TWRA marketing team reports $4.5 million in attributable revenue; commissioners ask for expansion plan

TWRA’s director of public relations, Emily Buck, told the commission that the agency’s marketing program generated roughly $4.5 million in attributable revenue and 37.5 million impressions in fiscal year 2025, and she outlined how two funding sources (a licensed-vendor marketing pot and a state marketing budget) were used to buy digital ads, stadium and print placements, influencer partnerships and in-kind outreach.

Buck said the agency’s branded vendor fund (derived in part from the sale of collectible “hard cards”) and contracted marketing services (Brandt/MGH) supplied roughly $226,000 in campaign dollars for digital ad buys; an additional state-marketing pot of about $178,000 paid for awareness and education placements with NASCAR, the Tennessee Titans and local radio. Buck said click-through revenue attributed to ads produced online sales tracked to specific campaigns and that combined marketing channels — Google ads, social, email and in‑app notifications — generated the revenue reported to the commission.

Buck told the commission that social ads returned $2.5 million in revenue, Google ads had about $340,000 in click-through revenue, and combined email and in‑app efforts produced roughly $1.3 million. She said the program returned $3.7 million to the agency after budgeted expenses. Buck stressed that recruiting new outdoor participants (the R3 — recruit, retain, reactivate — initiative) requires coordinated advertising and hands‑on outreach, because bringing people into hunting or fishing often involves learning new skills and regulatory requirements.

Commission discussion focused on data and targeting: Commissioner Chip Saltzman pressed staff on data sources and modeling for recruitment (demographics, geofencing and third-party ad targeting). Buck said TWRA uses its internal customer dataset, Google and platform analytics, and that Brandt and other ad partners provide targeting tools; she said TikTok is unavailable through state channels and that the agency is using Snapchat and Instagram and is exploring geofencing and stadium-targeted ad buys.

Next steps: Commissioners asked Buck to prepare a formal expansion request outlining proposed campaign(s), cost and expected return for commission review in the agency’s expansion process. Buck said she would prepare an expansion package if the commission directs one. Several commissioners urged consideration of increased marketing funding in future budgets to reach younger and female demographics.

Why this matters: TWRA ties license and registration revenue to participation; marketing is presented as a revenue-generating function that supports license sales, outreach and recruitment of future hunters, anglers and boaters.