The National Tactical Officer's Association (NTOA): A Tactical AND Marketing Edge

[Karen Bartuch]

Check out the latest issue of the NTOA's The Tactical Edge magazine, the WTA has a great ad on page 51. A sneak peek of the cover and the ad page are shown below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The WTA owes the NTOA many thanks for embracing our organization! More specifically, NTOA Marketing Specialist Corey Luby, who really paved the way for us at the 2010 NTOA conference. Luby has been with the NTOA for 13 years and is the mastermind behind the enormous and highly successful vendor show each year. The WTA debuted there in 2010 and plan on returning every year!   

In addition to the conference, Luby is responsible for many innovative NTOA programs such as the member-testing (which we shamelessly modeled ours after), grant and scholarship programs and much more. 

Before getting involved in the NTOA, he was a manager for Circuit City working with electronics. He spent a lot of time in mobile electronics; ironically much of that technology he sees being used against police and military today. He took a break from school for a few years but received his BS in Marketing from Ellis College in 2008. 

Check out my interview with Corey Luby below; more information on the NTOA can be found at www.ntoa.org.
 

Describe what being a “Marketing Specialist” entails. 

Here is the best way to describe my job title: A marketing specialist is a professional who engages in the task of analyzing the promotional potential of a given company and oversees the creation of programs and other tools that will help the company become a success. Marketing specialists can work within several different roles as part of this process. 

As people who know me, know, I oversee a fair amount of programs at the NTOA, which benefit the LE community by getting them gear, training or information.
 

Can you talk about the NTOA member testing program and what prompted you to create that? 

I created that program because in 2003 I was getting phone calls from members who were buying products because the ads looked great and when they got the product it did perform as advertised. So for several months I stewed over this program and how it would operate. When I had my solution, I went to Kevin Cain from Tru-Spec and told him I know you want a press release about your product, but I have something different for you to try, and it will be good and true.  He said ok. Well, since then the members of NTOA have tested over 1200 products.  In almost every issue of other law publications, you will see the Member Tested and Recommended logo on an ad. And the reader will know that one of their fellow officers tested this product.
 

What are some of the best or biggest products that NTOA members have tested?

Well we have members test everything from belt buckle covers to Armored Vehicles. I guess the best products would be those that the members rated high across the board and wrote positive things about it.
 

What other programs do you manage or coordinate? 

My roles at the NTOA are as follows: I handle marketing for the association as well as all advertising sales and contact for the NTOA’s publications, The Tactical Edge, the Crisis Negotiator and the Conference Guide. I manage and coordinate the NTOA Grant Program which is available for those who hold team memberships;  I manage and coordinate the vendors, SWAT Callout Dinners, sponsorships, scholarships, and 5K Run. We hope to see you all at in Richmond, VA on September 18-23, 2011.  Our tactical conference is packed with great training and networking. On top of that I also handle the vendor coordination for the Breacher Symposium, another great event taking place in Springfield, IL on May 23-26, 2011. 
 

Can you talk about the membership of the NTOA, how many members, etc.? 

Currently the NTOA has approximately 35,000 members which is made up of individuals and teams from across the US, Canada and other foreign countries. The makeup of those members is from law enforcement, federal and military.

Is it just for tactical officers? 

No not at all; membership is open to any sworn officer, retired officers, military both active duty and reserve, and non-sworn people such as EMS and dispatchers. (However EMS and dispatchers will need a letter from the department or team they support for additional verification.)
 

The vendor show at the NTOA conference is one of the best I have seen, what do you have in store for this year’s conference in Virginia?

Pittsburgh was a good time! We had some really cool guests - Steve “Turbo” Toboz and Sir Charles (Luby is pictured with Charles Barkley) - two really great guys. Then you have all the attendees from 41 states and 7 countries, great training and evening events. It will be hard to top that, but I have a few ideas in mind for Richmond, so we will see.
 

One last question...what do you love most about your job? 

I would have to say meeting our members and hearing them thank me, when they are the ones I am thanking!