Archive for category: Marketing

Donald Forgione, with four decades of leadership in park management and conservation, epitomizes innovation and dedication in the industry. From his tenure as a Park Ranger to the former Director of Florida’s Park System to his role as a sought-after consultant and speaker, Donald’s commitment to excellence shines through.

“I have partnered with Brandt Information Services, a renowned leader in the State Park industry, offering modern technology solutions to conservation agencies.” Donald emphasizes.

His Tailgate Talks approach, emphasizes active listening and tailored solutions. As the lead author of “The Ecotourism Provider’s Handbook,” Donald offers invaluable insights into creating exceptional park experiences while preserving natural resources.

Donald’s talents extend beyond conservation and recreation, captivating audiences with his podcast and motivational speaking. Whether addressing management challenges or inspiring teams, Tailgate Talks with Donald, offer expertise and enjoyment in equal measure.

“Donald’s Tailgate Talks Podcast has an incredibly positive impact on state parks agencies across the nation,” said Matt Mitchell, Brandt’s Chief Revenue Officer. “We are proud to partner with Donald Forgione and his extensive experience spanning over 40 years as an avid camper and a respected leader in the State Park industry.”

Together, Brandt and Donald Forgione are transforming the outdoor experience for the users of these cherished places and the agencies that proudly steward them.

Hunters and anglers typically wait until they are headed out into the field to purchase the license they need to participate. With statewide regulations on seasons, this leads to heavy spikes in website traffic and customer sales phone calls the night before and morning of a big season opener.

Brandt’s Atlas Marketing Automation program provides state agencies with tools and strategies to effectively engage with its public users automatically based on their system behavior and license history.

By offering incentives to those that buy their license ahead of time, agencies may be more prepared with operational projection and begin to recognize system revenue earlier in the fiscal year.

Automated Incentives

On behalf of its state agency partners, Brandt has administered coupon-based incentives to public users since 2019 to successfully drive license transactions. In Spring 2023, Brandt launched the newly updated Incentivized Renewal Automated Play across several state partners participating in the Atlas Marketing Automation program.

Targeting users who did not hold a current annual license, but have held one previously, this creative marketing play leverages the power of personalized offers and third-party coupons such as Academy Sports and OnX Hunt.

Atlas Marketing Automation keeps an evergreen list of lapsed license holders up to date for the state agency use in emails, push notifications, in-app messages, and digital advertising platforms (EX: Google or Meta). These public users receive an initial email announcing the coupon.

Once a user reactivates a qualifying license, they automatically receive a new email with the sponsored coupon within minutes of the online transaction completion.

Building Rewards

State agencies may opt to send the coupon to an automated list of all current license holders as well as a thank you for being a loyal outdoor license holder. Over time, this will build a sense of belonging to license holders and provide additional tangible benefits of industry coupons for always staying licensed.

Incentivizing License Sales

With a limited time window to purchase a license in order to receive the coupon, the automated incentives were successful in impacting purchase behavior.

Across its state agency partners leveraging the Incentivized Renewal automated play, Brandt has tracked $30,000+ system revenue from users clicking and completing a transaction in the same website session.

Brandt’s Atlas Marketing Automation’s innovative approach to recruitment, retention, and reactivation is positively impacting state agency system revenue. With plays like the Automated Incentivized Renewal, sweetening the deal with third-party coupons drive higher renewal rates and increased revenue.

To learn more about Brandt’s Atlas Marketing Automation program, click here.

Brandt Information Services’ annual State Summit in Richmond, Virginia concluded with tremendous success earlier this week, underscoring our company’s commitment to partnership, innovation, and transformation. 

The 2023 Brandt State Summit spanned three days and featured a diverse range of engaging sessions, breakouts and interactive workshops. The Summit explored the latest trends, breakthroughs, and challenges facing Brandt and the outdoor recreational licensing and reservations industry. Over 65 attendees across 15 of Brandt’s state agencies had the opportunity to network, collaborate, and gain valuable insights from each other, Brandt team members, and industry thought leaders.

“This conference had more meaningful and impactful information to someone who is in operations than any other conference I’ve been to in years.”

Brandt State Partner Attendee

The success of 2023 Brandt State Summit would not have been possible without the support of our partners’ licensing, reservations, boating, and marketing attendees. Their dedication and contributions played a crucial role in making this event a resounding triumph.

As the curtains close in Richmond, Virginia, participants are already looking forward to next year, eager to continue the conversations and collaborations sparked at the 2023 Brandt State Summit.

Our partner, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) released new license card designs! Hard cards are collectible, credit-card style documents that are an alternative to paper licenses. Cards are printed with a customer’s most up-to-date licenses and permits for easy access when hunting or fishing.

Customers can purchase the designs at GoOutdoorsFlorida.com or using the app. Funds from hard cards help support conservation efforts and marketing initiatives for our state partners. The new cards feature art from Guy Harvey and Ed Anderson. Check out the designs!

Hunter numbers have been declining from an all-time high in the early ’80s. And when the alarm bells started ringing more than a decade ago, our collective response time was abysmal. First, the hunting industry had to admit there was a problem. Next, we had to understand what we’d been doing wrong. Now that state agencies and conservation groups have finally identified which programs work, they’re trying to act on that intel. Meanwhile, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, we’ve lost 255,195 hunters nationwide between 2016 and 2020.

OutdoorLife.com “In the Future: The New Guard Will Save Hunting (and the Old-Timers Are Going to Help)”