndicated column, "Alabama Outdoors," for 38-Alabama newspapers for more than 13 years. Phillips was Outdoor Editor for the "Birmingham Post-Herald" for 24 years. Phillips was also the executive editor for "Great Days Outdoors" magazine for 3 years.
The author of almost 30 books on the outdoors, Phillips is a founding member of the Professional Outdoor Media Association (POMA) and an active member of the Southeastern Outdoors Press Association (SEOPA). Phillips also is the owner of Night Hawk Publications, a marketing and publishing firm, and president of Creative Concepts, an outdoor consulting group.
Phillips conducts seminars across the nation at colleges in freelance writing, photography and outdoor education besides teaching courses in how to sell what you write to writers' groups. Phillips received his photography training as a still-lab photo specialist for six years in the Air Force. He was the chief photographer for Mannequins, Inc., a Birmingham modeling agency, for 11 years.
While serving as 2nd Vice President of the Alabama Wildlife Federation, Phillips was in charge of all press releases for the organization as well as serving as Chairman of Alabama's Big Buck Contest, which he founded more than 30 years ago. He also was president of the Alabama Sportsman's Association for three years.
Phillips is the recipient of a Certificate of Merit from the Governor of Alabama and the Department of Conservation for his work in the outdoor field. Phillips is vitally interested in the outdoors and travels the nation collecting personalities, stories and how-to information for his articles and features.
EDUCATION: B.S. degree from the University of West Alabama with a physical education major and a history minor.
EXPERIENCE: 10 years parttime and fulltime physical director for YMCAs and 34 years as a freelance writer, photographer, editor, book author, lecturer and daily-content provider for websites. Currently, Phillips is a field editor for Game and Fish Publications; serves on the editorial board of Grandview Media; is a regular contributor to 12 internet magazines and a daily content provider for 8 websites.
WRITING AWARDS: Runnerup - Best Outdoor Magazine Feature - 1981 - SEOPA; Certificate of Merit - Awarded by Alabama's Governor for writings on conservation; Most Outstanding Sports Writer in Southeast - 1983 & 1984; Best Outdoor Feature in Alabama, 1987 - Alabama Sportswriters' Association 3rd Place; Best Book of the Year - 1989 - SEOPA; 2007 - inducted into the National Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame as a Legendary Communicator; 2008 - received award naming him 2008 Crossbow Communicator of the Year from the Crossbow Manufacturers' Association; 2009 - GAMMA Honorable Mention for Consumer/Paid Best Essay for July/August 2008 in "Southern Sporting Journal."
