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.

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