Let’s Make Fishing Happen:
Collaborative Marketing for Long Island’s Sportfishing

Long Island Convention & Visitor and Sports Commission Bureau (Long Island CVB) has a special grant to increase public awareness about sportfishing access.  The agency will create tools to substantially improve public access to information about sportfishing, in order to assist residents and tourists to make more informed choices about sportfishing.

These tools include a new website with directories for contacting charter boat sportfishing vessels at main ports, and to locate bait & tackle stores across Long Island.  A substantial amount of time will be spent working with magazines to publish articles about the unique fishing experience on Long Island and to implement its Fall ‘08/Spring ’09 Sportfishing Awareness Campaign.

The steady decline in sportfishing participation in the past decade makes the outdoor entertainment and recreation market very competitive when service providers are selling to the same market.  A slow economy means that charter boat sportfishing businesses must find innovative ways for the public to spend its disposable income, and this challenge is exacerbated in a climate of rising fuel costs and lessened public awareness about sportfishing.  Instead of thinking about finding new anglers for these services, charter boat sportfishing businesses must think about finding new services for anglers.

Under the grant, Long Island CVB has joined forces with New York Sea Grant to work with charter boat sportfishing businesses to coordinate a collaborative marketing initiative.  Collaborative marketing is a tool that brings together several brands from similar sectors under a single marketing banner.  This type of marketing approach is extremely effective during times of economic slowdown when small businesses are forced to reduce their direct marketing budgets.  However, large corporations have successful collaborative marketing programs, too, and a good example of this type of marketing maestro is the Apple Corporation partnership with Google, Yahoo!, Cingular, and of course its own Apple products and programs – iTunes, Safari, and Mac OSX.  The development of the iPhone has revolutionized the telecommunications industry.

Many businesses share a common audience without being competitive, so why not share the cost of direct marketing?  If planned properly, collaborative marketing can benefit many sectors.

This collaborative marketing initiative will bring charter boat sportfishing businesses together with other service providers of outdoor recreation/entertainment, to create new sportfishing packages that are more attractive to the public.  The program will be offered in Nassau and Suffolk County, and participants do not need to be members of Long Island CVB; however, recipients of the program must possess valid license and insurance to operate their charter boat sportfishing business.

NY Sea Grant would like to coordinate a meeting to describe the benefits of collaborative marketing and facilitate discussions between charter boat sportfishing businesses, hotels, restaurants, etc., to discuss how these different service providers can cooperate to offer new sportfishing packages that will be marketed in the Campaign. The date for this meeting has not been established, however, if you are interested in attending the meeting or wish to learn about the collaborative marketing initiative program, please use the form that is available at this website.  The date for the next meeting will be during the last week of August or the first week in September, 2008.

Contact Antoinette Clemetson at (631) 727-3910 or email aoc5@cornell.edu to obtain information about the meeting, or Kristen Matejka (631) 951-3900 Ext 317 for information about the collaborative marketing initiative or about becoming a member of Long Island CVB.  Visit www.fishonlongisland.com for information about sportfishing on Long Island.