Fishhound Field-Testing Program Reaches 50,000th Product Review Milestone
Fishhound 06.17.13
Fishhound.com, the Web’s fastest-growing angling community and leading provider of real-time fishing reports, announced today that the site’s popular field-testing program has spawned its 50,000th product review. These product reviews come in the form of written reviews or YouTube videos created by members that have tested fishing tackle and accessories supplied by Fishhound’s Product Showcase manufacturer partners.
According to Rick Patri, Fishhound’s Vice President, Operations, reaching this milestone is a true reflection of both Fishhound’s popularity and the overall success of the Product Showcase and Field-Testing Program. “Just like the monthly box clubs, Fishhound makes it easy for manufacturers to get their products in the hands of anglers, but our major advantage is that our program creates earned media for manufacturers. The 50,000 member-posted product reviews and videos are proof of that,” said Patri. “Every product review is shared by members via social media, so even if each member has just 200 friends, the numbers can be huge!” Patri added. “Fifty-thousand product reviews, each shared with 200 friends, have the ability to influence the buying decisions of 10 million people – no monthly box program can ever do that.”
Companies that partner with Fishhound.com, such as St. Louis-based Revolution Lures, are quick to point out the advantages. “We have conducted our own field-testing and we’ve also participated in some of the other clubs and box programs, but none have ever produced like Fishhound has so far,” said Revolution Lures’ President, Ian Paskon. “As we all know, the biggest struggle is to get your audience to actually write a review, take pictures, shoot video, or take extra steps that can help build your brand,” added Paskon. “Fishhound has created the incentive that actually compels their audience to do these very things. If you haven’t field-tested your products through Fishhound, you definitely should. It’s the best advertising program we’ve ever participated in.”
Patri notes that it’s equally important to consider how the large number of anglers that frequent Fishhound’s site and incredibly active Facebook page respond to the unbiased reviews posted by fellow fishermen. “The ‘I found this review to be helpful’ button, which appears at the end of each review, has been clicked over than 12 million times,” he said.
Fishhound’s unprecedented ability to harness the viral nature of the Web and social media allows testimonials on product performance to spread like a “feeding frenzy” within the Fishhound community and through other online channels. The field test reports not only provide useful information to Fishhound’s massive audience of avid anglers, they also produce unbeatable promotional exposure for Fishhound’s tackle manufactuer partners. “When another experienced angler recommends a product that he or she has personally tested out on the water, now that’s compelling,” said Patri. “These kind of reviews are convincing and influential – they drive anglers into buying action.”
The opportunity to participate as a field tester starts as soon as an angler joins the Fishhound community. Anglers immediately receive points to redeem toward field-testing opportunities and gift cards for purchasing tackle recommended by others at the site. “That alone is worth the price of admission,” said Patri. “When you consider the continuous opportunities to field test tackle, our real-time fishing reports, and the proprietary information, tools and resources for locating and catching fish, a Fishhound membership really is an incredible value.”
To learn more about Fishhound, or to register for free as a Fishhound.com user, visit: www.fishhound.com.
