Despite what you might be hearing in the news, these are heady days for the NRA.
The outrage surrounding the NRA’s shoot ’em up app for kids along with their latest ad asking why the President’s children are entitled to armed guards while the rest of America’s kids aren’t—these only help to strengthen the NRA’s position.
See, the NRA is not a group of crazy ideologues. Rather, they are rational businessmen (and women) supporting the financial interests of gun manufacturers who themselves must answer to Wall Street.
And the surest way to increase sales of weapons and boost share price is to stoke fear on both sides of the gun issue: fear among those who do not yet possess weapons to go out and stock up; and fear among passionate gun lovers who imagine the government is just moments away from swooping down in black helicopters to confiscate their beloved firearms.
The plan is already working. Despite some dumping of gun shares right after Newtown, as the President discussed gun control at his press conference today, shares of publicly traded firearms companies surged, with Smith & Wesson climbing 3 per cent.
Some marketers may believe that optimism is what sells; but the real pros know there’s nothing like the fear of violent death to get your product flying off the shelves.
So expect the NRA to keep stoking the flames of fear. Along with the general anxiety we already feel about the economy, the environment and terrorism, it should be a banner year for the NRA, firearms manufactures and the investors who enable them.