PHOTO BY JACOB FINE
GREG BOHANNAN
TACKLE WAREHOUSE PRO CIRCUIT
TURNED PRO: 2008
WHAT HE WISHES HE’D KNOWN: NON-ENDEMIC
SPONSORS ARE INCREDIBLY VALUABLE
Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit ace Greg Bohannan quit his
job as a plant manager for Tyson Foods in 2008, when
Walmart was the title sponsor for the former FLW Tour. The
Walmart agreement brought a wealth of non-endemic sponsors
into the sport, allowing select pros to secure lucrative
sponsorship deals in exchange for wrapping their rides with
colorful advertising for everything from candy bars to motor oil.
Bohannan was sponsored by Kellogg’s Pop-Tarts for six
years before the deal went away. He has since secured nonendemic
title contracts with Old Spice (for three years) and is
currently sponsored by Pringles.
“When Walmart and some non-endemics stepped back, it
left me in a position to go out on my own,” he says. “It really
opened my eyes to the value of the financial opportunities
outside the fishing industry. Once you get established, it’s a
good idea to focus on non-endemic sponsors that line up
demographically with the fishing industry. They have bigger
operating budgets, and it’s been my experience they are
more interactive.”
While Bohannan’s experience might seem to apply only to
touring pros, a similar strategy can work well for high school
or college clubs, Federation clubs, and even regional anglers,
all of whom compete for sponsor dollars from tackle companies
that are bombarded with pro-staff requests every season.
Anyone trying to develop new marketing relationships
would be wise to work with local tourism agencies or business
groups to find restaurants, resorts, convenience stores
and other companies in fishing communities that don’t sell
tackle, but might benefit from some creative marketing to
outdoorsmen. Even auto dealerships, realtors and other
regional businesses might be interested in some additional
“salesforce.” After all, every lead has the potential to develop
into a successful relationship down the road.
PHOTO BY PHOENIX MOORE
MARTENS’ MISSED OPPORTUNITY
BPT pro Aaron Martens has a supplementary lesson he learned
several years ago, stemming from a missed opportunity and a big
regret.
After competing in Major League Fishing from the get-go,
Martens still regrets turning down the opportunity to invest in the
circuit prior to its 2011 debut.
“It is one of the worst decisions I ever made,” he admits. “I knew
it was going to be successful, but I just didn’t have the money at the
time. My wife and I had just had our second child, bought a
motorhome and had made some other investments. I should have
borrowed the money, but I didn’t.”
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