Sydney Oetter

Intro to Media Advertising

Intro to Ad Process
Anglers as a target group for Gander Mountain
Target Segment Summary
Anglers Psychographic summary

They like to fish

They like to be outdoors
To relax
Fishes Frequently
They travel but tend to stay in state when traveling

Anglers Demographic Summary

Gender: Male
Martial Statue: Married with a family
Age: 45-65 years of age
Income: $25,000 to $49,999
Race: Caucasian

Anglers Geographic Summary

Metro Priority No. 1: Chicago, IL

Metro Priority No. 2: Buffalo, NY
Metro Priority No. 3: Jacksonville, FL

Client Description
Company overview
Gander Mountain was founded in 1960 by Robert Sturgis. Sturgis founded
Gander Mountain because he and his fellow hunting buddies were sick and fed up with the

travels they had to make to get high-quality hunting accessories and equipment. Gander
Mountain started out as more of a mail order catalog than a store, but in 1968 congress passed
legislation that prohibited the sale of firearms through a mail-order or catalog business. Gander
Mountain's catalog sale of hunting weapons, was discontinued, even though sales of firearms
from the catalog were one of the fastest-growing sources of revenue for the company. The
company was forced to expand its horizons. (Grant, 2008)
In early part of the 1980s Gander Mountain was unable to pay its debts. Because
they were not able to make payments management have no other choice but to file for
reorganization in U. S. Bankruptcy Court. In 1984 Ralph Freitag, an entrepreneur, who had
experiences with the outdoor retail market like Gander Mountain. He and a few others decided to
purchase Gander Mountain and save its fortunes. The new decade went well for Gander
Mountain. The solid growth in sales and increase in net income enabled management to arrange
an impressive $50 million financing package. (Grant, 2008)
In the fall of 1992, still pointing toward continuing success, Gander Mountain
decided to raise prices in its general catalogs and at the same time offering fewer reduced-price
products such as hunting and fishing equipment in its sales catalogs. This move hurt the
company majorly and caused them to lose a lot of business. They ended up having to sell the
catalog to Cabela. (Grant, 2008)
The business started to turn itself around once again in 1998, Gander Mountain had sales
of $60 million from its 25 retail stores. They next year the company to expand even more and
open 13 new stores. It also stopped selling handguns with barrels shorter than four inches, since
the company's policy was to sell guns used only for hunting, sport, or target shooting. In 2005,
Gander Mountain bought a travel company, Outdoor Expeditions, to offer fishing and hunting

trips within the United States and internationally. They also decided to move their headquarters
to St. Paul, Minnesota (Grant, 2008).
Client Offerings
Gander Mountain has a lot to offer their customers, they go by the motto Better
gear. Better Performance. Better service. Better value, all at Gander Mountain. We live
outdoors. This company has plenty to offer for their client base ranging from fishing to
automotive. They dont just cater to the armature fisher but if that is what the target is looking for
they have plenty to offer for all different parts of the client base. They have everything from
fishing reels to electronic. The whole site is sorted out to help the customer find exactly what
he/she is looking for. They have a price range of low teens to the mid hundreds, fishing poles can
range anywhere from $20- $400. They have everything that a client would need to help them get
started with their fishing experience and then some. They have 90 day return guarantee, with
catalog orders and online returns being able to be returned in store which cuts out cost of sending
the product back to the company. Gander Mountain also has a reward credit card, which gives it
card holder points for every purchase made with the master card (It can be used anywhere not
just at Gander).
It is not easy to break into the mind of the angler because so many different people from
all walks of life fish and partake in the sport. The angler can be said to be most of the time male,
ages 45-65 years old, married with children. Often times fishing will bring back memories of
family members long pasted, or it is a time to simply spend with family and friends. Gander
Mountain is perfect for our target audience with all they have to offer the audience but, they are
perfect though for any fisherman. They can range not for just the amateur but also for the
beginner to the master fisherman. Gander has everything to offer.

Target Audience: Angler

Anglers are a target audience that are exciting to work with. They arent just a specific
type of people. They come from all different walks of life. They are people that love to spend
time outdoors, they love to spend time with their family. Fishing is an escape to them, an escape
from the everyday hustle and bustle that we often times get caught up in. fisherman do it for the
memories that they create. That is why Gander is a great company for them, Gander isnt just
selling equipment to this people they are selling memories.
Psychographic Elements of Anglers
The psychographic elements of anglers is that they are outdoors people. This is
something that they can go out and get in touch with nature. Its a break from their normal day to
day life. They just want to get away to relax for a few days. They can take their family and its
often something that is passed down through families and often time we see connected emotions
to this, after a loved one that taught you to fish passes away it is easy to feel like that is a way to
still connect with them. Anglers are most often just dont fish they also participate in many other
outdoor activities such as camping, hiking, and biking. (Sportfishing Demographics)
They often times travel for their fishing. The average fisherman in 2011 took 13 trips to
go to the lake. They averaged $658 per angler for their trip-related costs, a daily average of $39.
The average angler incurs $1,046 in fishing-related expenses. A large majority of the 33.1 million
anglers who fished in 2011 did so within their home state. 91 percent of all anglers, fished in
their resident state and nearly 21 percent, fished out-of-state (Census, 2011).
Demographic Elements of Anglers
The demographics of most fisherman are males (67.5%), 45-65 years of age
(36.8%), with a house hold income of $25,000-$49,999 (26.1%), with a college education (26%),

and they tend to be Caucasian (82.4%). Although, most anglers tend to fall into the demographic
of men there still are women fisherman (32.5%). About 8,762,241 (27.1%) of households part
take in wildlife/environmental activities such as fishing, hunting, and camping.(Recreational
Boating and Fishing, 2009)
How target aligns with Ganders offering
They are perfect for this target audience because they really do have everything
that they need. Gander offers a wide selections of fishing products. They have everything that the
target audience needs to be the perfect fisherman. They have all the different products that
fisherman need such as bate, rods, and high technology that anglers would use to have a
successful fishing season. Ganders offerings to the target audience gives them everything that
they need to
Geographic Choice Explanation
Priority City No. 1 [Chicago, IL]
The reason I chose Chicago, IL is because it is surround by ten different stores of
Gander Mountain. With 22% of Chicago population being fisherman it also seemed like a
place to start on the media plan. The reason I chose it for my top priority city was because
of its location to the lakes, Chicago sits right on the edge of Lake Michigan, and it is the
host of several fishing tournaments. Lake Michigan has a large population of fresh water
fish: salmon, trout, and smallmouth bass (Outdoor Life). It is a place a large amount of
people travel to each year which means that when they are in town they increase the
amount of population that we are targeting and make it easier to reach even more
customers.
Priority City No. 2 [Buffalo, NY]

The reason I chose Buffalo, NY is because it has a Gander Mountain store in its city plus
within a fifty mile radius it has two more stores. The reason I chose this is because 26% of its
population fall into our demographic of fisherman. Its location also was another reason I felt like
it was a great place to advertise for Gander. It is also located close to one of the Great Lakes,
Erie, which also a host for several fishing tournaments that will drive sells when higher numbers
are present in the target area.
Priority City No. 3 [Jacksonville, FL]
The reason I chose Jacksonville, FL is because it has a Gander Mountain store in its city
limits. 33% of its population are fisherman. Jacksonville is also a warmer climate so it allows for
a longer fishing season. They are also located along the St. Johns River which means that is also
a host of many fishing tournaments. Another great thing about the Jacksonville store is it is 29
miles from the ocean opening us up to more fisherman of a different type: saltwater.
Gander Mountain Media Plan
This media plan has a lot to offer to Gander for the fact that it has a wide range of media
vehicles to reach the target audience of Anglers. This plan includes five different formats of
media types including television, radio, magazines, newspapers, and internet. There was a budget
of 2 million dollars for this particular plan. I chose the months of December, January, and
February for a couple of different reasons. The first reason is these are the early months that are
leading up to the real fishing/tournament season that start in March. One of the reason I chose
December is also that this is the month of Christmas which our fisherman is a family man,
spouses that normally wouldnt pay as much attention to our ads just because they arent really
interested will now be looking at this because they are looking for presents for their family
members.

Media Type Priorities

In this media plan for Gander Mountain I prioritized radio as my top media vehicle to reach
the target audience. Radio is something that everyone has access to, it can reach a large target of
people. Radio is also something that can be flexible when it comes to its ads. If Gander Mountain
decides to have a flash sale its something that we can call and get a radio jockey to make an
announcement about. Also when you think of a target audience you mostly think of the people
that part take in the activity or use the product that you are selling or trying to advertise. Radio
can also reach those people that are going to be purchasing for the target as gifts. It will also
reach our traveling fisherman who are coming into the cities for different tournaments.
Specific Media Choices:
Magazine:
This was the first media I looked at I purchased five different magazines that I
thought the content lined well with the target audience. The first one was Greys Sporting
Journal when I first came across this in the SRDS book its description was explores the
sophisticated outdoor adventurers world of hunting and fishing. I chose a page for the ad
because I felt like it might be on the higher end of our fishing target and that it need a little bit of
a bigger ad to really grab the targets attention. The second magazine that I purchased was Field
& Stream it is a little bit more well-known magazine, they have a large target audience. They
have articles over fishing written by fishing experts. I chose to run 2/3 page ad on this magazine.
The reason I chose this ad size is because this is a popular magazine and I believe that it will
grab readers attention. The Fisherman is the third magazine I chose. The Fishermans
description in the SRDS book was for fresh and salt water anglers with sight specific features by
outdoor writers and local fishermen: to inform, educate, improve fishing skills and entertain. Up

to date fishing reports from major fishing centers; produce profiles on tackle, boats, &
electronics; features on fishing and boating skills; tide table; letters to editors. I ran a 1/3 page ad
in this because this magazine has a lot of information in it. It is going to have an audience that is
looking at it for an educational purpose. The four choice for magazine was Game & Fishing it
plays more into the environmental side of the fisherman. Its description in the SRDS book was
the sportsman in depth information about the where, when, and hows of hunting and fishing,
plus conservation and environmental issues concerns where he lives and pursues his sport. I
decided that I would run a full page ad in this magazine because the fisherman looking at this
magazine may not being paying as much attention to the ads as we would like so running a full
page age seemed like the best way to really grab the attention of him/her. The last magazine that
I chose was In-Fisherman this is a highly popular magazine. This magazine is for freshman
anglers from beginners to professionals. Most articles focuses on lots of different freshwater fish.
Maps charts, photos, graphs, illustrations and cartoons accompany each article trip tips to
fishing hot spot; peak daily and monthly fishing times; a master angler award program . I chose
to run a smaller ad in this magazine because the fisherman looking at this will notice Ganders ad
when reading over equipment because that is where we would asked to be placed in the
magazine.

Newspaper choice
Newspaper were not as important to my media plan as other media vehicles were. They are
still an important vehicle though because they are very specific to the actual area making that if
Gander decided to run a special for the week it is something that we can get out to our public
very quickly. The first newspaper that I chose was The Florida Times- Union I chose to run a 30
in ad on Monday in the family section of the newspaper. The reason I did this was because again
our target audience is a family man. He could be looking for activities to plan for the upcoming
weekend or for activities that his whole family can partake in. Looking at the content the target
could realize that a fishing trip with the family is just the gateway that they need. Then seeing the
ad for Gander Mountain and leading them to come in to purchase equipment for the trip or just
for fishing tools. The second newspaper ad is in The Buffalo News. A 60 inch ad would be run
on Thursday in the weekend connection. It is a lot like the first in the fact that running the ad in
the section is relying on the fact that it will grab the attention of the reader and make them want
to take a weekend fishing trip. Chicago Sun- Times was the third one that seemed like the best fit
for the target audience in Chicago. It will run on Sunday in the outdoor section of the paper. It
will be a 30 inch ad. This is probably the best section to run in because it is what our target

outdoors people and outdoor people read the outdoor section to get updates on everything going
on in the outdoors in the upcoming week.

Radio choice
The radio platform I used for this media plan is a FM classic rock format. It will be played on the
drive home from work so that way we catch them during the end of their day. The reason I chose
classic rock is because the target market is ages 45-65. The music that is now playing on these
radio stations are that to which this age group listens. In Chicago ads will be running on WDRVFM for the media plan we purchased 450 insertion to be played during their drive home from
work. In Buffalo they will be running on WGRF- FM for the media plan we purchased 500 to be
played during the drive home for work. In Jacksonville they will be running on WJGL-FM for
the media plan we purchased 476 to be played during the drive home from work.

Tv Choice
For the media plan we purchased ads during three different TV shows all running during
the day. Fish TV, Know Fishing, and Ultimate Fishing are all shows that would appeal to our
target audience. These shows are all based on fishing and how to fish. All of these shows follow
a similar format as to they bring experts on to teach you when and where to fish. They talk about
different rivers and lakes. They talk about what to bring with you when you are going to a
tournament or just a fishing expedition. In Chicago I purchased the most ads for each show since
it is the main focus of the campaign. The media plan for Chicago includes 65 ads during Fish TV,
50 during Know Fishing, and 30 during Ultimate Fishing. The media plan for Buffalo has 65
insertions for Fish TV, 45 for Know Fishing, and 30 for Ultimate Fishing. The media plan for
Jacksonville has 65 insertions during Fish TV, 30 during Know Fishing, and 20 During Ultimate
Fishing.

Web Site
For the media plan when choosing the websites I first went back and looked to see if any of
the magazines had websites which four out of the five did: www.gameandfishmag.com,
www.thefisherman.com, www.theonlinefisherman.com, and www.fieldandstream.com. That
made the decision to advertise on them easy because if the read the magazine then I am sure that
they also log on to the website. If our ads appear in both places then for they will notice and
hopefully that will lead them to either or website or one of our stores. The last website I used was
one that I found by searching Websites that fisherman use. Www.bassfan.com is a fishing
website that keeps updates on ongoing tournaments, has columns done by different experts. It
seemed like it was well visited and could get the companies name out there. All of
these websites will help our name be seen by our target audience and that will lead
them either to our website or to our store sites.

Google Keywords
All of the google keywords that I used for this assignment were words that were on Ganders
site that I knew that if a user was looking for them they would enter them and they would really
looking for that specific product. The words I used were fishing pole, bait, fishing accessories,
fishing electronics, trolling accessories, fishing apparel, jigheads, and baitcast. These are all
words that have to do with fishing and directly correlate to the Gander Mountain website.

Leading our target audience directly to what they are looking for and leading to a purchase from
Ganders website.

Campaign Schedule

Overview

Bibliography
"Gander Mountain Company." International Directory of Company Histories. Ed. Tina Grant.
Vol. 90. Detroit: St. James Press, 2008. Business Insights: Essentials. Web. 25 Sept. 2014.

"Sportfishing Demographics." RezKill Fishing Adventures. Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration,
n.d. Web. 25 Sept. 2014.

Recreational Boating and Fishing, and The Outdoor Foundation, comps. "A Special Report on
Fishing and Boating." (2009): n. pag. Web. 25 Sept. 2014.
<http://takemefishing.org/downloads/Research_section/Research_Evaluations_Files/SpecialRep
ortonBoatingandFishing.online.pdf>.

2011 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-associated Recreation. Washington,

D.C.: U.S. Dept. of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2012. Web. 5 Oct. 2014

Great Lakes Fishing Guide: The 26 Best Places to Fish." Outdoor Life. N.p., 2012. Web. 05 Oct.
2014