For my next installment on my series regarding sponsors, Id like to address what you might expect when dealing with a company on a personal level. Each company has a business model regarding advertising and promotions that they feel best suits their product and goals. For some companies, this can be set-in-stone, and with others, its constantly changing and evolving. For the most part, your contact will be with someone in advertising/marketing, or a designated pro staff director. Like with any employee or business, some are better than others when it comes to job performance. The best ones....which usually are an indicator if they are representing a great company vs. a good company, respond to any and all inquires from anglers. I know from personal experience, that a company can get swamped from sponsorship inquires, but even then, a great company will find the time to respond to any and all anglers, even if the answer is no, which it is most of the time. They place a value on professional courtesy. As well, a great company has the right people in this position. They either have the knowledge of the sport and the anglers, or are eager to learn it, and work to gain this knowledge daily. A great company realizes that this knowledge is critical, to selecting just the right individuals to help grow their brand name. Like I said in my last post earlier this week....dont waste your time on companies who dont have the professional ethics to show this courtesy. For the most part, companies and marketing/advertising people who are not really students of the sport, tend to go after the obvious, over-exposed names in the sport. In doing so, they totally miss the diversity potential that sponsorships can provide a company. I call it the grass roots. One of the huge fails some companies make, is they have a perception that making top 10s on the FLW Tour or the Elite Series, equates into selling the most product, and therefore is the standard of who holds the most value as pro anglers. This is one of the biggest myths in the sport. Getting TV time is rare, even for the top anglers in the sport, and is impossible to rely on with any consistency. The great companies see more value in backing anglers who can connect with the grass roots, on more of a personal level. These are the anglers who work hard on and off the water. They talk fishing to the guy at the gas station, or on the boat ramp. They work promos, and go the extra mile for their sponsors. This does not mean that a marquee-level angler cannot connect with the grass roots as well, but my point is, a great company has the ability to see financial value in an angler beyond the obvious. That is why it is crucial for a great company to have people in the marketing positions that understand and take time to learn the personalities and unique promotional abilities of the lesser-known pros. Ill use my friend, long-time Elite Series pro Bernie Shultz as an example. Bernie is well-respected in the sport, and has enjoyed a long and successful career....but has never won a BASS or FLW event. Despite this, Bernie has the ability to deliver more value to a sponsor that most any other anglers who has won lots of events, AOY, or even the FLW Cup or Classic. He is a promotional expert of the highest level, and understands what sells product, and everyone loves him. A great company would recognize this in Bernie....only after getting to know him and his abilities. A not so great company would look at the fact Bernie has not won, or made as many TV finals as some other pros, and discount him......dont waste your time dealing with these type of companies! Thanks again for reading, and in my next installment of working with sponsors, Ill give you all some tips in approaching a prospective company. Best of luck on the water!
Posted on: Fri, 01 Aug 2014 14:40:29 +0000
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