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...large yap is found in 49 states and is one of freshwater fishing's most voracious consumers. (Do you sense a metaphor rising?) It was Jacobs who made the connection between Mr. Bigmouth and Mr. and Mrs. Shopper in launching the FLW Tour 10 years ago. Those insights hooked Wal-Mart, which became the tour's lead sponsor in 1997 at the behest of an executive and bass angler named Lee Scott, who is now the company...
...raise purses or produce great television. So Jacobs supplanted them with corporations such as GM's Chevrolet division, M&M/Mars, 7-Up and Fujifilm, which wouldn't blink at, say, a $10 million sponsorship fee if it could move the sales needle. Then in 1997 he landed the whale: Wal-Mart. "We tend to think in increments, in small steps," Scott tells TIME. "Irwin thinks in big steps, in flights of steps." He also hounded the Wal-Mart man into submission. "It was the only way I could get Irwin to stop calling," says Scott of the deal...
...moved the weigh-ins to Wal-Mart parking lots under a huge tent, where the sponsors were waiting with all kinds of kid-friendly entertainment. It was a sensation, so much so that the championship event had to move to a bigger venue. On the water, Jacobs outfitted each boat like a NASCAR racer, to the point where the outfit became unofficially known as BASSCAR...
Beyond the hoopla was the naked quest for sales. And it turns out the bassfest was good business all around. Genmar, Jacobs' boatbuilding company, moved more boats; Ranger continues to gain share in a flat market. Wal-Mart, meanwhile, got a boost because fishing made its stores more attractive to men, who have a tendency to shop well beyond Department 9--sporting goods--and visit other parts of the store...
...sponsors could see the knock-on effect too. Consider Fujifilm, the Japanese photo firm. Fuji hands out U.S.-made disposable cameras at every tour stop. Each camera can turn into two Wal-Mart visits--one to drop off the exposed film, the other to pick up the prints. Since Fuji runs the printmaking operation at Wal-Mart, it can give away the camera and still profit. Fuji's business in Wal-Mart rose 30% last year, and sales of most FLW-sponsored products have outstripped Wal-Mart's overall sales increases. Fishing fans, according to FLW's independent research...