Bill Dance is back with Stren!

[the reel ess]

21 hours ago, bigfruits said:

doesnt he do fake bloopers and fish private lakes? put salt on everything.

Hey, I do two of those things. 

[HoosierHawgs]

On 1/6/2017 at 8:13 PM, Scott F said:

 

You do realize that without sponsors, there ... [is] no NASCAR, 

Even with sponsors, the way attendance and viewership has been, they're may still be no NASCAR yet, soon 

 

As for Bill Dance, if you don't care for him switching sponsors, don't watch the show. Pretty simple. Money talks and BS walks, right? 

[Mr. Bassin II]

On 1/6/2017 at 8:56 PM, NorcalBassin said:

If Stren offered to pay me a chunk of money to use their line I'm pretty sure all that Tatsu and Invizx would find its way off the spools pretty quickly...

 

Or the Tatsu and Invizx would find their way into Stren boxes.  I did find it interesting to see what the pros actually purchase and use versus what they claim and market for sponsors.  Don't fault them for it though.

[Glenn]

I find it comical that people have all these weird, conspiracy-type misconceptions around simple sponsorships.  Most folks don't know how sponsorships work, so they make stuff up...and (I guess) try to make it "sexy" by adding rumors and gossip.

 

Sponsorship is a business partnership. It nothing like, "Hey if I pay you, will you hawk my products, even if you never use them?"  No, sorry.  Instead, the essence of the partnership includes in part or whole (I'm not talking about prostaffing here):

• Company chooses what products they want you to use (normally their latest and greatest)
• Company educates you on their products (best practices, unique characteristics, value prop, etc)
• Company supports you in what I can best describe as an "elite" customer status kind of way.
• You learn everything you can about their products.
• You use their products during the course of your normal fishing routines.
• You act as a company spokesperson, answering questions, helping with customer service, and helping people understand how to use their products.
• You assist with marketing efforts (this varies greatly, depending on what you bring to the table).
• You provide product feedback to the company, both from personal experience as well as what you hear from "the street"
• The very top pros often participate in helping design new products and testing prototypes. Their wealth of knowledge and experience is very valuable to companies.

There's more, but you get the essence.  Note that exclusivity is not in the picture.

 

It's all business and kinda boring, I know.  But I guess people want drama.

[hoosierbass07]

Dance is my number one fishing TV guy.  I don't mind him pushing this product or that because he doesn't do it in a Hot Shot/I'm the Best way.  Still, I can understand why some people would be disgusted with TV hosts pushing a product for a decade then switching the next TV season and start pushing another product as great.  So it's just "business" for the TV fisherman?  Uh, what about us fishermen who spend our hard earned money on the products those TV fishermen said were super great?  We buy those products then next year that TV fisherman is singing a different tune and pushing a different product and now there is no love for the product he was pushing last year.  

 

 Anyway, I'll take regular old Stren mono over all other lines except Sufix mono.  I'll take any mono over any fluorocarbon.  Old mono is superior to all other lines.  

 

 

[geo g]

I have always liked his shows because he is not over the top pushing his products like Roland, and a heck of a fisherman.  If you want reality all the time, go to Major League Fishing and watch what their throwing while they try to survive the cuts.  Best reality fishing show on the tube!

[Team9nine]

Glenn covered it nicely. Sponsorship is all business. Some of those business relationships last for a long time, and some don't. In the case of Bill Dance (or even the Lindner's and that similar thread), it is just as likely that the companies dropped them after a couple years as it is they hopped for money. Actually, I'd wager the former is the more common scenario. In that case, you have to remember they have shows and other such endeavors, their own businesses, and it is in their best interest to form new sponsor relationships in order to keep their own businesses going.

 

In many cases, these pros are well recognized entities, and there are often other companies willing to try and cement a deal with them while they are available. Very similar in a way to professional coaches who get let go from one team, but get signed by another before the next season. And, yes, in some cases there are close personal ties that help bind companies and individuals together for long periods of time (KVD - Nitro), but like many other things these days, that seems to be less the norm. Al Lindner summed it all up several years back at a conference (very close paraphrase) - "Nobody in the fishing industry has a job unless they can sell someone something, and do it for a profit." That is the bottom line, like it or not.

 

-T9

[ClearCreek]

Interesting how some criticize when a person changes the products they represent.  Those criticizing would most likely pizz down their leg if a company contacted them to sponsor/represent their product!!

 

ClearCreek

 

 

[Lyman X]

I think people generally romanticize that because they like a personality he's "nice guy" and therefore they can trust what he says about products.  A lot of seemingly nice guys turn out to be anything but.  If you want to learn about products, talk to other fisherman who have no axe to grind. ( I guess?)

[geo g]

18 hours ago, the reel ess said:

When I was a kid, BD hawked Stren and I thought he spoke the Gospel, so I used it for 20 or so years and it was premium stuff for a long time. I also asked my parents for a Daiwa Magforce reel for Christmas because he used it on his show. I just retired that reel after 30 years of pretty regular use. Maybe Stren has improved their quality, but it won't give me the bang for the buck that Big Game does even is it's the best mono on the market. 

 

I have no issue with anything he endorses. He has to produce a show after all. Did you all notice he had his fish finder unit blurred out for a season? I guess maybe shows were in the can, so to speak, before he changed sponsors. Or could be that he just liked the old one better.

 

He hawks Quantum and I don't care. My last two reels are Lew's. 

 

I agree with you on the mono.  Big Game is my choice of mono and has been for some time.

[bassh8er]

Happens all the time.  Remember when Northstar Custom baits were the absolute best jigs money could buy?

[Maggiesmaster]

BD's show is one of the few that caters to the average bass fisherman. Sure, he hawks products, but you can catch fish with them, as you can with most others. I'm sure both Hi-Seas and Stren lines would work well for me. 

[The Bassman]

All this discourse makes good sense from a business standpoint. However, I'm still having trouble getting the image of BD throwing a spool of Stren over his shoulder out of my mind.

[lo n slo]

the only Bill Dance i get these days is his saltwater fishing show.

 

fudge