OCEAN CITY – A local fishing expert could be casting the line to reel in a larger population of visitors to Ocean City to take advantage of all the fishing opportunities the resort has to offer.
On Monday afternoon, Scott Lenox of Fish In OC, LLC., who is also a host of Hooked on OC, pitched the travel show concept of Fish In OC to the Tourism Commission.
“Scott [Lenox] approached me several months ago about a concept to market Ocean City as a destination for fishing similar to Ocean City Golf Getaway, which is a market co-op of all the golf courses. It really is an industry that is scattered … with real no cohesive effort to push fishing,” Tourism Director Donna Abbott said.
Lenox first appeared before the Tourism Advisory Board (TAB), which favored the concept but recommended he go before the Tourism Commission as TAB’s duties focus on bringing forward and assisting to fund new special events, not marketing ventures.
Lenox explained he attended a golf trade show last March representing Ocean Pines with OC Golf Getaway where an attendee recognized him from the Hooked On OC show.
“We started talking and by the end of the conversation he was coming to Ocean City to see what the White Marlin Open was all about,” Lenox said.
That is when Lenox realized there is not a co-op marketing initiative for fishing in Ocean City.
“The ball started to get rolling … and now it is way further along than I would have expected in the first year,” said Lenox, who has taken the concept on independently. “I have gotten a lot of industry support … I currently have eight boats that are going to be involved with me, and all but one marina that is still thinking about it right now, as well as a lot of support from the shoulder industry such as restaurants and hotels.”
Lenox has created a Fish In OC trade show booth and has already booked six outdoor trade shows scattered through New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania.
“There is everything from fishing to hunting, to people selling jet skis and RVs. The first show is in Harrisburg in February. I know the town goes there to represent Ocean City and the tourism part of it but I am going to be there for both,” Lenox said.
Lenox and D3Corp has also created a website, www.FishInOC.com, and a trip planner that will offer the different boats in Ocean City, accommodations, things to do and more.
Fish In OC is also giving away fishing trips in Ocean City as a mechanism to build an email database. The same idea has been done by the town with the OC Experience, which is a trade show booth concept brought forward by event promoter Brad Hoffman a few years ago.
Lenox proposed to the Tourism Commission a $15,000 advertising package that includes the display of Ocean City tourism videos while Fish In OC attends the six outdoor travel shows where a potential 300,000 people attend.
“On one television I am going to have Hooked On OC … on the opposite side of the booth I am going to show tourism videos,” Lenox explained.
Also, the Ocean City logo will be displayed on the front page of the Fishing Planner with a full page advertisement on the back of the Fishing Planner as done with the OC Golf Getaway magazine.
There will be a link to the town’s website, www.OCocean.com on the front page of www.FishInOC.com, along with Ocean City features such as the Boardwalk will be listed under Fish In OC website’s Things to Do tab. Ocean City’s Vacation Guide will be distributed at the trade shows to at least 300,000 people. Lenox does the writing for the fishing section of that guide.
“I am going to be in a different neck of the woods, shaking hands with people … and any of you that know me and know how long I have lived in Ocean City should feel confident that if any questions come up about Ocean City in general I would be ok to answer those too. You would have a good representative at the shows not just for fishing but for the tourism part of it also,” Lenox said.
Abbott pointed out the current budget includes $10,000 to fund travel show expenses.
“When you look at what Ocean City offers, outdoor recreational activities such as this is part of the draw to Ocean City. Obviously we have successful marinas, businesses that rent boats and things of that nature,” Mayor Rick Meehan said. “It is good to change it up a little it. There is a growing need for marketing opportunities for fishing … I would suggest that this becomes our trade show initiative for this year.”
Councilman Dennis Dare agreed there is a large market for fishing in Ocean City that not only includes hundreds of boat rentals and marinas, but also bait and tackle shops, as well as hotels and restaurants will benefit.
The mayor recommended the Town support Fish In OC with the $10,000 advertising budgeted for trade shows as well as throw in OC Experience’s equipment as an in-kind service to make up for the $5,000 difference.
The commission voted unanimously to forward a favorable recommendation to the full council to approve the marketing opportunity with Fish In OC, LLC to operate the Town of Ocean City’s trade show initiative this year. The concept will come before the council next week.