Optimize Your Site With Killer Content

While I agree delivering on the mechanics of SEO is important for any online venture in today's hyper competitive market, success only begins there. The differentiator is still and will always be killer content. You have to have the goods the audience wants. Now that is very simple sounding, but it is true. Content is king!

To really carve out a niche and work it, you must know your audience and what really interests them. What is it that they want to know more about and how do they want to receive that information? If you can deliver on that and engage your audience, well, you will come out way ahead. And don't think for a second you can do this in passing. This requires long term dedication and focus. The playing field is ever changing. There is no short selling of creativity.

At Full Throttle Media, we believe films and videos focused on the subject matter that really turns the ignition of your end consumer is the key. People want to learn stuff and learn it from people they rever or watch truly accomplished practitioners of their interest perform. If you are intimately involved as a member of your own audience, you really understand the psyche therein. Ergo, you have your finger on the pulse of your customer base and thus, are in a good position to deliver something remarkable.

When it comes to search results, the better content trail you have left behind, the more likely you are to be found and shared. If you want to rank high in search, go with video. Killer content in the form of visual media will do more for you site than anything else money can buy.

And, if you really want to do something bold and creative, jump on the Full Throttle Media train.


Share the experience, sell the dream...Full Throttle Media! FTM Seth Horne

Analyzing Media Consumption

In a world where we have a multitude of outlets for receiving and consumingm media that suits our interests, it is interesting to analyze engagement patterns. Given last weeks news firestorm surrounding the assault on Osama bin Ladens Pakistani compound, comScore, a favorite of mine, did some rather thorough research into how the news audience experienced this story. Looking at what sources the audience used to consume the emerging story proved quite useful for me. Others in the content desimination business may find this article rather interesting, also.

The growth in technology as a means of media consumption versus print and TV shows how viable and incresingly important it is to develop and distribute your media so that it meets the demands of more mobile deveices. The internet is everywhere now. You cannot carry a TV with you and magazines can get heavy, especially if you read several different publications. While my laptop is still the gold standard for how I consume media, my handset goes everywhere with me and is an ever increasing source of content consumption. Take a minute and read the article by comScore. Most of you are probably already are familiar with this trend, but the research should still be useful.

comScore article


Share the experience, sell the dream...Full Throttle Media! FTM Seth Horne

Branded Content in the Age of the DVR

The DVR hit the market and was intended to enable viewers to skip commercials. This is really a function of fast forwarding through content that is of no interest, including commercials. From a TV networks perspective, this potentially undermines television’s longtime ad supported business model. This debate has been raging since the DVR first came on the market. Early on, it was seen as the death nail of broadcast advertising. But, with the recent release of Nielsen's report on DVR usage, things seem to have swung in the direction of the advertiser. This is what the report indicates:

Nielsen Report: link

Once a novelty, the digital video recorder is now in 38 percent of U.S. homes, and its increasing popularity represents both a blessing and a challenge for the TV and advertising industries. On the one hand, DVRs enable TV networks to hold on to viewers who use timeshifting to watch their favorite shows when it is convenient for them and who might otherwise seek alternate ways to watch programming – or not watch at all. On the other hand, DVRs allow viewers to skip content that doesn’t interest them, including commercials, potentially undermining TV’s longtime ad-supported business model. In its latest report on DVR usage, The Nielsen Company highlighted a number of key findings, including:

• Viewers do watch commercials on their DVRs. Among DVR homes, playback lifts commercial ratings by 44% among 18-49s after three days. Among all 18-49 year-old viewers DVR playback adds 16% to commercial ratings after three days
• More than 38% of DVR users are over age 45.
• When DVR playback is included, DVR households watch more primetime programming than non-DVR households.
• Overall, 49% of time-shifted primetime broadcast programming is played back the same day it was recorded, and 88% is played back within 3 days.
• DVR playback peaks at 9pm and 10pm.

Now does Nielsen have a bios, because in seeking to demonstrate that DVRs weren’t assaulting the ad supported television business model they posed a rather ridiculous question. That question seemingly was “Does anyone watch any TV commercials during DVR playback?” Are you kidding me? How asinine! Of course people do. It's just a matter of how much they watch or pay attention to the message. This brings up a perfect case. I was just over at a friends house and did not know he had a DVR until suddenly the commercials were flying by. Interesting I thought, since I was thinking about writing this article. Now, he is very tech savvy and upon questioning him I discovered some interesting data. He did on occasion let the commercials play, but while multitasking. When he got up to get something from the kitchen or jump on Facebook or do some other online activity the commercials rolled. But, when you finished, he immediately starting buzzing right past the commercials.

The longer people have DVRs, the more adept they become at using features such as fast-forwarding through commercials. And as they become adept, they use those feature more often. And as more and more users acquire DVRs, ad skipping will become a far larger issue for networks. This will be an ever increasing problem for broadcasters and not the diminishing one represented in the Nielsen Report.

The more I read about the DVR and the problems it presents for advertisers, the more I smile. Why, you might ask? This goes along with what I have been saying for years. In order to avoid being dropped into a commercial slot during a program and maybe skipped over, why not integrate your message directly into the program. Make it contextual and present it in a more receptive fashion. I know, you are probably saying it is very expensive and difficult coordinating with TV production companies. Alas, there exist the niche and very targeted sports film industry. You can brand this type of content any way you choose and still keep the audience engaged.

Full Throttle Media has long been advocating for and developing more creative concepts to reach audiences in the convergent world we are living in. TV, print and online are colliding and forever changing the way companies can and should deliver their messages. You have to engage and entertain, rather than approach with a hard sell. The sophistication of advertising methods and techniques has advanced, enticing and shaping and even creating consumerism and needs where there has been none before. Film is one of the most elaborate examples yet of the intersection of the entertainment and advertising industries, with the Internet and other new media shaping up as the main distribution crossroad. I see a more elaborate technique, such as a short films where the aim is to sell a product but to cleverly do the advertising in a subtle way. These films can be very entertaining and exciting, but also promote a product behind the main theme.

One of the biggest benefits of embracing film is the longevity the format offers. They do not show once or twice and then disappear. Films are watched over and over and the is no chance your brand message will be DVR'd out. Think about it.

Share the experience, sell the dream...Full Throttle Media! FTM Seth Horne

New Project

The new year has brought with it new opportunities. We are just starting pre-production on what could prove to be a very interesting and rewarding project related to the fitness world. There will be no official release of names or exactly what is entailed until we have concluded the first round of filming. We have to do this in order to prevent some fitness competitors from jumping in. We hope to have an press release ready by the end of February. Full ahead as we go.

Share the experience, sell the dream...Full Throttle Media! FTM Seth Horne

Rise

From the crew that brought you "Drift" comes another film that embodies what fly fishing is all about. Rise is the latest film from the Confluence producers. Seeking out renown characters and souls with close connections to several of the worlds most storied stretches of water, the filmmakers bring you a series of stories that reflect the attraction fly fishing holds for so many.

Share the experience, sell the dream...Full Throttle Media! FTM Seth Horne

Drift

One of the classic fly fishing films to be made in recent times is Confluence Films "Drift". The fly fishing industry and enthusiasts have really figured out how to communicate the beauty and passion of their sport. I wish other segments of the sport fishing world would join this band of merry "sportsters". Much the way the surfing and skate boarding aficionados have tapped into the passion that drives their sports, the producers of this film have zeroed in on what drives fly anglers to wade into waters the world over in pursuit of their favorite quarry.




Share the experience, sell the dream...Full Throttle Media! FTM Seth Horne

Currents of Belize

Here is another nicely produced fly fishing film that demonstrates you do not need a well known host to capture the audience. Fishing enthusiasts are over the format that injects the "well known" angler or captain into a local scene where the entire film is about them and not the place. You really have to understand that todays audience wants to see the destination for what it is and listen to the "guy" who has spent a lifetime getting to know the waters intimately. Make it personal. The idea is for the viewer to feel as though they have been welcomed into the living room of the local expert to share in the knowledge and experience accumulated over years. Great job Costa del Mar. You have another winner on your hands with "Currents of Belize".




Share the experience, sell the dream...Full Throttle Media! FTM Seth Horne

Once in a Blue Moon

The guys at On the Fly in New Zealand are doing some incredible fishing on the other side of the planet from where I am. You have to get down there and experience some of these goods.




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Seth Horne

SuperFish by Rick Rosenthal is a must see flick on the health of the marlin and sailfish fisheries in Costa Rica and a few other countries. The footage is absolutely amazing. To watch a baby sailfish swimming and feeding is remarkable. We are, as Rick states, watching a race to catch the last big fish in the oceans. Take time to grab this film and watch one of the true masters of underwater filming at work.




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Seth Horne

The Hole Gets Bigger

The global appetite for fish is a major cause for the hole forming in the ocean. This giant hole sucks millions of tons of sea life out of our oceans year after year and it only gets bigger. The sad part is that so many countries and citizens of this world just do not care or are completely unaware of the problem and it's ramifications. Either way, this is a dereliction of our role as citizens of this planet.  We are edging ever closer to total population collapse for dozens of species. Really, we are past the tipping point with this shit.

I am a fisherman, but I am a conservationists first. From an early age, I was taught to respect the land and the animals that inhabit it. Of course, at that early age, my point of reference was the ponds and rivers that were juxtaposed next to our property. Even then, I was aware from my grand fathers stories that the rivers just did not have the same numbers and sizes of fish that they did when he was young. In the early 70's, it was pollution that was choking the life out of the river and killing off the food chain that so many species depended on.

Now, today, not only do our rivers and oceans have to struggle against pollution to sustain so many fish and animals, but, there is the never ending demand for more and more "protein" from these waters. Tuna, sharks, marlin, swordfish, sea turtles, dolphin, whales, and on and on are all fished to near total population collapse. We are fishing them while their population numbers are below sustainable yield. This means that the species cannot produce fast enough to keep up with losses due to harvesting. How far will YOU allow this to go?

We all have a responsibility to the earth. Wake up people before it is too late! Because while you sleep, those that have been charged with monitoring and protecting these species continue to fail us. They need more time to do studies and assess population numbers before they can set proper quotas. This is a joke and all those involved with setting catch quotas for international fishing operations should be ashamed of themselves.


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Seth Horne

Viewer Centric

Are you looking at your audience through the eyes of your production company or through the eyes of your audience? How can you better manage receptiveness by end users to your product and what content do they really need or want? Be viewer centric! Think about what the relationship between current productions and the audience is and what improvements are necessary to maintain and build said audience. This is not hard, but can be time consuming.

The key is to know your target audience. Understand them intimately. This is more about what end viewers want rather than what your company may want or assume the audience wants. Broaden your knowledge base, talk to subject matter experts. For good measure, it would pay to submerse yourself in the subject by either being a follower or becoming a follower. Walk in the footsteps of your audience for a little while.

Where do current productions fall short? What are you competing against? What are the trends, past, present and what will they be going forward? Having measurable audience and comparable product metrics will pay huge dividends in the end. You have to differentiate yourself.


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Seth Horne

On the Water in Guanacaste, Costa Rica

I recently put together some material for a project in Costa Rica that involves sport fishing, diving and surfing. They had very little practical knowledge on the subject matter and wanted someone who could create some copy for their website. This is the gist of what they received.

Fishing
In the northwest corner of Costa Rica there resides one of the premier sport fishing destinations in all the world. This is one of the country's most fertile fishing areas and definitely the best area for marlin. Fishing these waters is less about quantity and much more about quality. At last count, there were more than 80 current IGFA world record fish from Costa Rican waters, including 21 all tackle, 41 line class and 18 fly. 40, yes 40, of those IGFA world records have been established in the waters of the northwest.

The Gulf of Papagayo is home to an interesting and amazing mix of inshore and offshore ocean life. It is particularly known as one of the world's best fisheries for sailfish and for great numbers of striped, blue and black marlin, some approaching 700 pounds. These are also the waters of record class roosterfish. Sixty to seventy pound fish are common, with frequent catches approaching 100 pounds. Other species of note include, yellow fin tuna to 300 + lbs., dorado, wahoo, roosterfish, Pacific Dog snapper, amberjack, big cubera snapper, grouper, cabrilla, and jack crevalle. Among the vast archives of sacred sport fishing destinations around the world, few stand in comparison to the unusually prolific nature of the Gulf of Papagayo fishery.

Diving
Bounded on the north by the fabled Murcielagos (Bat) Islands, and on the south by the equally famous Catalina Islands, the Gulf of Papagayo plays host to the best diving found within 200 miles of the coast. Within easy reach of Marina Papagayo, you’ll enjoy some of Costa Rica's most nutrient rich waters, places like Mango, Monkey Head, Surprise, Aquarium,  Fantasma, Rainbow, Key Largo and River Plate - each a divers fantasy. These dive sites are a nexus for seahorses, manta rays, eagle rays, hawkfish, angelfish, surgeonfish, parrotfish, pompanos, turtles, sharks, octopus, many species of eels, humpback, pilot and killer whales. Manta rays are most commonly seen at the Catalina Islands between December and April.

Diving is a year round activity in the Gulf waters. The average yearly temperatures are in the range of 24-26°C (75-79°F) from mid-May to mid-December and can fall to 21°C (70°F) at depth from December to April. While the water temperatures are warmer and visibility better during the May-December period, this is the green season, so you should expect rain during this time of year. The average visibility is about 20 to 60 feet, and up to 80 on clear days. Variation is due to the water being fortified with nutrient rich plankton feeding a vast hierarchy or marine life.
With so many locations to dive on, the area offers an adventure for every level of diver. Marina Papagayo affords access to an undersea world that is a veritable rainbow of oceanic life.

Surfing
Costa Rica was discovered as a wave riding paradise in the 1960's. Since that time, the breaks along the Pacific coastline of Guanacaste have experienced increasing popularity. Carving out a spot as one of the top places in the world to surf, more and more surfers from around the world are traveling to Costa Rica in search of the perfect wave. The rainy and dry seasons have distinct characteristics: abundant swells and onshore winds during the rainy season, crystal clear water and offshore winds during dry season.

The most well known surf spots in the country, Ollie's Point and Witches Rock, are exploding just minutes from Marina Papagayo. Ollie's Point is known for it's fast hallow right, a wave of perfection that holds mythic status among die hard wave riders. This break produces waves that roll on for 300 meters. Three rides here and you are through for the day. Witches Rock, to the north, is an absolute shrine to surfing, a destination of daring. When the south swells roll into Santa Rosa National Park, the Rock pitches smooth over head tubes.  When it's on, these waves challenge even the pros.

I posted the fishing portion on the Sport Fishing Forum, of which I am a member.

All the best> Seth Horne


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Knowledge is the Key to Success

Success requires having a fundamental understanding of the environment within which you work. The element that has the greatest impact on your success is knowledge. You must know more than your competitor and be able to apply that knowledge in a more productive manner in order to acheive greater success. You must know what is expected and how best to maximize that expectation. You must know how hard you can push yourself and you must constantly test your limitations. With the experience of time, you will begin to understand your limitations and in the end be able to maximize your potential. The phrase 'endeavor to perservere' has most relevance when you near your limitations. There is no greater test of your limitations than taking on mother nature. Her awesome power and energy is unvanquished. With nature things are never the same, they are always unpredictable and often unforgiving. At Full Throttle Media, we love to film in the great outdoors. There is no control and you never know what you are going to be served up on any given day, but that is the challenge. In order to come out on top, knowledge of your equipment and it's limitations in critical. Being able to quickly adapt to the conditions is the difference between success or failure.


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Seth Horne

Don't Let the Monkeys Fly the Plane

Don't let the monkeys fly the plane. Now, this is a simple adage about not letting people who have no idea what they are doing take control of a situation. But, I will be damned if I do not see this taking place quite often. Why? Usually because some corporate exec does not know enough about the subject at hand to know that he is appointing someone who does not know their ass from a hole in the ground when it comes to that very subject matter. Wow, is there a better way to waste time and money than ceding control of a department or project to under-qualified employees and then continuing down that same path even when it becomes obvious that is what has occurred? With little or no practical experience in the given field, self appointed know-it-alls and control freaks manage to crash projects with out even realizing what they are doing and all with the blessing of those higher up. This is a brilliant strategy for execs who want to get themselves fired or, at the very least, exposed for lacking any modicum of management 101 skills. The saddest part is that there is, 9 times out10, usually a far smarter and better qualified person ready and willing to step up to the task. Why is this better candidate not chosen? Well, I will throw two words out for you to chew on. Ego and fear! Ego: in the sense that, I know what I am doing better than anyone else. Fear: because I don't want to look weak or "stupid" when I have to make the necessary and beneficial changes to correct my first mistake. So, if you are going to let the monkeys fly your plane, strap yourself in because "You Are Going To Crash".



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Seth Horne

The Best Social Media Tool: Film

When I evaluate all the available social media tools available today, the one that stands out as the most effective in its ability to reach an audience is video and especially online video. As of 2010, YouTube is the second largest search engine behind Google. That is an amazing statistic. What does that mean? Well, people are spending a whole hell of a lot of time searching for video or while watching video. Either way, you are way behind if you are not currently using video or seriously thinking about using video in relation to whatever message you are trying to get out. It's time to get in the game.

We all recognize film and video as entertainment, but beyond that what is it? Moving images are engagement objects that audiences find entertaining, instructional, educational, or may be used for marketing, sales tools, interview series, research, live events and more. The possibilities are endless. So, how does this benefit you? With the proper film or video, you are able to tell a story, share an experience, enlighten and inform others. Now the big question, how does a film or video become social media tool? What do we do when we see something fun, informative or engaging? We talk about it, share it, buy it, save it and if we made it we post it online. Once something visual makes it to the internet, it is there forever to be watched over and over.

As I mentioned last month, it has been found that audiences are far more receptive when receiving a message from an emotional level rather than a rational level. Most ads or marketing messages force people to examines the advantages, benefits and features of whatever is being thrown at them. When watching something entertaining or informative the emotional gate is open and this relates more to trust, love, identification and belief. It has been noticed that films or video operate at the emotional level.

So, if you are trying to convey a particular message or position a brand in the minds of your audience, be a little more creative and place your brand within the context of a story. The best and most cost effective way to get that story out is with film or video that you disseminate online. Full Throttle Media can help you develop that film or video to reach your audience.



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Seth Horne

Market Reach with Full Throttle Media Films

In order to reach, I mean really reach, your audience you have to entertain them rather than approach them with a hard sell.

Film is one of the most elaborate examples yet of the intersection of the entertainment and advertising industries, with the internet shaping up as the main distribution crossroad.

We are seeing more sophisticated techniques, such as short films, where the aim is to sell a product, but to cleverly do the advertising in a subtle way. These short films can be very entertaining and exciting, but also promote a product behind the main theme.

There is evidence of shortened attention spans and a greater effort to break through the clutter of multitudinous brands and media vehicles. The best way to deliver the message is to catch the customer off-guard when the rational defenses are down. The best way to do so is to use the emotional gate rather than the rational gate. The rational gate examines the advantages, benefits, features and seeks value for money; the emotional gate is all about trust, love, identification and belief. It has been noticed that films operate at the emotional level. These aspects can be leveraged by super brands.

Thus, the prime value of Full Throttle Media projects is reflected in the tremendous opportunity available for advertising exposure through our sophisticated approach to contextual brand placement or themed media campaigns associated with our film projects.

Sponsors find our programs extremely valuable marketing vehicles through which they can target the various demographic rich sports enthusiast communities where Full Throttle Media has developed relationships. All our film sponsorship packages can be customized, specific to the corporate strategies and/or the institutional guidelines of your company’s interests.

Advantages of brand placements in Full Throttle Media films:

• Diminishing cost due to the longevity of video online and in DVD form
• Brand exposure is revived and revisited several times as film's are watched
• Lower cost relative to broadcast or print media and the ability to reach target audience
• With the average 30-second spot costing $50,000-$400,000 or more, product placement is a minor expense
• Ability to integrate your product and/or theme into the production
• Achieve significant increase in brand awareness amongst audience
• Film is a clutter-free environment
• Not subject to surfing, zipping or muting (unlike in TV and other media)
• Since your product is integrated into the show, you have a 'captive audience'
• Ads catch people in a receptive mood
• Tremendous opportunity for cross-promotions

Our films are an extremely valuable marketing vehicle for power brands to target the demographic various rich sport enthusiast community and related recreational enthusiasts.

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Seth Horne

Cancellations

This is just a follow up to last months post. I am left shaking my head. After spending a solid year putting together a ground breaking film series, the jackass who was handling the financing tells me the country who was to be the principle financier is unable to get their business together. In a nut shell, they were so busy trying to figure out how to steal all the money that they did not realize how they had driven the process into the ground. What can you do except Go Full Throttle.

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Seth Horne

The bete noire of production

Nothing in the production world, or for that matter any economic endeavor, happens without financing. In the media production world, financing is always very difficult due to the risk involved. There are so many variables at play that effect the outcome of a project. But, when you are relying on others to pony up the dough, you are at the mercy of either a bete noire or an angel. All of us, who have dealt with film financing, know how chaotic the process can be up until the cash is in the bank. At Full Throttle Media we have had to deal with some less than honest characters.

Why is it that so many people are ready to back a production without even knowing what the process entails. Grand dreams of getting rich over night seem to pervade. It is usually greed or the bete noire of financing that grips these souls. I am usually left shaking my head in amazement at how fool hearty these depraved jackholes are.

Just the early part of this fall, after a year of discussion with the ministry of tourism in a certain country who were real eager to fund a big project the entire process came to an abrupt halt. It was their greed that screwed up the whole deal. As it turns out, certain officials had grand designs on absconding the money once it was released by the Government and leaving Full Throttle Media holding the bag. I hope these corrupt officials have their day in the sun.

The thing that irks me the most is not having the project fall apart, that is a regular occurrence in this biz, but having my time wasted. Greed and corruption are a motherf***er that will drag you down. I am glad to have not gotten caught up in this BS. My philosophy is to follow the way of my father and be the bigger man. Do what is right for those involved in the deal, think less about yourself and everything will work out well. As for the bete noire of financing, beat that fool down.

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Seth Horne

What's wrong with sport fishing films and TV

What's wrong with sport fishing films and TV? Arrrrrgh! How disappointing the programming continues to be. And to think, some of these shows are being renewed for another season. Let's see, where do I start with this conundrum?

Aaah, the show concepts themselves is a good place. There has to be some creative fishermen out there that can conjure up a show genie to bring forth an engaging, entertaining and educational production concept. Can we please move beyond the show where some angler with novice skills plays hosts, displays a real lack of fishery knowledge and then promotes the cheesy, that's right, cheesy resort putting him up for the length of the production. Let's move beyond this format. How about build a show around a fishing captain, guide or angler that actually possesses real depth of knowledge of more than the spit of water in his backyard. They do exist.

Now the good part or should I say the most broken down aspect of fishing shows. Destinations! Out of respect for all those that fish around the world, can we see some new destinations? It seems that for the past eleventy billion seasons, we have held hostage to the same destinations in every show. Florida and the Florida Keys, Pinas Bay, Panama, Central Pacific Costa Rica, Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, Alaska, Alaska, Alaska... Damn, enough already. Step out of the box. I understand budgeting drives much of this, but there are so many other affordable options around the world.

There used to be great show concepts and talented sportsman as hosts. Think Curt Gowdy and the American Sportsman or Flip Pallot and The Walkers Cay Chronicles. Now these guys had it going on. Consummate sportsman, terrifically engaging personalities and angling skill to boot. On top of that they really traveled to some off the beaten path destinations. The premier episode of American Sportsman took place in the Andes Mountains of Argentina, in 1964, with Gowdy and Joe Brooks fly fishing. There was no blurring the edges or covering over of personality flaws, this was gritty hard nosed outdoor action.

Since that time, and all the way up to and beyond Flip's show, the fly fishing community seems to have figured out how to put real entertaining projects together. Just like the skiing, surfing and skate boarding communities, fly fishermen have figured out how to produce films and videos that the audience wants to watch. Some of these have developed develop real cult followings. As I look at my video shelf, it is not hard to notice that of all the kick ass films and videos non are from the conventional sport fishing genre. Why can't the sport fishing community figure out how to put together some clever films and videos on top of good quality television programming? This is a mystery for the times.

One last thing. Many of the companies involved in producing these worthless sport fishing shows acknowledge the shows are bad, but continue down the same road because it is easy. This is funny.

I have a plan to fix this. Stay tuned!



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Seth Horne

Your Audience

In the media business, whether it is print, online, tv, video, film, you really have to know your core audience and understand the dynamics behind what drives their interests. So many in the business seem to get lost in what they want to read, watch or hear that they begin to loose sight of their audience and why they are there. It is not about you, so much as it is about your audience. Give them what they want, not what you want. And remember one important concept, quality content is not free. It cost money to produce and distribute.

At Full Throttle Media, we are in the business of selling experience through moving images. It is the experience of living, learning and sharing the adventure of life that motivates us. With that in mind, our primary focus is on producing projects that we enjoy, but that have large niche enthusiast followings and thus eager audiences. Eager for what, you might ask? Niche audiences have a thirst for knowledge, a keen interest in learning as much as possible about their field of passion and being entertained.

The creative team I work with has a broad range of interests, but we seem to focus on a few core segments. Adventure travel, sport fishing, boating, diving, automotive and motorsports, a lot of lifestyle components that have huge followings. Now, within each segment we will drill down to find to a specific enthusiast group with the most favorable demographics. Once we know our target audience, the team sets about to create an entertainment product that will appeal to them specifically. Of course, the production will have broad appeal outside the target audience. In the same way most people will never go mountian climbing on Mt. Everest, but they are still drawn to the grand adventure and majestic beauty found in the Himalayas.

One area of particular interest to us is the sport fishing world. This happens to be the largest outdoor sport in the world generating billions in revenue. People all over the planet go fishing. So there is endless opportunity to produce films for this audience segment. In order to narrow the focus of our productions, we look at a specifc species and or a geographic region that will have genuine appeal to our chosen audience. For instance, anglers all over the world like to pursue blue or black marlin. This is the Mt. Everest of sport fishing, so there is a large audience out there interested in knowing more about how, where and when to catch this species even if they never get a chance to fish for one.

If I am going to produce a film about blue marlin fishing, I have to be able to put that film in front of consumers. So, where can the audience be found and why are they there. More than likely, the audience for this type of production is either reading sport fishing magazines or on a related website. Because of my background in online community development, I look to the internet for points of audience aggregation first. Forums, social media sites and blogs are where I start.

Fishermen just love to share their experiences. And, there is no better way to do that than online. Like many other enthusiast groups, anglers have migrated online to learn and share as much as they can about the sport they love. From a marketing perspective, fishing sites are the best and least expensive way for fishermen and related product manufacturers to communicate with each other and position their brands, operations and products.

The sport fishing visual media world is starved for fresh ideas and new means of delivering those ideas. It seems that year in and year out the audience gets that same tired concepts from the same old destinations. Talk about taking the audience for granted. Damn, what ever happened to fighting to keep or build your audience. You only build trust with your viewership by representing their interests and giving them the high quality entertainment they deserve. All fishermen really want is to learn more about the best fishing holes around the world, tactics and techniques, gear that is being used and see big 'ole fish dancing on the surface. Know your audience and realize there is so much more that can be offered. Get rid of the boring blow hard that is hosting your show and visit some destinations outside the norm. Give the audience more.



Go Full Throttle Media! Share the experience, sell the dream...
FTM
Seth Horne