This story first appeared in Huffington Post January 22nd, 2013.
I’m in awe of the NRA.
As an outsider (aka Canadian) I see an organization whose continued existence as a political force defies logic.
So what makes this org tick? How has it continued to grow in stature, membership and power, even as other countries boost gun regulation? How has it maintained its unbending ‘cold dead hands’ stance in the face of mass shooting after mass shooting? Is it a brand with staying power, or is there a hole in the NRA’s futureproof brand armor?
Whether or not you agree with its mandates or methods, I believe the NRA model can provide valuable insights for anyone setting out to build a futureproof brand.
Lesson 1. Futureproof foundation
The essence of every futureproof brand lies at the intersection of the brand’s and audience’s value system.
In the case of the NRA, this is a slam dunk. America loves guns. From the Wild West to Tarantino, guns evoke every feeling from freedom to outlaw spirit, mastery of one’s domain to sticking it to the man. (Sometimes I wonder if the love has actually crossed over into a fetish, but that’s another story)
More than meshing with Americans’ love of guns, however, the NRA has found another bond higher up Maslow’s hierarchy: freedom. The NRA’s vision equating gun ownership with patriotism and self-determination meshes beautifully with the core American value of liberty.
Interestingly, the trigger that caused the NRA to ‘ladder’ its stance was an incident of extreme gun violence. Prior to the 1960’s, the NRA was a gun club for hobbyists, and an education / training organization. Only after the JFK assassination did gun ownership become politicized – and the NRA started down its present path.
Lesson 2. Futureproof structure
The NRA is has some fascinating futureproof elements in its structure. Interestingly, these elements are entirely transferable – they can be replicated by any organization or brand. Really.
Sociability – The NRA communicates tirelessly with its grass roots membership. And with messaging that swings between the poles of alarm (“They’re taking our guns!”) and jubilation (“We stopped them from taking our guns!”), the communication is more exciting than the average brand’s inane attempts at socializing (“Same cola, different can!”)
What’s more, the NRA encourages its members to communicate their affiliation to outsiders with everything from logo hats to bumper stickers. Not unlike Mac owners, when you think of it.
Design – The NRA doesn’t talk about guns much. In fact, the organization has so effectively woven imagery of firearms with imagery of freedom (assault rifle, meet American eagle) that it really doesn’t need to talk about guns at all. I would challenge it has made its platform unspoken – you can understand it without words. If design is about making complex concepts intuitive, the NRA has done a great job.
Sustainability – Generally, I use sustainability in reference to environmental and social good. But in this case, I’d like to broaden the scope to examine the self-sustaining nature of the NRA’s structure.
The NRA is ubiquitous at gun shows and dealerships, encouraging newbies to join at the moment of purchase. At this point of entry the steady stream of NRA communication begins, cementing the newbie’s position as ‘one of us’ vs ‘one of them’. This adversarial stance is extremely effective at cementing loyalty and building stable membership. Not to mention soliciting donations.
Move up from the grassroots, and you see a very sustainable structure. Member money, along with massive funding from firearms manufacturers, finances lobbyists and buys loyalty in government. The NRA has created such an effective political machine that even in the wave of outrage sparked by the Sandy Hook shootings, commentators wonder if it will be possible to get any form of gun control passed through Congress.
So now we’ve moved from the grassroots to the pinnacle. And from the pinnacle, victories and threats are endlessly communicated back to the grassroots. This creates an endless loop of reinforcement, new membership, and leadership emboldened to push the NRA agenda. A very sustainable model indeed.
Lesson 3. Futureproof Brand?
Buckminster Fuller once said “You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”
The NRA is very much a product of its environment. In an America gutted by Wall Street, discouraged by moribund government and partisan politics, and displaced economically by China, the NRA provides security. They’ve taken my house, my job, my kid’s future – but they can’t take my gun.
If there is a hole in the NRA’s brand, it is progress. The NRA as a political movement isn’t moving forward. If anything, it’s a movement cemented in nostalgia, trying to recreate a simpler past.
The stone age didn’t end because we ran out of stones. I believe the political NRA age won’t end because we eliminate guns. It also won’t end if we beef up our mental health care. Mental instability and guns and economic insecurity go hand in hand.
No, the NRA’s brand will only diminish if we decide to embrace an optimistic future. Something that sweeps us up the way the 1960’s space race did. Unfortunately, I have not seen anything like that brand today.
I loved this article. You are extremely observant in a non-threatening, objective way…
My feeling is that the NRA brand is flawed because the American public feels more and more vulnerable to gun violence and so will get on-board with gun control measures. In order for the NRA (Which i hate BTW), to strengthen its brand, it will need to fold recreational gun use (trap shooting, target shooting, family togetherness and family first etc ). Right now, there is no fun- in- gun ownership. If the NRA continues its ” us against them stance” in the end, they’ll lose.
I believe you’re right Marc, in that the changing demographic within the country will certainly begin to sway the overall attitude on important issues such as this.
I’m certainly not qualified to offer much of an opinion regarding how brands could market themselves, but I do have an insight that might be somewhat relevant.
From my perspective, and I am a Gun Owner; I see the response of the NRA as being motivated by a very negative emotion, that being FEAR! They fear everything; other governments, their own government, the police, their military, opposition political parties, recent immigrants, any ethnic people other than Caucasian, other religions other than “Christianity and possibly Judaism”, the loss of their property, their freedom, their lifestyle, their health etc.
You might not recognize the fear at first but it’s expressed openly as Hate and aggression! Just watching the interview with Alex Jones and Piers Morgan about the gun debate will show the hate that is involved here, all stemming from fear!
The increase in membership of the NRA is the result of preying on the fears of ordinary people. This same tactic has been used throughout history by political leaders to get the approval of populations (patriots) to approve of aggressive military action towards other countries with a “Preemptive justification” just as Nazi Germany did with Poland – orchestrated by Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbel. The problem with this being the primary motivation of the NRA is that they constantly need additional crisis situations to “keep the oven warm” sort of speaking, and there is nothing positive for the outsider to look forward to in their ideology other than entering the world of fear that they live in to protect their families from …well…everything!
As far as marketing of brands, if an impression is given that a marketing campaign is trying to keep the company ALIVE rather than promoting an atmosphere of positive growth, it usually never goes over very well. People become wary of brands that are on the way out and launching the vilest attacks on their competitors is a sure way to indicate that. They also open themselves up to a lot of ridicule, especially if they are caught with their hand in the cookie jar. ( look at the Sony Wii and Microsoft X-Box and their battle over gaming systems. Microsoft emphasize new and innovative products that are a benefit to the gamer while Sony spends a lot of time defending what they don’t have and trying to criticize what Microsoft has created….Sony is losing that brand war)
I suppose if there were any wisdom we might apply to the NRA’s situation it would be that they need to find a positive way of getting across their message rather than the decidedly negative one they’ve relied upon for so long.
A quote from a book written a long time ago may apply in this case “That which you fear the most will come upon you”. I suppose this fits into the theology of the positive thinking crowd which states that “you create what you think about”. If Fear of loss is constantly on our minds, how can anything else happen, but that?
The support that the NRA may have been able to drum up from the undecided… becomes less and less…. the more times they cry “Wolf”, As has been shown with their vehement attacks and wild accusations about Obama and his policies, which aren’t proving to be true! Brand survival and marketing in the long run boils down to “Credibility”. The more often your statements prove to be unsubstantiated as with Fox News Pundits (and with the internet it’s well recorded and retrievable) the quicker your brand will decline!
You’ve missed one key aspect of the NRA’s power structure. The number of members is “generously” pegged at about 5 million. Dues are roughly $40/member/year. So that mutliplies out to about $20 million. Yet the NRA lobbying machine is estimated at $200,000,000. The difference (or 90% of the funds) comes from the manufacturers and sellers of firearms. It’s not the voting members that carry the clout; it’s the flood of money cycled out of the industry and into politics at all levels that makes NRA’s voice disproportionately “loud”.