February NewsWaves 2019
Table of Contents
RBFF Makes Waves at Miami Boat Show
The boating industry is still settling back in from the 2019 Progressive Insurance Miami International Boat Show, but one thing is for sure: RBFF made waves.
The RBFF team engaged the industry, consumers and key social media influencers to make an impact, reeling in an award, social media followers and more along the way. If you missed it, here’s everything that happened:
- #MakingWaves InstaMeet happy hour.
- 10 female social media micro influencers joined RBFF to learn more about the role women are playing in growing fishing and boating participation and to hear how RBFF is rallying the industry and current and future female anglers with the #MakingWaves campaign.
- On the water with Grady-White Boats and Yamaha Outboards.
- Our friends at Grady-White Boats and Yamaha Outboards kept the momentum from our InstaMeet going with a morning on the water with our social media micro influencers.
- Check out some of the coverage from Yamaha Outboards on Facebook and Instagram.
- Boating Industry Media Dinner.
- RBFF invited members of the boating industry media to come together over dinner and a common goal: advancing fishing and boating participation. At the dinner, we discussed our 60 in 60 goal, #MakingWaves campaign and more ways we are working to engage the industry and anglers, both new and veteran.
- Getting in front of the industry at the Innovation Breakfast.
- As sponsors of the Innovation Breakfast, we had the opportunity to speak to the boating industry on our 60 in 60 goal, consumer campaigns and more.
- Bringing home the hardware.
- During the Innovation Breakfast, the Marine Marketers of America honored our Women’s Initiative as the Best Diversity Initiative of 2019.
- Teaming up with NOAA and the industry.
- While at the Miami Boat Show, RBFF President & CEO Frank Peterson joined leaders at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) and the American Sportfishing Association (ASA) in signing a Memorandum of Agreement to advance fishing and boating activities on federal marine waters.
Looking for even more? Keep an eye on our Twitter and LinkedIn feeds for additional coverage, insights and more.
How more licenses and registrations are good for your business, and how the industry is being challenged to help
“More licensed anglers equate to more fishing participants. In fact, as the result of our own analysis, each licensed angler equals 1.68 fishing participants, and fishing is the number one activity done from a boat” led Frank Peterson, RBFF President & CEO. “Retailers, state agencies and everyone in the fishing and boating community benefits from increased participation, and here’s our Fishing License & Boat Registration Website Plugin is the newest way RBFF is helping.”
THE OPPORTUNITY
The more anglers and boaters out there participating, the more money there is to be made. That’s simple math, but there’s a lot more to that equation. The American Sportfishing Association’s 2016 Sportfishing in America Report says 35.8 million American anglers over the age of 15 spent $49.8 billion on fishing gear and trips in 2016. In fact, fishing and boating add up to be the greatest contributor to the outdoor economy and affect the lives of more than 800,000 individuals. Of course, a portion of many of these sales goes to help conserve the natural resources we so enjoy.
But what does this mean to you? It means every angler, represents a yearly opportunity of $1,392 to the industry. Better yet, the average spend per fishing trip is $130. And with fishing being the number one activity done from a boat, it’s critical to nurture this group by reducing barriers and providing them with the critical information they need.
THE ASK
We need your help to promote fishing licenses and boat registrations to support our 60 in 60 goal, and we’ve got a free tool to make it easy! We are challenging ourselves and our community to get this tool onto as many websites as possible.
With this free plugin embedded on consumer-facing websites, new and returning anglers alike are offered a more straight-forward, less intimidating way to get the precise information they need. Users simply click on their state on the map or select it from a dropdown menu. From here, they’re taken directly to the proper destination on the corresponding state agency website where they can then complete their fishing license purchase or boat registration, bringing our entire industry closer to the 60 in 60 goal with every completed purchase.
“Help your current and future customers by bringing the information they need directly to them, and position yourself as a trusted resource for your community – all in support of the 60 in 60 goal,” added Peterson.
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service and others have already implemented the widget on their own sites. RBFF is encouraging all stakeholders to embed this widget on their websites, right where consumers are already learning about fishing and boating and looking to purchase products.
To learn more about this widget and other resources like the free embeddable Places to Fish & Boat Map, head to the RBFF Resource Center.