The Year in Review at LBM

It feels like SHOT Show 2009 was just the other day, but here we are gearing up for the start of SHOT Show 2010 in just 21 days. As the time on the clock ticks down toward 2010, we at Laura Burgess Marketing would like to take a moment to reflect on 2009. It was a big year for our company and we only hope that the impact of 2009 will help us to better serve our customers in 2010 and beyond.

From Sole Proprietorship to a Full Family Run Company
I founded LBM in 2003. At the time, my husband Eric was working as a Director in a local multi-million dollar window design company while our daughter, Ashley, was just starting her sophomore year at Babson College. None of us knew six years ago that by the close of the first decade of the new millennium that all three of us would be working for the family business.

Eric, always a silent partner in the business, joined the company publicly in January 2009 as the Vice President and CFO. His experience in business management and operations became a quick asset to our company as he discovered new ways to operate LBM more efficiently.

Ashley followed suit in July 2009. Having worked in various marketing departments for corporations on tasks such as direct mail, trade shows and events, social media marketing, website management and public relations, to name a few, she and LBM decided it was the right time to bring her on board.

A Growing Company Leads to New Innovations and Offerings
With the addition of Eric and Ashley to the team, we were able to discover new offerings that would better serve our clients. Ashley introduced the company to social media optimization. Through networks such as LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook, we learned how to broaden our client’s brand names and perceptions, in addition to reaching the customers directly for feedback, offers and service inquiries. Not only were we able to create our own social networks to better understand what our clients are looking to gain from us, but we now offer the creation, operation and management of social networking sites for our clients.

In addition to social media optimization, we increased our collateral development services. We tripled our design team to provide our clients with the best match for their brand at a more affordable rate. Having always offered press kit development, LBM now goes beyond mere assemblage and distribution. LBM now offers design and print management for various collateral endeavors including, but not limited to: brochures, catalogs, folders, corporate fact sheets, case studies, sales sheets and CD replication.

Finally, LBM now offers the ability to survey our client’s target market, whether that is their customers or their desired vendors or writers. Through a state of the art survey system, we can make your survey as specific as you’d like or as broad as you like. All results are instantaneously recorded and analyzed, giving us the ability to provide our clients with information as soon as they request it.

LBM Discovers New Markets
We’ve always been dedicated to serving our friends in the law enforcement, military, shooting and hunting sports industry, after all, it’s what has given us our start; however, 2009 brought additional markets to our attention. With Eric’s over 20 years experience in the home building market, in addition to being a life long boater, as well as Ashley’s experience in the marine industry and receiving a USCG license at the age of 16, it seemed natural for us to open our doors to serving companies in these industries as well. While our venture into these new markets is still fresh, we want to assure our old friends in our current industries that we have not, will not, nor can we ever forget about you and serving you with top notch professionalism.

LBM Develops a Pro Team…Well, Sort Of
I’ve been in the law enforcement, military, shooting and hunting sports markets for over 17 years now and have worked with, promoted and watched many pro teams and shooting events during this time. This year, in the spirit of developing our family business, we decided to try our luck at our first Three Gun Match. We set our sites on the Seventh Annual Three-Gun Match Set at the Hartford Gun Club, sponsored by the Shooting Industry Masters, this past July.

Our team consisted of Eric, our brother-in-law Stuart Gagneux, his son and our nephew, Ryan Gagneux and I. We worked well together and each of us excelled in one of the disciplines where the other person (or several people) lacked. While we’re not going pro anytime soon (Max Michel, your title is safe for now!), we did have a great time, got to meet great people and plan to participate in more Three Gun matches (and maybe other events!) in 2010.

While 2009 may have been prophesized as a doom and gloom year from many economists, it proved to be a positive and promising year for team LBM. We’ve tripled our company size, expanded our offerings, redesigned our logo, delved into new markets and have created our own sporting team. Yes, 2009 has been a good year for our company and we hope that the good fortune we’ve seen has spilled over to the service and professionalism that our clients have received. With 2009 wrapping up in just a few short days, we eagerly await to see what 2010 has in store for us.

From all of us at LBM, we wish you a happy and prosperous new year!

The Countdown Begins

Well folks, this is it. The days are getting shorter and the time on the calendar is winding down as we approach the end of 2009. I'm sure all of you out there are working over your 2010 budgets and reviewing your game plans for Q1. An important step in helping your company to grow in the coming years is to always review what you've done in the past and see how you can improve on it and make it better for the future.

That's what we're doing here at Laura Burgess Marketing. We're offering our first time ever Year End Satisfaction Survey. The goal of our survey is to find out how you, our loyal customers, vendors and writers, are enjoying our services. We also want to find out how we can improve our current services, and what we can offer to you in 2010 that you may find helpful. So go ahead, take 5 minutes out of your day and complete our survey. Let us know how we can be better to make YOU better!

Oh, did I mention that by taking our survey you'll automatically be entered into our raffle for a chance to win a $100 Visa gift card? The survey will be open for the entire month of December. The winner of the raffle will be announced the first full week of January. Thanks in advance for participating!

International Training, Inc. - Where You Can Learn to Shoot and Drive - At the Same Time!

At Laura Burgess Marketing, we don't get out much. Usually you'll find us strapped to our PC's doing all that PR stuff that gets our esteemed clients all the media attention they truly deserve. Well, Tom Harm and Greg Reid of International Training, Inc. in Dilley, Texas told us to get off our butts and come see their digs just south of San Antonio. So, we left the cool autumn of New Hampshire and flew into big country.

International Training has been around awhile. They are not one of these fly-by-night training companies that seem to spring up out of nowhere touting all the latest firearms training methodology and spinning military and cop jargon as fast as a Metal Storm machine gun. ITI is the real deal. They've been training the elite of the elite military units for decades. The staff all come from law enforcement or military backgrounds and training is what they do best.

Let's get to the facilities. ITI is unique in that they not only train in firearms usage but driving on-road and off-road, in water, under duress, under attack, and in real-world-other-country urban scenarios. You can learn to ram your vehicle in order to clear a blockade (rush hour traffic is not considered a blockade), or reverse driving techniques, or evasive maneuvers as well as motorcade and convoy evasive techniques.

They've got over 280 acres with access to many hundreds more where you can train for 1000-yrd sniper shots, or some intimate CQB in their combat town. With five firearms ranges on the facility, you can literally shoot a variety of targets, a variety of distances, and a variety of scenarios.

Ok, that covers driving and firearms, but ITI has more going on. How about blowing things up? ITI has that too. Their explosives area has a large observation bunker for students during explosives training and is made of filled cinder block construction with wing walls and observation ports. At ITI all students leave with the same number of fingers and toes and what they came in with.

Their Team House is new and LBM has to tell you, it's nice! All the comforts of home - a fully applianced kitchen, TV room, two full bathrooms and two bunk rooms providing comfort down home on the range for up to 12 persons.

So, whether you are looking to learn to shoot, master driving in Boston, have some fun with the girls during their popular Women's Only Weekend programs, or increase that skill set before your next secret squirrel mission, this is the place to do it. The weather here is near perfect every day, the staff incredibly knowledgeable, and the facility is first class with eight classrooms and more planned. This would be a great place to host corporate events from security training, media events, or leadership building.

BLACKHAWK LE/Mil Writer Seminar

The BLACKHAWK! LE/Mil Writer Seminar was held October 26 - 30, 2009 at Command Center in Norfolk, Virginia. This blog is by Eric Burgess, Owner/Partner of Laura Burgess Marketing.

Having assisted in the BLACKHAWK! LE/MIL writer seminar, I can certainly attest to the value and interest of the event. Sixteen industry writers were treated to an outstandingly organized seminar consisting of info laden presentations and hands on shooting evaluations of BLACKHAWK! products. Attendees enjoyed SERPA holster familiarization at the range with Todd Jarrett. They were shown how the SERPA system is designed to work seamlessly with the mechanics of the draw, as universally taught by trainers. The position of your finger on the release occurs naturally, ending with the index finger along the side of the frame, as the draw is completed. Todd led the participants through a series of drills designed to showcase how natural drawing from the SERPA is as well as the outstanding retention capabilities of the SERPA line of holsters. The next day, writers were treated to range time with the Knoxx Stocks line of recoil reduction rifle and shotgun stocks. The reduction (up to 80%) of felt recoil that these stocks afford is really apparent when mounted to 12 GA slug guns or .300WIN rifles! The final day's shooting event was a choice of paintball or skeet. The clays included skeet and wobble trap, but the paintball participants took no prisoners. All sported little round bruises under their now multi-colored gear, but some caught a round to exposed parts of the body and added blood for realism. Very Halloweenish! A great time was had by all. We look forward to the Outdoor writer seminar in April 2010.

Horse Rescue & Rehabilitation Facility, E.P.O.N.A., Receives Life Changing Renovations

The volunteers of E.P.O.N.A., a local 501 (c)(3) organization dedicated to the rescue and rehabilitation of abused and neglected horses, knew something big was happening that day. Informed weeks early of a big announcement, at least 30 volunteers came to the barn on the morning of October 13th, despite it being unseasonably cold and rainy. What they got that day they never could have imagined.

As the volunteers stood huddled under umbrellas and rain coats in front of the barn, the sound of sirens, cheering and clapping coming up the road became deafening. Suddenly, a fleet of Home Depot trucks and flat beds came down E.P.O.N.A.'s driveway, led by police escort, filled with wheelbarrows, sand, tools of all kinds and approximately 90 volunteers from Home Depot, Celtic Design Build, LLC, Davis Landscaping Construction and Scott Stone Construction. Project Pawsitive, a new reality-based television show geared at providing eco-friendly renovations to deserving animal rescues in need, had chosen E.P.O.N.A. to be the worthy first beneficiary of their efforts.

E.P.O.N.A. was chosen to receive $30,000 worth of renovations to repair their leaking roof and aging paddocks, to level out the stall floors, to expand the grain room, and to run power and water down to all paddocks to prevent the water troughs from freezing over in the cold New England winter months.

While the generous donations made by Project Pawsitive and The Home Depot Foundation will go along way in helping E.P.O.N.A. to achieve their goals of rescue and rehabilitation for abused and neglected horses, it is the continuous support of the community that will help E.P.O.N.A. further their goal in the years to come. Click here to find a wish list of the most needed items by the barn. To find out how to volunteer at E.P.O.N.A., please visit our online volunteer page for more information.

Click here to watch the trailer for Project Pawsitive and E.P.O.NA.

Click here to find out more information on E.P.O.N.A., or how to make a donation.

For hi-res images of E.P.O.N.A., visit E.P.O.N.A. on Flikr.

To find out more about the renovations that are taking place at E.P.O.N.A., please click here to read the press release.

Giving the Love of the Outdoors Back to our Soldiers

Next time you put your orange on or don your camo to take your gun for a walk, think about our men and women who won't be able to go hunting this fall because they are either serving our country over in Iraq or Afghanistan, or because they have suffered from stress or an injury in a prior tour of duty. Don't you feel lucky now? Maybe a little guilty??

It's payback time! Whether you are like us, working in the shooting sports industry, or just an average outdoor loving Joe or Jane, you can give our soldiers the fresh air, mountain views, fish-on experience of a life-time by donating or sponsoring a soldier at www.freedomhunters.org. Freedom Hunters is a non-profit outdoor adventure program under American Military Family dedicated to taking active duty, wounded, Gold Star and families of the deployed on hunting and fishing trips to relax and recoup. Through the generous contributions of conservation groups, outfitters, corporations and land owners, Freedom Hunters honors individuals from all branches of the military with experiences of a life-time.

If you want to help you can donate product or cash, sponsor an event, help cover expenses for a specific adventure, honor a selected service member, or get your company to become a sponsor!

So the next time you see a soldier in the airport or the grocery store or anywhere, stop and say thank you and click here for give back!

Laura Burgess Marketing Reveals How to Harness Social Media's Power to Revolutionize Your Business

The dawn of a new era has begun. Traditional media methods - magazine articles, press releases, trade shows, etc. - are no longer the only meaningful tools in a marketer's tool box. Social Media platforms, such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn, to name a few, are on the rise and becoming powerful tools to help drive customer loyalty, improve feedback and innovations, cement brand image and propel companies expertise in their field.

So what is Social Media? The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) defines it as a way to "speak to a new way of understanding how individual users are interacting with branded content via online publishers, social networks, blogs, and applications."1In essence, social media is the new medium to cut out the middle man and interact directly with your target market. The IAB breaks social media down into three categories:

• Social Media Sites (Twitter, Facebook, etc)
• Blogs
• Widgets & Social Media Applications

Want to know more about Social Media? Click here to read the full white paper

Social Media Changing the Way We Do Business

We live in a fast paced world and the way we do business is continually evolving. Merely a year ago, I doubt you could say that you knew what a Tweet was and thought Facebook was just for kids. Well, times have changed and social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, to name a few, are the wave of the future for how businesses will be run.

These platforms, if used properly, can help a business promote their brand, connect with their customers and vendors, land new deals, improve their products, find new partners and more. How can social network sites do this? Simple. It's all about how you optimize the networks and the goals you have in mind. Who is your target audience? What are you hoping to gain from participating? Are you looking to be a support service? Gather feedback to improve your service, products, etc? Increase your brand awareness and public image? By answering these simple questions, you can figure out the best way to use these platforms, and which platforms, to help promote your business.

Feeling overwhelmed? Don't. Although the thought of social media can be daunting, the benefits are enormous and worth the effort. We at Laura Burgess Marketing are working on a White Paper that will be available in the next few weeks which will outline why social media platforms are so important to participate in and how you can use them to help your business.

Don't have the time to manage your social media accounts? That's where we come in. Contact us at ashley@lauraburgess.com to find out how we can make your life easier and stay tuned for our upcoming White Paper.

The Next Generation of Outdoor Communicators

Here she is … a member of the rising generation of outdoor communicators. Ashley Burgess’s role model, her mother — Laura Burgess, is now her employer. Ashley’s enthusiasm for social networking, her abilities to participate in outdoor traditions and activities and her knowledge all combine to serve Laura Burgess Marketing well. And, she must be super confident in her own abilities. After all, how many young women choose to work under the scrutiny of their mothers, the people who know them best in the world? Already, a few months on the job, Ashley has made an impact at the firm and we’re confident that she is going to be a major player in the outdoor industry.

Click here to read the full article

Exposure Shouldn't Be Expensive

Laura Burgess Marketing today announced new opportunities for companies within the law enforcement, tactical, military and shooting sport markets to gain further public exposure through advertising space within the Laura Burgess Marketing e-Newsletter. The e-Newsletter is a weekly publication distributed to contacts in the shooting sports, hunting, law enforcement and military markets. For only $50 per advertisement, advertisers will receive 75 words, a link and image in the e-Newsletter. Please contact Laura Burgess Marketing for more information about this offer.

Click here to read the full article

The 2009 Pan Mass Challenge

Well, the Pan Massachusetts Challenge is over for 2009 and it was awesome! Now, that's coming from a mom of a rider. Ashley, our daughter, took on the task as a way of giving back and helping to fight the one disease that seems to have taken its toll on our family. Ashley borrowed my neglected Specialized hybrid bike and made the committment to raise $3,000.

The weather was perfect this past Saturday. Sunny and in the low 80's. She took off from Babson and we left New Hampshire and hit Cape Cod Saturday traffic, as expected. Ash called us from the various water and food stations and her spirits were high at the 20 mile and 40 mile mark. It was after the 50 mile mark she sounded a bit tired. But once she hit the 70 mile mark, she was on her 250 wind and doing great. We expected her at the finish line between 2 and 3 p.m. We arrived in Buzzards Bay around 2 p.m. and parked the cars (we had to go to Babson to pick hers up too) and the shuttle took us to the finish line. We found a place to hang out in the well-wishing crowd and looked for our daughter. At 2:55 p.m. we saw her beaming face roll in.

She was elated. She did it! Over 80 miles, a physical feat in itself. But she trained, ate right, got her rest and hydrated during the trip. She wore a BLACKHAWK! hydration system - the Barracuda, which gave her 100oz of hydration along the way. The Barracuda, being low profile, is great for bikers and it has a pocket by which she was able to store her cell phone and inhaler.

Ashley carried 46 names with her on this ride. She was one of 5,500 riders from around the US and 8 countries. The goal was to raise $35 million for cancer research. She would like to thank all the kind people that helped her reach and exceed her fundraising goal of $3,000. At this time, she has reached $4,500.00 in fundraising.

So, from a Mom's perspective? The Pan Mass Challenge is a well-run, highly efficient fundraiser for a great cause. We are very proud of our daughter for accomplishing her goals and she is already talking of participating next year!

Final Day at Shooting Industry Masters

The final day for Team LB Marketing was a long one! The weather was beautiful, the Hartford Gun Club staff was fabulous, and we started the day with rifle. We started on Stage 2 .223 Steel Flash in which we each shot 2 strings of ten rounds at 5 steel reactive targets with varying sizes at 200 yards on a bench rest. This was my best stage with a perfect score. Sniper school watch out - here I come! Then, we were off to Rockin' Rimfires with .22 Rimfire rifles supplied by Ruger and Smith & Wesson. I shot the S&W and it was SWEET! The guys did great at this stage. Then it was off to the shotgun course in which we had 10 stations of 10 shots each. This was my worst station and the misery lasted the longest, of course! But, everyone improved as the day progressed and once we had a little instruction, we actually broke some birds.

Hot and tired, we were one of the last teams back to the hotel for a cold beer and shower. That night the team awards were presented. BLACKHAWK! took 3rd place overall and Chuck Buis of BLACKHAWK! happily accepted the award. Todd Jarrett, BLACKHAWK!'s pro shooter took 2nd place for individual!

Team LB Marketing wants to thank Roy and Suzi Huntington of FMG Publications (pictured with Chuck Buis on the left and Todd Jarrett on the far right) for inviting us and putting on such a splendid gig. Thank you to all the sponsors too. This event benefits the National Shooting Sports Foundation's Step Outside program.

Day One Shooting Masters

Well, Team LB completed our first day at the Shooting Masters here at the Hartford Gun Club in Granby, Connecticut. Team members, Eric and Laura Burgess, Stuart and Ryan Gagneux attended a First Shots meeting to get a grip on the firearms we would be using that day. Team LB was scheduled for handguns on day one and I have to say - we did alright. The youngster, Ryan, did great on the running and gunning part and the rest of us, well, let's say we could use some more practice. Today it's shotgun and rifle for us.

Last night were the awards and neither of my clients received any this year. I really think BLACKHAWK! should have won Accessory of the Year for their SERPA Quick Disconnect System. But, hey, they were at least nominated.

My First Three-Gun Match

As a veteran of 17 years in the shooting sports, law enforcement and military markets, I've been to my fair share of shooting ranges and events, trade shows and seminars. However, I've never participated in a team at a Three-Gun Match...that is until now.

Tomorrow my husband Eric, brother-in-law Stuart and nephew Ryan will trek down to East Granby, CT to participate in the Seventh Annual Three-Gun Match Set at the Hartford Gun Club sponsored by the Shooting Industry Masters. This three-gun shooting match features handgun, rifle and shotgun events. Our team will be participating in the Industry Class, which is for everyday shooters. The other class that will be participating is the Open Class for those who want to compete against professional shooters. I like to think of myself and my teammates as better than average shooters, but I don't think we're quite ready to be competing against the professionals yet.

Our schedule for the next few days will be busy. Friday and Saturday we'll be participating in all three events. Each night there is a reception. Friday night features the Shooting Industry Academy of Excellence Awards Reception. Two of our clients, BLACKHAWK! and SIG SAUER, are nominated for several awards. BLACKHAWK! is nominated for Accessory of the Year, Hunting Product of the Year and Safety Product. SIG SAUER is also nominated for Accessory of the Year, as well as Rifle of the Year. Keep you fingers crossed for both of them! Saturday night wraps up the event with a Masters Awards Banquet.

It should be a very fun event and I'm excited to see how my team and I do. If you're attending, be sure to be on the lookout for us. We'll be wearing Laura Burgess Marketing branded T-shirts and ball caps. Check back here over the weekend for updates about the event and to find out how we fared. We'll also be posting updates through our twitter account throughout the weekend so be sure to follow us to keep up to date on our progress!

Welcome Aboard New Partner and Senior MARCOM Manager

Laura Burgess Marketing today announced the addition of Eric Burgess, Co-Owner and Partner, and Ashley Burgess, Senior MARCOM Manager, to its team. Eric and Ashley will be responsible for driving Laura Burgess Marketing, LLC’s revenue growth, market expansion and new service offerings.

Click here to read the full article

The BLACKHAWK! Covert Carry Messenger Bag

Ok, you carry a laptop everyday to work. Maybe you are not military, maybe you are. Maybe you are law enforcement, maybe you aren't. Maybe you just need to carry your gun and not have it scream "I'm carrying a gun!" This is your go-to-everyday-bag. From BLACKHAWK! the Covert Carry Messenger Bag is available for those in uniform and those just "informed". Ride a bike? A removable waist belt provide stability when moving fast! A large padded laptop compartment inside is 14" wide by 11" high by 2" deep - enough for all you creative gun carrying types. The exterior back panel features two concealed pistol magazine pockets and a center pocket for a handgun with hook and loop to mount your holster.

Military? We've got your preferred fashion palette of Coyote Tan and Foliage Green.

LE? - Your basic Black is available.

All you other responsible hard working citizens - Gray/Silver, Black/Red, Blue/Red, Blue/Black

All this for only $119.00 - only thing missing is your lunch bag....

http://www.blackhawk.com/product/Covert-Carry-Messenger-Bag,1185,1394.htm

Welcoming an old friend - Sentry Solutions

When you are in the business of servicing other companies, it pays to always keep your door open. One of the hardest things in my business of PR is when a client must end their contract. They feel awkward, I used to feel awkward, but today's economy is making many businesses re-evaluate their marketing needs. Some businesses - slash and burn. Some re-invest. And some come back to the roost. Take for example this little company, Sentry Solutions. When I began my company, the President, Mark Mrozek, asked me in on a couple of projects he had going. I thought we were a perfect fit - two little companies in New Hampshire working in the same markets for the military and shooting sports. But, alas, he had another marketing professional in his pocket so our relationship was limited. But here, years later, Mark calls and the next thing I know - Sentry Solutions is our new client. These are great products too, and I'm not just saying that. Whether you are a gun owner, a fisherman (or woman!) or just want to keep your tools from rusting away in your damp basement (oh! that's my basement!) Sentry Solution products are truly the best in their league. So, welcome again, Mark - let's get down to some good PR!