I want to take a moment to talk about something that makes ATA Show Week different from almost any other trade show on the calendar: you don’t get one audience that week — you get two. And if you plan for both, you walk away with a return that few other four days in our industry can match. 

Day One and Two: The ATA Show 

The first two days belong to the trade. This is your room full of buyers — archery and bowhunting retailers from across the country who are there to write orders, build relationships, and plan their season. They’re not walking the floor for fun. They’re comparing margins, evaluating new product lines, and deciding which brands deserve shelf space for the year ahead.  

That means your approach for these two days needs to focus on the business of buying. Retailers respond to clear, compelling buying programs: show specials, volume pricing, early-order incentives, dating terms, and marketing support that helps them move product once it reaches their shelves. Bring your best numbers. Bring your sell sheets. Bring a team that can talk about margin and turn, not just features. The retailers in this room are the gatekeepers to thousands of end customers you’ll never meet directly — win them over, and you’ve gained a distribution channel, not just a single sale. 

Day Three and Four: The Archery & Bowhunting Supershow 

Then the doors open to a completely different crowd.  

The Archery & Bowhunting Supershow brings in the end user — the archers and hunters who actually use the gear retailers just spent the first two days evaluating. This is your chance to put product directly into consumers’ hands.

This audience isn’t thinking about wholesale pricing or order minimums. They want to feel the draw cycle, shoot the bow, test the release, and walk away excited about something new for their season.  

Your booth needs a different energy entirely: live demos, shooting lanes, hands-on attractions, giveaways, and staff who are ready to talk passionately about performance rather than purchase orders. Consumers buy on experience and emotion as much as specifications, so the brands that win these two days are the ones that let people try before they buy — and leave with a story to tell their hunting buddies or shooting league. 

Why Both Days Matter 

It’s worth pointing out just how strong this consumer audience is. The co-located archery tournaments supply the target archers, while the passion of bowhunters draw attendees fromhundreds of miles away to walk the Supershow floor. Whether your product line is built for the indoor range, the 3D course, or the treestand, there’s a meaningful segment of this crowd thatmatches exactly who you’re trying to reach.  

Few consumer events deliver that kind of cross-section of the archery and bowhunting world under one roof.  

When you put these two audiences together, the value of the week compounds. The retailer who places an order on Tuesday walks the Supershow floor on Thursday and sees, in real time, how excited consumers are about the product they just purchased. That validation matters. It reinforces the buying decision and builds confidence heading into the selling season.  

Meanwhile, the consumer who shoots your bow on Friday may walk into a local shop weeks later — one that, thanks to Tuesday’s order, already has it in stock. 

That’s the real magic of ATA Show Week. It’s not two separate events that happen to share a building. It’s a single pipeline, from manufacturer to retailer to end user, compressed into four days. Exhibitors who approach it that way — with a sharp trade strategy for the front half and a hands-on consumer experience for the back half — consistently tell us it’s the most efficient week of business development on their calendar. 

So, as you plan your booth, your staffing, and your messaging, ask yourself: do we have a real plan for the retailer, and a real plan for the consumer? 

Get both right, and you’re not just exhibiting at a show. You’re building demand on both ends of the supply chain in the same week. 

To reserve your booth space contact Eric Dobberfuhl, Sales Manager at 507-233-8142 or email ericdobberfuhl@archerytrade.org. 

Registration opens on August 3. Watch your email for more information.