Archive for category: Marketing

Go Outdoors Oklahoma Introduces Enhanced Merchandise e-Commerce Storefront

Brandt launched its new merchandise interface for Go Outdoors Oklahoma, a year after the merchandise e-store was first introduced.


Compared to last year, Go Outdoors Oklahoma saw a 640% increase in the sale of hats thanks to strategic cross-sells and packages while drinkware sales increased by 36% in their second year as a featured product.

“Our merchandise sales growth over this past year proves the public’s appreciation for our agency and representing our mission. It’s a great way for ODWC to foster our community of hunters, anglers and those who care for the land.”

Mike Chrisman, License Supervisor.

Key Metrics






“Since the new interface enhancement for Go Outdoors Oklahoma, our average unit ring has increased by over $5.00, and our conversion rate has increased by 178 basis points. This proves that the more high quality products we offer, the more likely Go Outdoors Oklahoma’s users are to buy them,” explains John DiFonzo, Director of Product Merchandising at Brandt.


Brandt’s e-commerce merchandise store introduces users to new product options, packaged with license sales workflows, to expand the state agency’s brand presence out in the field.

Boosting Customer Retention with Brandt’s Atlas Marketing Automation Incentivized Renewal Play

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 Launches the New Merchandise Platform for Go Outdoors North Carolina

Brandt’s new merchandise store launched in Go Outdoors North Carolina (GONC) on Wednesday, August 2, 2023. North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) can now offer hunters, anglers, and boaters the opportunity to purchase additional items for their friends, family, and outdoor adventures.

NCWRC is excited to offer branded merchandise to our constituents. e-Store Purchases help further our agency’s mission to conserve wildlife resources and their habitats. We look forward to continuing to expand our product line to appeal to a broader audience.

Lisa Hocutt, N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission Deputy Director

Key Factors

Brandt and NCWRC executed best practices for a successful merchandise launch, including:

Activity Packages

Include a related merchandise item in every activity package such as a folding chair in the duck hunting package.

Cross-Sells

Cross-sell similar items such as a camo backpack when a user adds a hunting license to the cart.

Drip Marketing

Send targeted, drip email and push notification campaigns to drive awareness.

Variety of Products

Offer a variety of sizes and colors per product, such as a mug in pink, white, black, camo, and blue.

Product Modifiers

Configure modifiers where the user can select between various colors while staying on the same page.

Organized Shopfront

Strategically organize the shopfront with most requested products easily available followed by new options.

The Go Outdoors North Carolina merchandise store is just the beginning with Labor Day Weekend and small game opener. New products, expanded options, and leveraging the system’s features for packages and cross-sells opens the door to a big opportunity to get our state agency’s brands out in the field.

The 2023 Brandt State Summit Wraps Up

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.

Brandt Information Services Recognized as a GovTech100 Company for 2023

Brandt Information Services is pleased to announce we have been recognized by Government Technology as a GovTech 100 company for 2023! The GovTech 100 list is comprised of companies that have made a difference in the technology space for local and state government agencies. We are proud to offer a licensing and permitting system that allows for a user-friendly experience for customers and serves as a revenue driver for state agencies.

“This year we have seen an exponential increase in gov tech market activity – from new companies starting up to help government tackle complex challenges, to existing companies joining forces for scale through consolidations, gov tech as an industry is clearly showing its recession-proof characteristics. Each of the GovTech 100 companies demonstrates the energy of our market across all gov tech segments,” stated Dustin Haisler, Chief Innovation and Strategy Officer for Government Technology. 

Winners will be featured in the January/February issue of Government Technology magazine and GovTech Daily’s newsletter

Check out the full list of awarded companies: http://www.govtech.com/100!

Go Outdoors Florida’s New Hard Cards

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!

KDWP’s New Flatlander Podcast Episode on Go Outdoors Kansas Licensing System

Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks released an episode of their Flatlander Podcast focused on our new Go Outdoors Kansas system. Our digital license approach has accounted for over 60% of transactions to occur electronically through the Go Outdoors Kansas app or website. This, along with the new electronic check-in/check-out process, makes this one of our most feature-filled installs to date. We are excited about what the new system has in store for KDWP staff and its constituents! Check out the podcast episode here or listen below: https://ksoutdoors.com/KDWP-Info/News/Flatlander-Podcast

State game agencies aren’t engaging nearly enough new folks, or capturing their potential license dollars

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)”

Amplify Your Licensing Story

WHITEPAPER PREVIEW:

Video Content Marketing & Social Media Influencers

The evolution of video content marketing and social media has increased revenues and high value presence for public agencies in the new, fun, and measurable tactics. The beauty of the authentic and shareable messages lies in their ability to connect with a potential outdoors advocate and converting them into a new customer. Organic sharing takes over,
delighting new, lapsed, and existing customers equally.

Authenticity over Perfection

As state agencies providing resources to the public, we often prioritize perfection over authenticity. However, when hiring third party content producers, it is important that you give them the freedom to promote your product in a unique, authentic manner.

A social influencer video clip which is micromanaged or over-critiqued may likely finding itself closer to the holiday movie look or even worse
– out of season and unable to be used.

While breaking the communication mold with real life short clips, the content is relatable to the common user of social media. Well-used equipment or an influencer who looks more like someone who would show up to a family reunion than a holiday movie set results in more engaged content – the emotional tie begins to form.

Raw, real life videos also benefit from significant reductions in postproduction turnaround time which many are accustomed.

Spring 2020 Generated Revenue

With a combined investment of $58,000, Brandt, in collaboration with its state agency partners, was able to produce 11 videos that generated $117,000 in state agency revenue, not to mention the incredible earned media value. The created assets will continue to be used to drive awareness and system revenue.
(Combined investment includes influencer payment, video production, and digital ad spend.)

DOWNLOAD THE FULL WHITEPAPER ABOVE.

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How To Measure Marketing Incrementality in a Regulatory eCommerce Environment

Digital Advertising for Hunting & Fishing Licenses

State natural resource agencies are funded by hunting, fishing, and vessel related licenses, permits, and registrations. The fees, combined with a federal match, make up a majority of the state agencies’ annual budgets. Consumer trends indicate a decline in hunting and fishing participation which negatively impacts wildlife management budgets. To help combat these concerns, state natural resource agencies are implementing digital advertising strategies. These digital advertisements leverage modern e-commerce tactics to drive awareness and conversion of sales transactions.

Digital Advertising Placement Channels

State natural resource agencies are leveraging digital advertising campaigns to promote wildlife licensing and vessel registration system sales. A variety of digital advertising placement tactics are available to attract new and lapsed customers, including:

  • Search Engine Marketing (SEM) – Text ads shown to users while they are actively searching for related terms.
  • Display Advertising – Delivers visual ads to users based on online activity and available user information. Selective targeting tactics include behavioral, contextual, search engine, geofencing, look-a-like audiences, app ownership, weather-based, and retargeting.
  • Social Advertising – Leverage people-based targeting to reach users based on how and where they spend their time. It uses a collection of consumer data from offline and online sources to identify and reach the individual user across social platforms.
  • E-Commerce Advertising – Targeting users based on shopping history related to outdoor recreational activities combined with geographical information.
  • Native Advertising – Ads resembling editorial news articles and/or listicles that drive users to complete a purchase.
  • Streaming Advertising – Displaying ads to users while they are streaming entertainment such as music, podcasts, and videos.

The Reporting Concern

A well-rounded digital advertising strategy involves various touchpoints throughout a user’s path to purchase. Each advertising placement channel may be executed leveraging a different platform, therefore creating separate reporting mechanisms for each channel. Due to replication of users across various placement channels, one cannot simply total the revenue between all placement channel reports to reach an accurate total of revenue generated from digital advertising. An attribution model must be implemented to distribute credit between various channels based on known data.

DUE TO THE REGULATORY NATURE OF WILDLIFE SYSTEM SALES, WE SHOULD NOT BE TAKING FULL CREDIT FOR THE ADS REPORTED REVENUE FULL VALUE

Kelsey Hersey, Brandt Information Services

Sample Path to Conversion

A potential customer may see ads multiple times across platforms before resulting in a transaction:

Reporting Requirements

In order to implement a highly trackable digital advertising campaign, the following elements are required:

  • A system that assigns a unique Order ID (Transaction ID) to each completed sales transaction.
  • Google Analytics configured to pull in transactional data.
  • Pixels placed to track site visitors and transaction completions.
  • UTM tags on advertising links to track click-through traffic and revenue.

De-Duplicating Revenue Across Placement Channels

When generating revenue reports from advertising platforms…