Rastus:
Stepping outside the membership base to push an issue most people don't know enough to support would play well into the liberals hands as in...see the NRA is run by a bunch of right-wing kooks who are not in touch with America or their members...that would help a lot, eh? 80,000,000 gun owners and it's important enough for...how many....to join to support?
Again … and just to try to make my point clear, my intent of this thread was not to bitch about the NRA. Far from it. Great organization that leads the fight for the 2nd Amendment. And I would agree with several posts that we the members need to do more to help pull more people in to join. A similar example, church outreach. A church can spend a lot of money to market and attempt to "pull" people to their pews but the most effective way to increase membership and outreach is a personal invitation. Same with gun owners. Reach out to non-NRA members to join and help the fight. Over the last two years, I was able to get six new people to join and two of the people don’t even own guns.
As well, I am not saying that the NRA should extend this marketing effort to the non-shooter. That would miss the target (pun intended) market and be a waste of their working marketing dollar. Go after shooters for their votes this November.
For instance, like the grocery store “on-pack coupons”, get some rolls of 1.5” x 1.5” on-pack “coupons” printed up that can go on boxes of ammo, gun cleaning supplies, gun cases, guns (!) etc. These coupons are peel and stick tri-folds that can hold a lot of information spelling out what this election means for their 2nd Amendment rights. Maybe tie-in with a gun purchase like what S&W does. Buy a new whatever and get $50 off when you bring in proof you voted. Buy whatever dollar amount of ammo and get a free silicone gun cloth with proof of voting. Other examples, point of sale displays … you know, the little triangle up-rights that can go on a counter top? Have these with a quick-look comparison of where the candidates stand on RKBA. Ever go to the grocery store to buy something and you look down at the floor to see an ad for something? Floor art … “Want Your RKBA Stepped On?’ Have a 3’ x 3’ vinyl mat made outlining what the election means to someone who like to shoot and enjoys responsible gun ownership. Have the candidate’s records on the 2nd Amendment. Have facts about responsible gun ownership and self defense. Given that this election can mean a substantial loss in revenue for gun store owners, they should get behind efforts for gun owners to protect their rights and vote.
The biggest gun fight of all time is headed to us this November. We will not be pressing a trigger with this fight. We are pressing a lever to vote! Yes, it’s too bad we can’t double tap our vote! My thought with this is utilize the NRA’s scale to initiate incremental marketing to pull people to vote and thus fight for our right to keep and bear arms. As to the various organizations that Rastus and others have mentioned, maybe it's time for them to pull their resources together. Fragmented efforts by similar organizations is not efficient nor effective. Time to hook up and fight together.