Using Take Me Fishing™ Find Your Best Self on the Water campaign, we set out to create awareness among diverse new audiences and drive participation, specifically helping women discover the life-changing benefits of fishing and boating—knowing that Women are key to the growth of the industry through their purchasing power and family decision making. As we look back on a successful 2023, the results show how we did just that.
The Find Your Best Self campaign was conceived and developed by a team led by women and developed using ground-breaking research conducted by IPSOS in 2022 which revealed women who fish are happier and healthier. Since lack of representation is a barrier for at least one in four female anglers, we ensured that the Find Your Best Self on the Water campaign would accurately and inclusively portray women in fishing, inspiring more many women feel comfortable trying this life-enhancing activity. Our ambitious, nationally integrated marketing campaign tackled these barriers and inspired women across the country to challenge themselves to try something new while supporting a more inclusive fishing and boating community.
Our Find Your Best Self campaign achieved impressive reach and engagement through paid, influencer and earned media with nearly three billion impressions. These impressions are not just passive spectators but work hard for the boating and fishing industry. We see that the campaign increases the intention of the viewers to fish year after year. Currently, 80 percent say they are “very” or “somewhat” likely to fish in the next 24 months. This is a significant four-point increase from 2022 and it again tracks the goal’s behavior before COVID. This enthusiasm also translates into boating, where we see the intent to fish from a boat increase to 66 percent, also up from 2022.
The campaign focuses on our core audience of Active Outdoors Women. These women had three strong independent indicators of their likelihood to fish, including recall of the Take Me Fishing brand logo, they fished as children, and they were parents of young children. Strategic paid social targeting allowed us to effectively reach this audience, reaching 84.9 million impressions across major social platforms. As a result, we’ve seen a dramatic increase in the use of female-specific fishing and boating hashtags in social conversations. From the lowest point in 2022 to the highest point in 2023, we observed a remarkable 384 percent surge in conversations on these platforms.
Over the course of the campaign, we saw a 17 percent year-over-year increase in organic and referral traffic to the Take Me Fishing website and generated unique earned media with storytelling articles featuring key recruitment messages. These results confirm that our content and brand are aligning with consumers to take action.
When it comes to action, our industry partners help create outlets for consumers to take the next step and get involved. We are thrilled to see the growth of women’s fishing and boating programs helping to support our national campaign at the local level. From the take-charge energy of Yamaha’s new Women Run the Water program, to the established MarineMax’ Women on Water educational programming, our partners are breaking barriers alongside us. Strong specialty communities are built with the Virginia Fly Fishing and Wine Festivals’ Beyond the Cast: Women’s Fly-Fishing Symposium and United Women on the Fly events. Industrial manufacturer Volvo Penta even invited RBFF to share its message at their media event in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, for a group of female influencers and writers in the region.
In the years ahead, RBFF is committed to continuing our efforts centered on women’s experiences and highlighting the benefits of fishing and boating for women. 2024 will specifically sharpen our community focus through new integrated partnerships and programming to directly encourage the discovery of fishing and boating and its benefits at the community level. Up front, we plan to keep our hand on the throttle. We will use representation to recruit new participants, while using strategic connection opportunities to retain them. By continuing to show that the water is open to all, we keep the momentum going for increasing women’s participation in fishing and boating. Our core message and rallying cry will remain: Find your best self in the water.
** This article originally appeared in the March edition of Fishing Tackle Retailr.
