Company Overview FLW Outdoors, the world’s leading marketer of competitive fishing, was incepted as Operation Bass back in 1979. Its founder Mike Whitaker wanted to provide an opportunity to bass anglers who could not take time off from work or travel long distances to participate in high-entry-fee tournaments. Irwin L. Jacobs acquired the company from Whitaker in 1996 and later renamed it as FLW after Forrest. L. Wood to honor the legendary founder of Ranger boats and pioneer of modern bass fishing. Today FLW Outdoors can be credited with making competitive fishing a high-power sport through extensive media exposure and involving sponsors like Wal-Mart and Chevy. It could also take credit for raising the stakes for participants through handsome prize money offered by sponsors. Before EchoMail: FLW Outdoors had a great communication challenge in hand; it had to stay in constant touch with members of the media and keep them updated on a day-to-day basis about the events it was organizing on various fisheries. Business houses sponsored most of the events and hence communication had to play a role in event branding. Communication had to be done in three phases: 1. Pre-event communication, 2. Reporting on the actual event, and 3.Declaring results and prize money details following the event. FLW Outdoors wanted to tie up with a professional e-mail management agency to take care of its communications needs and chose EchoMail after weighing various options. The EchoMail Deployment: EchoMail analyzed the communication needs of the client and decided to deploy its well-researched mass mailing tool EchoMail® Direct MarketingTM and EchoMail® Data WarehousingTM. FLW Outdoors media contacts were categorized according to geographic location and the topics/types of events covered. DM’s multiple campaign feature helped in sending targeted e-mail news releases to reporters based on their preferences. Data inflow from the FLW Outdoors website was synchronized to update in the EchoMail Database instantly, from which outbound e-mail could be sent accordingly. DW helped in storing the large reporter database on multiple parameters, it also served as an analytical tool and helped in extracting client specific and customized special reports. After EchoMail: EchoMail’s DW ensured that reporter info was kept constantly updated in the database and DM helped in sending targeted news releases from this database that helped FLW Outdoors to stay in touch with reporters and keep them updated on all forthcoming events, participation details, ongoing competitions and details of winners and prize money, etc.