Contarian thought on DSC vs. SCI

[Hornedfrogbbq]

As much as I dislike Atlanta and last year (my first) was a Batton Death March, I want as much personal attention and FaceTime as I can get with different outfitters. In that context, I think SCI is potentially going to be a goat rodeo and DSC could be much much smaller. I am unsure if some outfitters simply have written off DSC (in total or at least in Atlanta) and thus the show will be less attended by both hunters (which would be great) AND outfitters (less is worse).

Thoughts? I like to zig when others zag.

 

[Rare Breed]

While I respect everyone’s opinion, I think people are being to harsh on DSC first time in Atlanta given the weather. We should have fine weather this year and I would be very surprised to see DSC was a failure year two in Atlanta

 

[Rare Breed]

Not to mention the closeness to Nashville from Atlanta for SCI just two weeks later…outfitters can easily drive only four hours between the two

 

[wesheltonj]

I will give you the weather in Atlanta. However, the show was not advertised as it should have been in the Southeast. I know they hired some "high end" marketing firm this year. While I don't live in the Southeast, I don’t see what they are going. I just see Facebook ad’s and that not going to work.

 

[K-man]

Any business that relocates needs to double their advertising just to notify exisiting and new customers where they are. DSC fired their agency last year. What a brilliant move, and it showed. It will take them years to recover outfitters and customers, some never. I wish them well, but some people just need a smack up the side of the head before they listen.

 

[Rare Breed]

Both of you make excellent points! I did not know they had cut back on advertising!

 

[Green Chile]

Besides the external advertising being referenced here, there is the much more vital internal advertising that is needed whenever you go through change management. DSC has failed in that regard to membership being kept in the loop or discussing changes with us ahead of time or asking for our opinion and doing something about it. They purposefully kept change info from getting to the membership until AFTER things were decided and moved. They told us afterwards and THAT point is what so many of us have been saying here this whole time. They still haven't learned from that.

 

[Rem280]

Atlanta sucks. They have high hotel taxes, horrific traffic, and crime,

 

[mdwest]

Both of you make excellent points! I did not know they had cut back on advertising!

They fired their marketing firm that was largely responsible for their success for the prior several years, literally just weeks before the marketing campaign was supposed to start for ATL… and replaced them with a much, much lessor agency, that supposedly has connections with the new “interim” CEO (I don’t know that this is true, but I’ve heard it from more than one person), who failed them miserably..

Supposedly they now have yet another firm.. but my understanding is the new firm doesn’t have any significant experience in the outdoors industry…

We’re barely more than 2 months from the show… I’d be curious what anyone local to ATL (or the surrounding region) has seen or heard locally so far…

If they’re not doing a media blitz, hitting up radio stations, tv, billboards, etc now.. right as deer season is kicking off and hunters are getting prepped and excited about the season, they’ve already missed the boat again…

Facebook and instagram ain’t gonna cut it when you’re trying to appeal to a new locality that has likely never heard of you before and probably never considered hunting internationally before…

They need to remember… Texans are largely staying home that week.. they’ll either attend SCI a few weeks later, or will attend TTHA that same weekend… and while DSC has branched out and opened chapters and become a national organization, the bulk of their membership and bulk of their revenue still comes out of Texas and the immediate surrounding area..

If they aren’t seriously busting their asses to get folks local to GA, FL, AL, TN, etc to come. They’re dead before they even try to get started…

Remember SCI is just 2 weeks later and just a few hours up the road from ATL… I guarantee SCI is bombarding the middle and east TN markets as well as north AL, north GA, etc (the same markets DSC should be trying to appeal heavily to right now)…

 

[Russ16]

As much as I dislike Atlanta and last year (my first) was a Batton Death March, I want as much personal attention and FaceTime as I can get with different outfitters. In that context, I think SCI is potentially going to be a goat rodeo and DSC could be much much smaller. I am unsure if some outfitters simply have written off DSC (in total or at least in Atlanta) and thus the show will be less attended by both hunters (which would be great) AND outfitters (less is worse).

Thoughts? I like to zig when others zag.

This has been my view all along. I don’t go to these shows to enjoy the city. I generally grab a burger in the hotel or nearby. I enjoyed DSC much more than SCI last year because of the time I was able to spend talking to people. It was much more productive.

 

[Russ16]

Atlanta sucks. They have high hotel taxes, horrific traffic, and crime,

That’s all true but my room in Atlanta last year was much cheaper than the one in Nashville and it looks like it will be that way again.

 

[Rare Breed]

They fired their marketing firm that was largely responsible for their success for the prior several years, literally just weeks before the marketing campaign was supposed to start for ATL… and replaced them with a much, much lessor agency, that supposedly has connections with the new “interim” CEO (I don’t know that this is true, but I’ve heard it from more than one person), who failed them miserably..

Supposedly they now have yet another firm.. but my understanding is the new firm doesn’t have any significant experience in the outdoors industry…

We’re barely more than 2 months from the show… I’d be curious what anyone local to ATL (or the surrounding region) has seen or heard locally so far…

If they’re not doing a media blitz, hitting up radio stations, tv, billboards, etc now.. right as deer season is kicking off and hunters are getting prepped and excited about the season, they’ve already missed the boat again…

Facebook and instagram ain’t gonna cut it when you’re trying to appeal to a new locality that has likely never heard of you before and probably never considered hunting internationally before…

They need to remember… Texans are largely staying home that week.. they’ll either attend SCI a few weeks later, or will attend TTHA that same weekend… and while DSC has branched out and opened chapters and become a national organization, the bulk of their membership and bulk of their revenue still comes out of Texas and the immediate surrounding area..

If they aren’t seriously busting their asses to get folks local to GA, FL, AL, TN, etc to come. They’re dead before they even try to get started…

Remember SCI is just 2 weeks later and just a few hours up the road from ATL… I guarantee SCI is bombarding the middle and east TN markets as well as north AL, north GA, etc (the same markets DSC should be trying to appeal heavily to right now)…

I live in Atlanta area and have seen zero advertising

 

[wesheltonj]

I live in Atlanta area and have seen zero advertising

Well, that’s not good.

 

[Russ16]

I’m in DC and have seen quite a bit. Granted it is all online.

 

[375Fox]

The floor plan for DSC is posted. It’s still a significant show. Some individuals should just start a group chat instead of posting the latest DSC rumors.

Convention - Dallas Safari Club

The DSC Convention and Sporting Expo is one of the biggest conservation fundraising events in the US. Over the past several years, the event has generated millions for conservation, education, and advocacy initiatives around the world. CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THE CONVENTION! The 2026 DSC...

www.biggame.org

 

[mdwest]

The floor plan for DSC is posted. It’s still a significant show. Some individuals should just start a group chat instead of posting the latest DSC rumors.

Convention - Dallas Safari Club

The DSC Convention and Sporting Expo is one of the biggest conservation fundraising events in the US. Over the past several years, the event has generated millions for conservation, education, and advocacy initiatives around the world. CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THE CONVENTION! The 2026 DSC...

www.biggame.org

I can assure you there are numerous group chats and individual chats that got fired up all over again once the most recent news of the CEO being replaced by a former board member whose behaviors and motives have been in question for the better part of the last 5 years…

As far as rumors are concerned… I’d say the overwhelming majority of things DSC declared false and/or rumors previously have been proven to actually be correct and not rumor at all…

And DSC has had opportunity after opportunity after opportunity to come forward, clear the air, present its case, and provide facts or counter facts since the day the former board saw half its membership walk out and leave the organization (not a rumor… fact…), it’s CEO leave because of board actions, while members of the board spread rumors about everything from him leaving for performance reasons, to being pushed out, etc which were clearly untrue, to DSC telling membership Kay Bailey was not available and was being torn down as causation for moving to Atlanta (again, not true)… or for the “save DSC” crowd that made numerous allegations that were proven false, but refused to come forward and acknowledge that they essentially lied (some of whom are now in senior leadership positions)… and the list goes on and on and on…

I think the majority of life members would love for DSC to start talking more, start being more open, start keeping members in the loop about decisions being made, etc…. In fact the most recent CEO made exactly that promise last Jan/Feb… and then neither he, nor any other leader in the organization did it…

You don’t have to like the idea that they have become a travesty of an organization like a substantial number of its membership does…

But the fact is… a substantial number of its membership does believe this… and is still waiting for promised answers that at this point they know will never be delivered..

 

[375Fox]

I can assure you there are numerous group chats and individual chats that got fired up all over again once the most recent news of the CEO being replaced by a former board member whose behaviors and motives have been in question for the better part of the last 5 years…

As far as rumors are concerned… I’d say the overwhelming majority of things DSC declared false and/or rumors previously have been proven to actually be correct and not rumor at all…

And DSC has had opportunity after opportunity after opportunity to come forward, clear the air, present its case, and provide facts or counter facts since the day the former board saw half its membership walk out and leave the organization (not a rumor… fact…), it’s CEO leave because of board actions, while members of the board spread rumors about everything from him leaving for performance reasons, to being pushed out, etc which were clearly untrue, to DSC telling membership Kay Bailey was not available and was being torn down as causation for moving to Atlanta (again, not true)… or for the “save DSC” crowd that made numerous allegations that were proven false, but refused to come forward and acknowledge that they essentially lied (some of whom are now in senior leadership positions)… and the list goes on and on and on…

I think the majority of life members would love for DSC to start talking more, start being more open, start keeping members in the loop about decisions being made, etc…. In fact the most recent CEO made exactly that promise last Jan/Feb… and then neither he, nor any other leader in the organization did it…

You don’t have to like the idea that they have become a travesty of an organization like a substantial number of its membership does…

But the fact is… a substantial number of its membership does believe this… and is still waiting for promised answers that at this point they know will never be delivered..

They clearly have problems at moment. You however have said the same things for the last year at every opportunity regardless true, false, hearsay, or otherwise. A group chat seems more appropriate most postings I see.

 

[mdwest]

So that others don’t know or learn?

Doesn’t seem to make sense to me…

Questions continue to arise about DSC… and DSC continues to not answer them…

New problems continue to arise.. and DSC either avoids addressing them, or in some cases, like the appointment of the new interim CEO, celebrate them…

Seems to me that people that have invested tens of thousands of dollars into the organization and hundreds if not thousands of hours into it are probably the best people to be talking about DSC when questions come up… especially since DSC refuses to…

I suppose it’s a different perspective/opinion…

 

[375Fox]

So that others don’t know or learn?

Doesn’t seem to make sense to me…

Questions continue to arise about DSC… and DSC continues to not answer them…

New problems continue to arise.. and DSC either avoids addressing them, or in some cases, like the appointment of the new interim CEO, celebrate them…

Seems to me that people that have invested tens of thousands of dollars into the organization and hundreds if not thousands of hours into it are probably the best people to be talking about DSC when questions come up… especially since DSC refuses to…

I suppose it’s a different perspective/opinion…

The question was about the show not the organization. The difference of perspective seems that everyone who lost the DSC Dallas show within driving distance now criticizes DSC show at every opportunity and props up TTHA show. The floor plan and list of exhibitors is posted for Atlanta. It’s still a significant show.

 

[Russ16]

So that others don’t know or learn?

Doesn’t seem to make sense to me…

Questions continue to arise about DSC… and DSC continues to not answer them…

New problems continue to arise.. and DSC either avoids addressing them, or in some cases, like the appointment of the new interim CEO, celebrate them…

Seems to me that people that have invested tens of thousands of dollars into the organization and hundreds if not thousands of hours into it are probably the best people to be talking about DSC when questions come up… especially since DSC refuses to…

I suppose it’s a different perspective/opinion…

When did the CEO leave? I've seen nothing about that and see nothing about it on their website.