feature
Industries Collide:
Rapid Changes Shape Angling and Media Written by Matt Crawford
AnglingTrade.com / March 2010
Bob Shannon gets it. Owner of The Fly Rod Shop in Stowe, Vt., Shannon understands how important print and electronic media are to his business’ success. He runs ads in the local papers. He places upcoming casting clinics and seminars in sports calendars. He calls local and national writers to suggest story ideas. He’s even shut down his store for a 2-hour period in the middle of the day to guide a quick trip for a film crew from a national television show. 36
“Our goal,” says Shannon, “is to get something in the media about The Fly Rod Shop every month of the year. That kind of editorial exposure is way cheaper than paying for a 3-inch ad.” But Shannon finds his media strategy increasingly harder to wrangle. Editors he’s built a rapport with have left their positions. Writers he’s taken on day trips no longer churn out stories. More ominously, publications he’s worked with in the past no longer even exist.