Press Releases
ALEXANDRIA, VA (December 13, 2012) – The Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation (RBFF) hosted a record 47 state fish and wildlife agencies at its 2012 State Marketing Workshop held December 4 – 6, 2012 in Dallas, Texas. The Workshop focused on the importance of marketing and communicating with anglers and boaters, and implementing integrated marketing efforts to increase fishing license sales and boat registrations.
“Engaging with the states to win back lapsed anglers and boaters, and keep them coming back for years to come is critical to our mission and to the health of the industry overall,” said RBFF President and CEO Frank Peterson. “This year’s Workshop focused on the importance of the customer, and ways we can work together to make their experience with state agencies as positive and seamless as possible.”
Workshop participants took part in roundtable discussions which facilitated important dialogue about ways to improve the customer experience as it relates to purchasing a fishing license or boat registration online. Keynote speaker Howard Hyden challenged participants to think “from the outside in,” discussing his own methodology for transforming organizations into success stories, and how it can be applied to the fishing and boating industry. Participants also heard from RBFF staff and industry experts about customer engagement and retention strategies, and received tips for website optimization, using social media and email.
“I’m thankful for the opportunity to attend the Workshop,” said Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife License Program Coordinator Candace Dunning. “RBFF did a wonderful job! I learned a lot and plan to work on implementing some of the great ideas.”
RBFF revealed new data at the Workshop which shows its state partners are seeing higher than average fishing participation rates. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s (USFWS) 2011 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation indicates a nationwide 11 percent increase in fishing participation from 2006 to 2011. According to Southwick Associates, when you look at the 35 states who participated in RBFF’s State Marketing Program during that time period, the data shows a 10.2 percent increase in fishing participation. The other 15 non-participating states saw a 5 percent decrease in fishing participation during that same time period.
“We’re extremely pleased with this news,” said Peterson. “While there are many factors contributing to participation overall, this data indicates our program is having a positive impact.”
Launched in 2008, RBFF’s State Fishing License Marketing Program was developed to increase participation in the sport and generate awareness of the connection between fishing license sales and conservation efforts. To date, more than 1.3 million fishing licenses have been sold as a result of the program. RBFF’s Boat Registration Marketing Program first launched as a pilot program in 2009, and was implemented nationwide in 2012.
RBFF thanks the following companies for sponsoring its 2012 State Marketing Workshop: American Sportfishing Association, Brunner, Colle+McVoy, Discover Boating, EurekaFacts, LLC, Field & Stream, Info-Link, J.F. Griffin Publishing, Outdoor Channel, Outdoor Life, SourceLink and Southwick Associates.
About RBFF
RBFF is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to increase participation in recreational angling and boating, thereby protecting and restoring the nation’s aquatic natural resources. RBFF helps people discover, share and protect the legacy of boating and fishing through the Take Me Fishing™ campaign.
