Every year, thousands of individuals complete their hunter’s education certification but do not purchase a hunting license. Where do they go? This gap presents a significant opportunity for wildlife agencies to close the gap. Understanding this behavior and addressing it with effective solutions can bring more people into the field, ensuring the longevity and funding of conservation efforts.
Brandt’s licensing platforms currently integrate with seven Hunter Education certification vendors, including Kalkomey, NRA, and Outdoor Smart. When a customer completes a hunter education course, the vendor sends the public user completion notice to the licensing system via API. The certification number is stored on the customer’s profile for law enforcement use when validating a customer’s profile in the field. This API integration streamlines the process for agencies and users by automatically updating and avoiding mistyping.
Our platforms also include event and volunteer management which state agency educational divisions leverage to operate their in-person safety education courses. Upon in-person course completion and the volunteer passing the student, the hunter/safety education unique identification is automatically add to the customer’s profile.
Closing the Gap
Brandt’s Atlas Marketing CRM offers a powerful tool to tackle the education to license gap. Using data across online education vendors, in-person classes, and purchase history, Atlas can identify individuals who have a hunter’s education completion on file but have not yet purchased a hunting license. This filtered segment allows us to create highly targeted marketing segments.
Atlas can send automated emails or push notifications reminding these individuals of the benefits and excitement of hunting, provide tips for first-time hunters, or offer promotions to encourage the purchase of a hunting license. These targeted campaigns ensure that the message reaches the right audience at the right time, increasing the likelihood of converting educated individuals into active hunters.
For example, a recent campaign in Tennessee targeted 108,591 individuals who had completed hunter education but were not current license holders. With an open rate of 36.65% and a click rate of 0.64%, the campaign saw purchases of items like combination hunt/fish licenses and collectible durable cards.
Similarly, a campaign in Kansas reached 140,935 lapsed resident hunters and current license holders, achieving a 39.26% open rate, a 3.00% click rate, and sold various hunting and fishing licenses.
With Brandt’s integrated platforms and Atlas CRM, wildlife agencies are better equipped to turn hunter education graduates into active participants in the great outdoors.