To think that a customer who spends $5,000 on a 5-night/4-day fishing trip or $750 on a fly rod is posting on Facebook or reading flipbooks is not likely. He’s probably working hard to be able to afford a quality trip or quality tackle. That demographic is likely to favor print. Products that appeal to a younger audience or are price-point driven may do well with digital. But each group must know their audience. TROUT magazine, for instance, consists of a 50+ year old demographic. To shift from print to digital for a cost savings would be great for the P&L, but disastrous to all other facets. So by adding a digital application, I can disseminate information to a younger audience so as to increase their participation in Trout Unlimited while maintaining my core constituency. Again, it’s match-the-hatch for your customers.” Ross Purnell, the editor of Fly Fisherman, the largest circulation flyfishing print magazine for 40 years, actually began his publishing career in the digital world. Purnell was the first employee of the revolutionary website, The Virtual Flyshop (1996). Fly Fisherman magazine acquired The Virtual Flyshop in a strategic move designed to capitalize on the digital platform and to offer readers and advertisers a state-ofthe-art publishing arm that was additional to the industry-leading print publication. Purnell joined the editorial staff of the print magazine in 2001.
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find it. Up-to-date industry news? The Internet wins. But sometimes you want to sit in a big easy chair and read a good magazine with quality editorial you can depend on. Some people keep their stack of magazines in the bathroom. Or they pick up a magazine before they get on a plane. There will always be a place for print magazines. “We don’t expect consumers to have to choose. Fly Fisherman began publishing a web site back in 1996, we’ve got the best fly-tying app in the iTunes store, we’re developing relationships with our readers through social media, and we’re working on the iPad version of Fly Fisherman right now. We listen to consumers and plan to provide the best fly fishing information however they choose to consume it. And right now, they want it all. “Print publications have many advantages that ensure their longevity. I think the backbone of any good printed magazine is credibility. Readers trust what they read in Fly Fisherman because the information comes from a very select list of experts, the information has been vetted, and you don’t have to wade through millions of pages
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of garbage to find what you’re looking for. Trust is a big issue when you’re asking people to take out their wallet and buy something. According to a 2011 Southwick and Associates study, print advertising is still number one in terms of influencing purchasing decisions and that’s something smart advertisers are already aware of. Our readers paid money for the magazine which identifies them as not just serious fly fishers, but as serious consumers. And the way you consume a printed magazine—from front to back with no goal other than absorbing each page—assures advertisers that the ad has much great value. It’s being carefully read by the right people. It’s not just flashing by on a computer screen.” Sporting businesses in general and fly fishing businesses in specific do well to include a balanced marketing approach, loaded mostly for print and secondarily for digital. Oh, yeah, back to the basement. As I finished bailing water and set about to packing up my box I found several floppy discs from an old Mac 128, and it made me think. I sure wish I had printed the contents of those discs back in, how shall I say, 1984. at 41
AnglingTrade.com / June 2012
“The reality is that nobody has to choose. Almost everybody I know takes advantage of both. You prefer digital if you need a fly recipe quick—you Google it. If you want to banter with fellow fly fishers on bulletin boards you know where to
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