I spent the past week at Strike King’s annual Writer’s Conference on Kentucky Lake in Paris, Tenn.
We had the entire bass and crappie pro teams there to work with the media, and all of Strike King’s top management was there as well. Each year we take over Fishtale Lodge, not far from Paris Landing, where the owners are very accommodating to our special needs.
I’ve done a lot of media events like this for a variety of sponsors, but this was the largest I’ve ever attended. There were news people there from around country, representing all types of media platforms, ranging from Bassmaster Magazine to radio, websites and bloggers.
Our job as anglers is to provide and demonstrate detailed on-the-water information and give the writers hands-on experience.
It’s not a sales pitch as much as it is an educational opportunity. When the media sees how each lure performs and understands the situations in which we use it, they can more accurately convey that in the how-to storylines they offer.
The media is there with their still cameras and video equipment and much of what they shoot from this event will be shared with readers and viewers around the country. It’s an excellent way for us to educate the public in how we find and catch fish.
And for us, a quality how-to story and photos in Bassmaster or a video on one of the national bass fishing websites is priceless and lends credibility to Strike King Lures.
In addition to working with media, Strike King pro staffers and lure designers spend time brainstorming ideas for future lures. We discuss new sizes of existing products, new colors and completely new lure concepts.
At Strike King, new products aren’t created overnight. For example, we’ve got most of 2016 introductions in the development stage and now we’re looking at 2017.
The pros have tremendous input in what they want and need from a lure and Strike King goes to great pains to build those features in a lure. Our baits don’t go to the market until we’ve put them to the test and offered suggestions in how to make them better.
The lure I was showing the media this week is a good example. It’s a deep-running jerkbait that has been in development for at least year and won’t be introduced to the public until early 2016. I’ve tested several prototypes and made several tweaks and now we’ve got it right.
It’s no coincidence that this lure should be a big player at the Bassmaster Classic on Grand Lake; like other companies, many mid-season introductions are created with the Classic lake and time of year in mind. We all know what a jump-start a Classic win can give a new lure, and this deep jerkbait could be a huge player for our team on Grand Lake in February.
As you can see, the annual media event is a big deal to all of us with Strike King. Aspiring tournament anglers may not have those opportunities, but it shouldn’t keep them from working with the media. It’s the key to building successful relationships with existing and future sponsors.
You can start at the grassroots level by getting to know your local newspaper, radio and TV people as well as those who oversee websites that cover outdoors in your area. As your fishing success grows, continue to reach out to media people everywhere you go. They may not write about you immediately, but building that relationship could help spotlight you in the future.
Sponsors aren’t entirely enamored with how many pounds you catch. They put as much – if not more – emphasis on your marketability, credibility and relationships that you cultivate with the public.
Remember, it’s all about the attitude!
Kevin VanDam’s column appears weekly on Bassmaster.com. You can also find him on Facebook and Twitter.
