The General Tire brand from Continental Tire the Americas LLC has created an expansive plan to reach out to professional bass anglers and fans of the sport. The brand is sponsoring four top pro anglers on the Bassmaster Elite Series, and partnering with B.A.S.S., Fishing League Worldwide (FLW) and Major League Fishing (MLF).
General Tire is joining forces with the 2009 Bassmaster Classic champion and the 2007 Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year, Skeet Reese. The Auburn, Calif., resident will feature the General Tire brand on his Ford F650, his signature bright yellow Ranger boat and in the center of his tournament jersey.
“I'm really excited to be working with such a respected company like General Tire,” says Reese. “They’ll be a great asset to our sport and will help expose fishing to a whole new consumer. I look forward to sharing General Tire’s message with our loyal bass fishing fans."
General Tire also will sponsor the 10-time B.A.S.S. winner and three-time runner up to the coveted Angler of the Year award, Edwin Evers. The Talala, Okla. native will feature the General Tire brand on his Nitro boat, his Toyota Tundra and on his tournament jersey.
"I couldn't be more excited to be with a company who is going to be so involved with fishing,” says Evers. “They have made a big commitment to support bass fishing and I am looking forward to our partnership together. I've been a customer of General Tire through the years and can confidently say that they make a great tire."
Both anglers will be featured in new television and print advertising campaigns for the brand. They'll be joined by fellow Bassmaster Elite Series anglers John Crews and Britt Myers who both were part of General Tire’s entry into pro angler support in 2015.
Crews, of Salem, Va., has eight Bassmaster Classic appearances and a win in the Bassmaster Elite Series. Myers, of Lake Wylie, S.C., is a regular on the Bassmaster Elite Series and also owns and operates CS Motorsports, which customizes the trucks of many of the pro anglers on the tour.
General Tire also will join B.A.S.S. as a media partner that will feature print ads in both Bassmaster magazine and B.A.S.S. Times in addition to television commercials on ESPN2 and ESPN Classic. The partnership will also allow General Tire to participate in four Bassmaster Elite Series events on the 2016 schedule.
Bruce Akin, CEO of B.A.S.S. CEO., said the organization is "thrilled that the company is reaching out to its potential customers through our Elite Series events, which recorded an average attendance of nearly 20,000 per tournament in 2015.”
General Tire also will join Fishing League Worldwide (FLW) as an Official Sponsor. General Tire will become the presenting sponsor of all Walmart FLW Tour event take-off ramps that will feature signage and an inflatable arch located near each boat ramp on the tour. The tire brand will have a branded boat participating in each Walmart FLW Tour event, and hospitality and activation opportunities along with television commercials within each broadcast.
“We’re excited to announce our partnership with General Tire and welcome them to the FLW family,” says Trish Blake, president of marketing. “FLW’s members and fans are among the most loyal consumers available and General Tire will now have access to the hundreds of thousands of anglers that we reach each month.”
General Tire will continue their role as the exclusive tire sponsor of Major League Fishing, which began in 2013. The tire brand will remain as the title sponsor of the General Tire Summit Cup, support the Summit Selects, offer a branded boat in each event and be featured in television commercials.
"General Tire has been a fantastic partner of MLF and as we have grown, General Tire immediately responded and has grown with us," says Jim Wilburn, general manager of Major League Fishing.
“We are thrilled to have these opportunities to get more involved in the sport of bass fishing,” said Travis Roffler, director of marketing for General Tire. “Our family of products fit perfectly with the needs of bass fishing enthusiasts and we are elated to have these relationships in place to help us connect with them.”
For more information, visit www.GeneralTire.com.
