I am leaving the winter rivers of Montana this week to be an exhibitor at the Edison New Jersey Fly Fishing Show. Information is at that link and the dates are January 26, 27, 28. Patch and I will be manning the booth Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I will also be doing hour long presentations at the Destination Theater facilities on the seasons of fly fishing in Missoula, Montana.
This will be my 14th year of doing this show and much has changed in the business since I first set up a booth on Fly Fishing Show floor. In the early days there was a high number of other outfitters and lodges from Montana that would travel to all these shows. As time wore on internet marketing coupled with social media became the primary method of marketing trips. The shows diminished in attendance by exhibitors. We saw this same trend greatly affect traditional print advertising. You used to build outfitting businesses by trade shows, print, and a decent website. The argument became that you could talk to new clients via digital channels, so why go pound out trade shows on sore knees, long flights, and hotel food. Websites were upgraded, blogs were developed, and how many likes you could get for a picture or video became the focus for outfitters. These are effective marketing tools, but there has been a noticeable uptick in the value of trade shows over the last three years. The shows seem like they are growing again with more attendance and exhibitors.
I think that it comes down to a handshake.
Fishing trips are intimate and far from a commodity that can be ordered next day air from Amazon. Anglers spend all day scheming with their guide 3 feet away from each other. The culture of the drift boat oscillates between triumphs and failures as they pursue a wild fish who would prefer to not have a hook stuck in its lips. Personality along with high technical fishing skill is the difference between a great trip and pissed off clients on the same river. Shaking hands, asking questions, and getting to know the outfitter you are going to book a trip with is different than digesting a polished digital marketing message. For me it helps me dial in the right itinerary for the client because actual human response is different than an email.
I have met many of my most favorite and longest re-booking clients on trade show floors. Our paths would never have crossed on an Instagram or Snapchat feed. Handshakes have value.
There is also going to be a bunch of random show goers that will fill bags with any free stuff they can get their hands on and then inform me I know nothing about fishing in Montana. Their 2nd cousin went to Yellowstone Park one time and his story makes more sense to them. I’ll sort through the whitefish to get to the trout one handshake at a time.
If you can make it to Edison New Jersey for the Fly Fishing Show this weekend please stop by the booth. Patch and I will be smiling and sharing Montana fly fishing stories.
