Need Gun Owners Opinion

[JG87]

I'm a student enrolled in a Graphic Design program in Seattle, WA and currently working in a group to create an advertisement for a certain product. The class this project is for is called New Media, a class that integrates the Photography, Publishing Arts and Graphic Design Programs so the students can work together as they will in the industry.

http://seattlecentral.edu/learn/graphicdesign/

The students involved in this project are all in their second quarter of their respective programs. Our group has two graphic designers, one photographer and two publishing arts students.


Our group has decided to market guns to young business professionals. Our manufacturer name is Pistolet. We'd like to get some feedback from gun owners to help us have a better sense of the industry we're marketing in. Any and all feedback is very much appreciated! Feel free to answer as many or as few of our questions as you feel comfortable with, we're grateful for any help you can give us.

Why do you own a gun?
How many do you own?
When did you start getting interested in guns and why?
Are guns something that is a part of your regular life or lifestyle, or something on the side?
What about guns appeals to you?
How much money a year on average do you spend on guns?
Do you buy guns from a specific manufacturer? If so, why? If not, why not?

(I apologize for the hokey questions, they're mainly written as general product questions. Any suggestions you might have as far as better questions is appreciated.)

Thank you again for any and all feedback you provide, we appreciate your help!

[Gray Peterson]

FYI folks,

I'm the one that recommended Calguns for the first forum posting. He posted at a different less well known gun forum and he was pretty well treated with paranoia and suspicion. I know him personally, and he lives here locally, so let's give him a good Calguns welcome! You do not have to use real names, or if there's any particular questions that you don't want to answer, don't.

[SimpleCountryActuary]

Listen Sonny ...

Pistolet. PistoLET? Here's some advice from someone who uses words for what the IRS calls a taxable income: find a name that sounds manly, unless you are marketing to the Ladies, such as the one who shoots the pink AR.

There are three reasons I am interested in rifles and pistols:

1. A man is supposed to be able to protect his family and he can't do that by pointing his cell phone at a thug;

2. I am or was good at marksmanship;

3. If you do not exercise your rights (free speech, assembly, RKBA) somehow they atrophy and the tyrants (pronounced burr-oh-krat) control your life. Read Orwell. He was an optimist.

Good luck on your research. And as far as how many guns I own ... more than one.

[JG87]

I personally am not too thrilled on the name, but my group members wanted something French. The idea we were going for was sexy, classic, timeless. Think jewelry. We want to market to both genders, but the ideas we've come up with thus far seem more slanted towards a female clientele. Either way, there will be no pink guns. We wanted something a little closer to the James Bond idea of classy and sexy.

[Axewound]

a number of reason of why i like certain guns can range from sexy/stylish to reliable, durable and versatility. more so the latter. im no gun snob either so any brand, i deem worthy can have a place to stay in my safe reguardless of brand.
sexy nice guns usually have a high price tag (usually), they have to offer something real nice and be proven for me to pony up and buy. why couldnt i buy a cheaper brand that does basically the same thing but not as pretty. just something to think about

[rayra]

meh.
The general demographics question you're asking will make most paranoiac gun owners start twitching.

What is obviously missing from your list of student categories is anyone from the Business or Marketing schools.

What you need is a proper marketing approach. You've already stated your target customer -
"Our group has decided to market guns to young business professionals"
- so general demographic data really isn't helpful and may even be counterproductive. A 'Gun just like you hunted with grandpa with' with flannel gear, waterdogs and wood furniture a la any Cabela's catalog wouldn't work.

What you want is to place your arms into advertising milieus that appeal to 'young business professionals'. The clean elegance of an Absolut campaign, or the stark/glossy campaigns of HK or S&W's LadySmith line in the 90s. Beautifully lit / shot firearms elements, ensconsed in yuppie staging. Whatever the hottest clothing, cars, purses, furniture environments appeal to your target audience, place the guns in them so that they become part of the same fabric, and thus desireable to your target audience.

Pictures lit and composed like those if Ichiro Nagata, whose work fills American Handgunner magazine on a regular basis.

http://www.americanhandgunner.com/ECandy.html

Pictures that tell 'young business professionals' that 'you've earned it', 'you're safety is worth the best', 'protect your investment', 'save your asset', 'nothing but the finest', 'you work hard, so play hard', 'work with the best, play with the best'.

Look at the marketing of Cadillac. Look at the marketing of the high-end trap gun manufacturers. Look at Brandy ads.


/that'll be $50,000, or the sum total of your team's quarterly tuition fees, whichever is more.

[rayra]

I personally am not too thrilled on the name, but my group members wanted something French. The idea we were going for was sexy, classic, timeless. Think jewelry. We want to market to both genders, but the ideas we've come up with thus far seem more slanted towards a female clientele. Either way, there will be no pink guns. We wanted something a little closer to the James Bond idea of classy and sexy.

ah then you're definitely seeking to recreate the S&W Ladysmith line of advertising, or Walther's early Bond pistols. Your idea's already been well done.

/tack another grand on my bill

[old-trapper]

If you are marketing to young professioinals don't get caught up in your questions..People in any market buy the dream and the sizzle not the steak. Sell them the points of "pistolet" they want to hear. "saftey features for their up and comming family" "Practicality in use" "prestige"and "value" to name a common few. that's my 2cent p.s. to answer a few of your questions I teethed in a cartrige, own enough to piss off my wife, I spend as much as I can on them and buy the best quality I can afford...

[JG87]

We actually already have set down many of the ideas you've stated, but I'm impressed to see someone here pointing these things out! I didn't include most of our notes on the project for the sake of simplicity, and because I only needed some research on how current gun owners feel about their investments (I don't know much about guns, myself.) Thank you for your suggestions on which campaigns to look at, I'll definitely check them out. We are looking to capture that sexy, timeless and very classy look. We've already developed a few prospective campaigns, marketing our guns as something that our audience includes in their daily life. A luxury, the safety that they can afford. If you're interested, I'd be happy to discuss our visual concepts with you.

[CavTrooper]

The name sucks out loud.

I own guns for hunting, target shooting and self defense.

Been shooting since I was a small boy, really got into firearms after high school.

Firearms are an everyday thing. Wallet, sunglasses, watch, keys, pistol (except where prohibited by law)

The "appeal" is independence, not having to rely on anyone else for my own preservation.

I spend more than I should, but as not as much as Id like.

As far as manufacturers, I dont have a specific favorite, just favorite types of firearms.

[Dr Rockso]

I personally am not too thrilled on the name, but my group members wanted something French.

Man, your group members don't know their target audience at all.
The only reason to buy a French gun is that it's never been fired and only dropped once.

[SwissFluCase]

OK. I'll play.

I am the CEO of a small corporation, and I am definitely part of the white collar workforce.

I own a gun(s) primarily as a defensive tool. I train in martial arts, and I am integrating the art of the rifle and pistol into this activity.

I'm not sure how many I own. Not as many as most.

I got interested in guns because I believe it is our civic duty to protect ourselves, our families, and our communities against crime and sometimes general disorder.

Guns appeal to me only insomuch as they are the weapons of our age. If our weapons were silly looking directed energy devices, and the gun was obsolete, I wouldn't bother with guns.

I'm not sure how much money I spend on guns per year. As I learn the art of the gun, I sell off guns I don't like to fund the purchase of more appropriate weapons. I have no idea how much I spend on ammo. Not as much as I should because I don't shoot enough.

I own several guns made by SIG and Smith & Wesson as well as Glock. I feel that the particular products I own from these manufacturers represent the best of the market. They have been proven from competition to all out war.

Now about your project. You cannot just market a gun. A gun is a matter of trust between the manufacturer and the customer. When one buys a gun for defense they are literally putting their lives in your hands. Not so much for formal target shooting or hunting, but I participate in neither of those activities. You are getting my worldview here.

People tend to by defensive arms because the police and military use those models. "If it is good enough for the Marines-SEALs-Secret Service-FBI-Army-etc. it is good enough for me" is the mindset I see in the market. The marketing is all about the product. You cannot market a gun that doesn't work in the field. A gun that proves itself in battle will gain wide acceptance.

A case in point is the Glock. When the Glock first hit the market in the 1980's, a lot of users were sceptical. A few users bought them and had positive experiences. The Austrian army adopted the Glock, and so did many police departments. After some years, the Glock had earned its place in the world of defensive arms. Today, some people like Glocks, some don't. Not many will argue that they are not a good defensive arm.

Fast forward to today. FN introduced a pistol called the FiveSeven. It uses a new and relatively unproven cartridge. A few police agencies have adopted it, but most have not. The gun is still not proven. There has been some data regarding actual street shootings, but not enough to satisfy someone who wants a proven weapon system, not one that is merely calculated on paper.

A defensive gun needs to be as reliable as a modern airliner engine. It needs to be easy enough for a mildly retarded user to operate. Most people involved in gunfights become mildly retarded due to fear or adrenalin. It needs to be well supported. The best pistol in the world means nothing if the manufacturer won't stand behind it. It needs to be reasonably priced. The SIG P210 and the H&K P7 are two of the best combat pistols in the world, but are priced out of the range of most users. The Glock is one of the cheapest.

I know this is a class project, but my advice from executive to would-be executive, is get out and start shooting. Make your team use the products in the market; I certainly would. Talk to the people at the range. Talk to the salesmen, and the shooters, and the police, and the other users. Do your competitive research. Get the manufacturer's brochures and read their hype. Companies get into the gun business because they have a passion for the industry. I'm sure there are easier ways to make money in this world.

Regards,


SwissFluCase

[JG87]

Man, your group members don't know their target audience at all.
The only reason to buy a French gun is that it's never been fired and only dropped once.

They wanted a French name, not a French company.

[SwissFluCase]

They wanted a French name, not a French company.

That's fine and all, but a weapon should have a name that denotes a decent martial history. France isn't it. Most gunshop owners don't like the French either. You are marketing to them too...

Go look up and handle the old PPKs, the SIG p210, the H&K P7 series, the higher end M1911's, the Colt Pythons and such. These are the top end of the market. These guns exude quality and class.

Regards,


SwissFluCase

[JG87]

Thank you very much for your input! This is a fabricated company, and so we have no reputation, as it were. I suppose you could call it a recent start-up, trying to gain awareness in the market. We're marketing our product as a defensive gun for metropolitan areas. And we actually do plan on going out on a shooting range. We chose a bit of a complex product to attempt to market. This is only a 3-week project, no less, haha! The point of the project was to gather data, other campaigns, market research and create a 'mood board' of which we'll use to then decide how we want to create the visuals for our company. We could take this project a lot further if we were given an entire quarter to do it, but it's a module as part of a larger class. I thank you greatly for all your input though, this is a lot of great information for us!