Putting Our Money Where Our Mouth Is
Bast Durbin Advertising had been in charge of media buying and public relations for the Madison Fishing Expo for 15 years. In 2017 an opportunity came up for Bast Durbin to take over the expo. The expo is now under full ownership of Bast Durbin Advertising. All budgets, ad spends, vendor relations, speaker seminar scheduling and expo brand direction are run by Bast Durbin. Now it was time to put to work the same strategies we offer our clients daily. No lip service like other agencies. With our reputation and money on the line, we deployed the same marketing and advertising strategies we offer our clients to build our own Expo.
Bast Durbin started with a complete rebranding strategy. This covered everything from Mood Boards, market research, new brand name and logo. All marketing assets were overhauled including website, print ads, outdoor ads, tv ads, social channels and videos.
The Bast Durbin team rebranded the event and changed the name to the Wisconsin Fishing Expo. The expo now represented the entire state, not just one city. We focused on more interaction with the expo vendors. We provided the vendors more exposure on various social media channels. It became a true partnership between the expo and vendors.
The new Wisconsin Fishing Expo saw a seven percent growth in year one. A 13 percent growth in year two confirmed that Bast Durbin marketing worked under our new ownership. Besides huge attendance gains, the expo also expanded from 100,000 square feet to 150,000 square feet. Vendors were being put on a waiting list to exhibit. Record attendance grew every year until Covid-19 caused the expo to take a break due to lockdowns in 2021.
The Madison Fishing Expo was a great regional event. With Bast Durbin’s rebranding, unique ad buys and direction, the WI Fishing Expo is now the largest all-fishing show in the entire Midwest.
