02-21-2013, 12:10 PM
Here's an update on Florida's promotional fishing program, "TrophyCatch":
Participation: As of February 10, we have 1,700 registered anglers with 43 approved submissions to TrophyCatch clubs. Considering the first quarter was scheduled for a soft launch to debug the website and our procedures, we are very pleased with the initial response. We are heading into the primetime for bass fishing, and just launching our major promotional efforts, so we expect these numbers to increase rapidly throughout the year.
Marketing Efforts: TrophyCatch business cards (PDF) are being distributed at various locations and events around the state reinforcing the "grassroots approach" to participation. A brochure detailing benefits of the program and highlighting how to participate is being produced, along with banners for weigh stations, fishing shows, tournaments and fairs.
Television show personalities: Th3Legends (Bill Dance, Jimmy Houston and Roland Martin), One More Cast with Shaw Grigsby, Bass2Billfish with Peter Miller, the Chevy Insider Fishing Report with Rick Murphy, the Average Angler with Glen Pla, and Under the Bridge Productions have each demonstrated their support for TrophyCatch. We continue to post appropriate videos on our YouTube channel (YouTube.com/TrophyCatchFlorida), including a selection of "My Trophy Swims in Florida" testimonials. We would appreciate your connecting your site to ours and have listed your site under Partner Channels where available. Feel free to submit relevant YouTube videos to us for cross-posting.
TrophyCatch will be publicized nationally this spring on NBC Sports, Outdoor Network, the Sportsman's Channel, and Sunshine Network. The program was also featured on several radio stations airing throughout the State.
Our first full-page TrophyCatch magazine advertisement (PDF) will be placed in various publications and is available for your use. The ad is designed to be flexible, allowing us to replace the photo/background to customize messages that encourage expanded distribution and additional use by various partners. Print publications such as Florida Sportsman, GAFF, Coastal Angler, the Fishing Connection, and online e-magazines such as ODU, the Fly and Light Tackle Angler, and the Online Fisherman, World Fishing Network, Bass Online and others have carried articles promoting TrophyCatch and in various ways offered additional support.
Our first major bulk email campaign is underway, with 200,000 emails having been sent out. We are using a multi-staged deployment to Florida fishing license holders that will ultimately connect with nearly 600,000 anglers. We will also be reaching out to guides, tournament sponsors, marinas and bait-and-tackle shops with more specific offers. The initial templates link to official partner pages via the TrophyCatch prizing page. We encourage each partner to create a TrophyCatchFlorida page that promotes their offer and support for this wide-reaching, value-added angler recognition and conservation effort. When you do, please notify us, so we can update our links to your most appropriate pages.
Promotions: FWC staff has been diligently working to get the word out through promotions at special events, at retail stores and major bass tournaments where an estimated 43,390 people congregated this past fall and nearly 15,000 business cards were distributed. Numerous other shows, fairs, retail openings, special events and tournaments will be attended to create face-to-face exposure throughout 2013. Any partner wishing to further their presence by providing TrophyCatch co-branded promotional items such as tape measures, vinyl-adhesive boat rulers, disposable calendars, fish-grip scales, tournament bags, certificate frames, or magnetic photo frames are encouraged to submit ideas.
Social Media: The TrophyCatch Facebook page (FaceBook.com/TrophyCatchFlorida) is an ever growing element that currently has 330 likes and a recent total reach of around 14,000. The aforementioned YouTube site is also becoming increasingly popular, and we are looking forward to partners and anglers contributing appropriate content. We would appreciate your ensuring that your FaceBook page 'likes" ours, and we have done the same for you. As more trophy catches and buzz surrounding the program reach the "blog-o-sphere," we will expand our monitoring and interaction with the most popular sites to maintain a positive view of TrophyCatch.
TrophyCatch website banners are available in three different sizes (GIFs: 160x600, 728x90 or 300x250) - please let us know if there is another specific size that would work better for your site. They should link directly to: www.TrophyCatchFlorida.com. Also feel free to forward them to any other potential sites that might be interested in posting them.
Special Partner Advertising Discount: ODU Magazine, with an online subscription of nearly 25,000, is offering deeply discounted advertising rates to TrophyCatch partners, contact Bill Schwarz (schwarzw@odumagazine.com) for details.
What's Next: There are many opportunities to join forces with FWC in our effort to promote sustainable bass fishing, you can "like" the TrophyCatch FaceBook page, follow us on the TrophyCatch YouTube page, post web banners on your website and consider using the TrophyCatch magazine ad, and news releases or simply include the TrophyCatch logo in your current advertising. Our "Fish Busters' Bulletin," a monthly column, often features information on TrophyCatch, and you are encouraged to subscribe to it and publish or repurpose the content for your customers. There are several large tournament events scheduled in Florida this spring. We will be on site for the majority of them, talking to folks and encouraging fishing and participation in TrophyCatch. If you have any promotional items that you would like distributed at these events please let us know. We welcome any creative ideas that you might have to help promote TrophyCatch!
Program Review and Improvement: We are assembling a team of industry partners to help us evaluate and enhance our program elements and marketing. We strive to make TrophyCatch fun and easy for anglers to participate, while providing accurate and credible data, and generating a high return on investment for our partners. We will be sending out a draft governance document soon for your review and comment. If you are interested in participating on our TrophyCatch Team, please let us know.
Thank you again for supporting Florida Bass Conservation!
Participation: As of February 10, we have 1,700 registered anglers with 43 approved submissions to TrophyCatch clubs. Considering the first quarter was scheduled for a soft launch to debug the website and our procedures, we are very pleased with the initial response. We are heading into the primetime for bass fishing, and just launching our major promotional efforts, so we expect these numbers to increase rapidly throughout the year.
Marketing Efforts: TrophyCatch business cards (PDF) are being distributed at various locations and events around the state reinforcing the "grassroots approach" to participation. A brochure detailing benefits of the program and highlighting how to participate is being produced, along with banners for weigh stations, fishing shows, tournaments and fairs.
Television show personalities: Th3Legends (Bill Dance, Jimmy Houston and Roland Martin), One More Cast with Shaw Grigsby, Bass2Billfish with Peter Miller, the Chevy Insider Fishing Report with Rick Murphy, the Average Angler with Glen Pla, and Under the Bridge Productions have each demonstrated their support for TrophyCatch. We continue to post appropriate videos on our YouTube channel (YouTube.com/TrophyCatchFlorida), including a selection of "My Trophy Swims in Florida" testimonials. We would appreciate your connecting your site to ours and have listed your site under Partner Channels where available. Feel free to submit relevant YouTube videos to us for cross-posting.
TrophyCatch will be publicized nationally this spring on NBC Sports, Outdoor Network, the Sportsman's Channel, and Sunshine Network. The program was also featured on several radio stations airing throughout the State.
Our first full-page TrophyCatch magazine advertisement (PDF) will be placed in various publications and is available for your use. The ad is designed to be flexible, allowing us to replace the photo/background to customize messages that encourage expanded distribution and additional use by various partners. Print publications such as Florida Sportsman, GAFF, Coastal Angler, the Fishing Connection, and online e-magazines such as ODU, the Fly and Light Tackle Angler, and the Online Fisherman, World Fishing Network, Bass Online and others have carried articles promoting TrophyCatch and in various ways offered additional support.
Our first major bulk email campaign is underway, with 200,000 emails having been sent out. We are using a multi-staged deployment to Florida fishing license holders that will ultimately connect with nearly 600,000 anglers. We will also be reaching out to guides, tournament sponsors, marinas and bait-and-tackle shops with more specific offers. The initial templates link to official partner pages via the TrophyCatch prizing page. We encourage each partner to create a TrophyCatchFlorida page that promotes their offer and support for this wide-reaching, value-added angler recognition and conservation effort. When you do, please notify us, so we can update our links to your most appropriate pages.
Promotions: FWC staff has been diligently working to get the word out through promotions at special events, at retail stores and major bass tournaments where an estimated 43,390 people congregated this past fall and nearly 15,000 business cards were distributed. Numerous other shows, fairs, retail openings, special events and tournaments will be attended to create face-to-face exposure throughout 2013. Any partner wishing to further their presence by providing TrophyCatch co-branded promotional items such as tape measures, vinyl-adhesive boat rulers, disposable calendars, fish-grip scales, tournament bags, certificate frames, or magnetic photo frames are encouraged to submit ideas.
Social Media: The TrophyCatch Facebook page (FaceBook.com/TrophyCatchFlorida) is an ever growing element that currently has 330 likes and a recent total reach of around 14,000. The aforementioned YouTube site is also becoming increasingly popular, and we are looking forward to partners and anglers contributing appropriate content. We would appreciate your ensuring that your FaceBook page 'likes" ours, and we have done the same for you. As more trophy catches and buzz surrounding the program reach the "blog-o-sphere," we will expand our monitoring and interaction with the most popular sites to maintain a positive view of TrophyCatch.
TrophyCatch website banners are available in three different sizes (GIFs: 160x600, 728x90 or 300x250) - please let us know if there is another specific size that would work better for your site. They should link directly to: www.TrophyCatchFlorida.com. Also feel free to forward them to any other potential sites that might be interested in posting them.
Special Partner Advertising Discount: ODU Magazine, with an online subscription of nearly 25,000, is offering deeply discounted advertising rates to TrophyCatch partners, contact Bill Schwarz (schwarzw@odumagazine.com) for details.
What's Next: There are many opportunities to join forces with FWC in our effort to promote sustainable bass fishing, you can "like" the TrophyCatch FaceBook page, follow us on the TrophyCatch YouTube page, post web banners on your website and consider using the TrophyCatch magazine ad, and news releases or simply include the TrophyCatch logo in your current advertising. Our "Fish Busters' Bulletin," a monthly column, often features information on TrophyCatch, and you are encouraged to subscribe to it and publish or repurpose the content for your customers. There are several large tournament events scheduled in Florida this spring. We will be on site for the majority of them, talking to folks and encouraging fishing and participation in TrophyCatch. If you have any promotional items that you would like distributed at these events please let us know. We welcome any creative ideas that you might have to help promote TrophyCatch!
Program Review and Improvement: We are assembling a team of industry partners to help us evaluate and enhance our program elements and marketing. We strive to make TrophyCatch fun and easy for anglers to participate, while providing accurate and credible data, and generating a high return on investment for our partners. We will be sending out a draft governance document soon for your review and comment. If you are interested in participating on our TrophyCatch Team, please let us know.
Thank you again for supporting Florida Bass Conservation!