BassResource.com Administrator Glenn Posted January 12, 2011 BassResource.com Administrator Posted January 12, 2011 The thread is all about sponsorships. Check out the threads in this section - many have to do with sponsorships. Quote
Super User 5bass Posted January 12, 2011 Super User Posted January 12, 2011 KVD is not one to jump ship. He has been with Nitro and Quantam from the beginning and he has built a great relationship with them. He can only do so much as an angler. Do you remember when they stopped production of the Z9 Nitro. It wasn't because some government agency called them and told them to do it. It was because Kevin called them from the lake and told them of a big problem. They stopped making them, recalled them, and fixed the problem. This is true. Fluke and myself stopped at the BPS on the way back from Fork to see the Z9. When we got there the salesman told us that KVD had a major issue and they immediately recalled every Z9 that had been made up to that point. There was still one there because it had just happened but they took it to the back off the main floor and wouldn't let anybody see it. Quote
bigbassctchr101 Posted January 13, 2011 Posted January 13, 2011 KVD, and many of the other guys have it made with most of their sponsors. Why do you think Strike King has so much success with their lures, because they listen. Its a relationship between the pros and the company. Their red eye shad would not be as good if it was not tweaked, designed, and tested by these guys. But, these guys ask for something to be made and the company comes through with it. Same with quantum.... or any other high end self promoting (and big sponsor promoting) product. The best quality products are asked for. So they will taylor to the pro's specifications...and if it works good for the pros, it's going to work good for the common man. Quote
peters_skeeter Posted January 15, 2011 Posted January 15, 2011 Tiger Woods is sponsored by Nike golf. And Nike golf products suck, thats not an opinion thats the truth. I don't know what that means towards what you are asking but I'm just throwing that out there. Nike's products do suck, Tiger putted with a Titelist putter for a long time before he got a Nike putter he liked. It really bother's me that KVD drives a Toyota truck. Put that dude in a tricked out Ford F 150 with an ecoboost and watch them trucks fly off the lot. I gusses I can't talk I own a Yamaha outboard. Quote
CAdeltaLipRipper Posted January 16, 2011 Posted January 16, 2011 Sure its possible but Nitro is smart enough to know that they must pay him enough to keep him happy or he will go with another boat sponsor that is willing to pay him allot more (this is how he makes a good % of his money). If Ranger came and offered him allot more money, he would probably go with ranger once his contract was up. Even if his first pick is Nitro he is still going to use it as an advantage when making a deal with them, its business and to say being a pro isnt a business is like saying a car company isnt a business (they have to sell themselves). This is his job, he loves to fish and compete but he is out to make money and put food on his family's table just like everyone else. Uhhhh i dont think KVD has to worry about putting food on his familys table? lol.And he doesn't make all his money from sponsors buddy.That 4 million plus cha-ching is from winning and succeeding in tournaments.Itd be hard for him to do that with equipment that he didn't trust and couldn't rely on.Yes some people will go to sponsors for money,but not to the extent they are going to jeopardize their career.And its not like he's the only one with quantum. Theyre are a lot of other well known pros that have quantum. He could have any sponsor he wants and im sure there are other ones willing to pay more. Quantum is a very good brand,i love their reels and im not the only one i can tell you that Quote
CAdeltaLipRipper Posted January 16, 2011 Posted January 16, 2011 Tiger Woods is sponsored by Nike golf. And Nike golf products suck, thats not an opinion thats the truth. I don't know what that means towards what you are asking but I'm just throwing that out there. Nike's products do suck, Tiger putted with a Titelist putter for a long time before he got a Nike putter he liked. It really bother's me that KVD drives a Toyota truck. Put that dude in a tricked out Ford F 150\ RAM 2500 CUMMINS with an ecoboost and watch them trucks fly off the lot. I gusses I can't talk I own a Yamaha outboard. ;D Quote
Morelures Posted January 17, 2011 Posted January 17, 2011 Every pro that has a family worries about putting food on there families table, if they are a stable father, and KVD is. Sure KVD is very well off now, but in the begging this wasn't so, and he had to play the business smart in the begging and he still does. Hopefully you will learn this one day...Just because you have money does mean that it will always be there. I never said he makes all his money from sponsors. He makes a significant amount from them for sure (and the pros that dont place in the top 5-10 all the time really depend on there sponsors to make a living). I never said he would jeopardize his career for a sponsor, if you read through the post's I actually said the exact opposite. To each there own but I personally don't care for Quantum's especially there new over plastic made tricked out reels. Ask many who sell reels and they will tell you that they get returned often. Quote
peters_skeeter Posted January 17, 2011 Posted January 17, 2011 Tiger Woods is sponsored by Nike golf. And Nike golf products suck, thats not an opinion thats the truth. I don't know what that means towards what you are asking but I'm just throwing that out there. Nike's products do suck, Tiger putted with a Titelist putter for a long time before he got a Nike putter he liked. It really bother's me that KVD drives a Toyota truck. Put that dude in a tricked out Ford F 150\ RAM 2500 CUMMINS with an ecoboost and watch them trucks fly off the lot. I gusses I can't talk I own a Yamaha outboard. ;D Cummins makes an awesome diesel for the ram truck. The engines will out last the truck that they are put in. I hope you get my point though. A Toyota truck, really. :-/ I just think in these times, we should be supporting American owned companies as much as we can. And yes I know that the trucks are made in Texas or some place like that, but the profits are going over seas. Quote
Super User J Francho Posted January 17, 2011 Super User Posted January 17, 2011 I love my somewhat made in Mexico, assembled by robots here, so the profits could go to GM execs Sierra. ;D Quote
peters_skeeter Posted January 17, 2011 Posted January 17, 2011 I love my somewhat made in Mexico, assembled by robots here, so the profits could go to GM execs Sierra. ;D ????????????????????? Quote
Super User J Francho Posted January 17, 2011 Super User Posted January 17, 2011 I forgot to add that I paid for it twice, LOL. Try and have a sense of humor. These are GLOBAL corporations now. Support the companies that EMPLOY our citizens, and put food on our table. What this has to do with KVD's sponsor list has me baffled though, so let's keep it on topic. ****************************** Personally, I don't think Kevin has had to purchase anything he sponsors in a long time. I'm not sure the upper echelon of Elite pros has a clear picture of what it takes for the average bass angler to afford all this gear. We don't have the time or money to decide if one of five reels is better. So, they tell us what to buy. Half the time, I think they're right. Quote
peters_skeeter Posted January 17, 2011 Posted January 17, 2011 Didn't mean anything by that, sorry. :-X If someone gave me a Toyota, I'd rock it! 8-) Quote
CAdeltaLipRipper Posted January 18, 2011 Posted January 18, 2011 Tiger Woods is sponsored by Nike golf. And Nike golf products suck, thats not an opinion thats the truth. I don't know what that means towards what you are asking but I'm just throwing that out there. Nike's products do suck, Tiger putted with a Titelist putter for a long time before he got a Nike putter he liked. It really bother's me that KVD drives a Toyota truck. Put that dude in a tricked out Ford F 150\ RAM 2500 CUMMINS with an ecoboost and watch them trucks fly off the lot. I gusses I can't talk I own a Yamaha outboard. ;D Cummins makes an awesome diesel for the ram truck. The engines will out last the truck that they are put in. I hope you get my point though. A Toyota truck, really. :-/ I just think in these times, we should be supporting American owned companies as much as we can. And yes I know that the trucks are made in Texas or some place like that, but the profits are going over seas. One thing we do have to consider though is that compared to all the American brands, those trucks might not be stronger,but they get better mileage and that's important to them seeing that they drive all over the country Quote
CAdeltaLipRipper Posted January 19, 2011 Posted January 19, 2011 Every pro that has a family worries about putting food on there families table, if they are a stable father, and KVD is. Sure KVD is very well off now, but in the begging this wasn't so, and he had to play the business smart in the begging and he still does. Hopefully you will learn this one day...Just because you have money does mean that it will always be there. I never said he makes all his money from sponsors. He makes a significant amount from them for sure (and the pros that dont place in the top 5-10 all the time really depend on there sponsors to make a living). I never said he would jeopardize his career for a sponsor, if you read through the post's I actually said the exact opposite. To each there own but I personally don't care for Quantum's especially there new over plastic made tricked out reels. Ask many who sell reels and they will tell you that they get returned often. I did not mean anything hostile if thats what i sounded like im sorry if i came on a little strong.I read my post and it sounds kinda aggressive. But with the reels,most people are very happy with quantum,me being one of them. Most of their reels are highly rated,most of them averaging a little more than 4 stars on bass pro. But for some people,maybe the reels don't work out well for them. Again sorry if i sounded like i was trying to irritate you lol Quote
Ima Bass Ninja Posted January 19, 2011 Posted January 19, 2011 Tiger Woods is sponsored by Nike golf. And Nike golf products suck, thats not an opinion thats the truth. I don't know what that means towards what you are asking but I'm just throwing that out there. That is an opinion. I've used Nike stuff for a long time and took plenty of money on the course from people who thought the same thing. The putter in my bag is a Nike unitized and it has payed for itself 4x's over. Nike gets scrutinized and people think there stuff sucks because they push the envelope of what people think clubs and other golf equipment should look like. They use as good or better components in there equipment than the other companies. Quote
Morelures Posted January 19, 2011 Posted January 19, 2011 No problem CA thanks for the apology even though I didn't necessarily think you needed to, its shows good character on your part that you are man enough to apologize. If it works for you keep buying those reels, and good fishing! Quote
Super User bilgerat Posted January 19, 2011 Super User Posted January 19, 2011 Maybe it's just me, but having someone's name attached to a product or a certain person using a product is one of the last things to influence my buying decision. 1 Quote
Bass Junkie Posted March 23, 2011 Posted March 23, 2011 Since this is regarding KVD and not the "fisherman" out there that endorce products strictly for money, I would like to submit this question- Have you ever heard him (KVD) sing the praises of something? He might endorce a product, and will give you his opinion on that product (Which is a positive one, because he has faith in it, or he wouldn't endorce it.) and recommend it, but hes not gushing the angelic qualities of his Johnny Morris Elite Series Reel every half-breath, is he? (Not by any means aimed at a certain show-hoast :) He does what he does, and if he feels comfortable with a certain product, he goes with it. We all have our favorite lures.... Take Square-Bills for instance..... I personally like the LC RC 1.5, and thats what I usually go with. If Lucky Craft offered to sponsor me because I used their product I would be on that offer like white over rice. If I didn't like ZOOM WEC and they offered to sponsor me if I dropped Lucky Craft I wouldn't, and I doubt any of us would, because we would be uncomfortable with 1. Using the product and 2. Promoting their product. So would Mr. VanDam. Quote
oteymc Posted March 25, 2011 Posted March 25, 2011 There are a couple of things that companies hope to accomplish with a sponsorship, whether that be of an event or an individual. One is that the really loyal fans will run out and buy their product simply because of their relationship with the individual, more out of loyalty and adoration of the individual than anything else. This is what we normally think of when we think about a sponsor relationship. This really doesn't happen that often. The other is that consumers become aware of a product, or are exposed to that product because of the sponsorship. The consumer then gives that product consideration when making their next purchase, and ultimately makes a purchase based on the product's own merits. Would I really buy a $35,000 Nitro ONLY because KVD has one? Not likely. However I know about the product because of him, and it is in front of me when I watch a tournament on TV, and when shopping for my next boat I may look into what that brand has to offer before ruling them out. Quote
Super User Sam Posted March 27, 2011 Super User Posted March 27, 2011 Plus who is to say that KVD isn't using a totally different blank rod then the one he sales. He could have the company custom make ones that look just like the ones that are at BPS etc. That's one of the biggest misconceptions about the pros. For some unfounded reason, some people think the pros are using secret baits or tackle. Aside from prototype testing, that simply isn't true. The pros are using the same exact stuff you buy off the shelf at your local tackle store. Their feedback to the company about their products is too valuable to waste it on products the public can't use. What Glenn says is totally true. What you do not know is how the pros "modify" their baits making them different from the ones sold in the stores. If you can find out what the pros do to their baits, and other bass guides and fishermen, you will have a better advantage over your competition when fishing. I modify my crankbaits and lipless crankbaits via KVD's suggestions I received from another pro who knows Kevin. Does it help? I really don't know. But I do it as a confidence builder. Quote
Brett M Posted May 25, 2011 Posted May 25, 2011 I'm new-- so hello all! Spent an hour reading this thread, and a few have danced around the point I'm going to make but not focused on it. For fisherman that are truely either making or trying to make there living from fishing the sponsor relationship is very complex,, but in the same word really simple. There are those that will represent what ever they are approched with-- they make a finacial decision just as anyone would if they needed a job. It may not be there choice of jobs, but it may pay alot better than the alternative. Guys that have the finacial means to make a "choice" who they work for based purely on there love of a given product are the fourtunate ones. Even when they aline with "there choice",, sometimes thats is used against them and the realationship doen't work- hinse they find another job. I guess the point is -- JOB is the key word,, the idea that any angler can work just for who he chooses, well, is unrealistic. If you got a job that was paying big bucks, but was not your dream job, would you walk for a 50% pay cut to move to the dream? In the workplace, do you care more about what the company is making, or the people you are surrounded with? Relationships make a great workplace, not a product. Oh,, and money helps a whole bunch too. Quote
CAdeltaLipRipper Posted June 8, 2011 Posted June 8, 2011 I saw theres a few awesome deals at bass pro right now lol. Quantum pt tour edition is on sale for like 120 and the shimano curados are like 130 Quote
jly Posted December 3, 2011 Posted December 3, 2011 tough crowd, i did not realize how many people had such strong feelings about nitro.... is this a bad time to mention i like my z-7? Quote
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