The genesis of the Sage Fly Stories campaign was a combination of the craftsmanship messaging behind hand-tied flies and a need for product segmentation to better identify end-use of specific rods in the product line. The result was a national digital and print campaign that created an emotional connection for a product-based effort.
To extend the campaign, my team conceptualized and developed an Instagram campaign linking the hand-crafted nature of Sage rods to the craftsmanship of fly tying. We put the flies front-and-center with vividly-detailed studio photography, turning to Earl Harper Studios in Seattle.
With the Sage Reel line experiencing less aura than their well-loved rod lines, my team conceptualized an idea to link product segmentation to the flies utilized for each end use. The resulting campaign was executed with stunning Earl Harper studio photography and led to repeated iterations of the same creatively progressive concept.—but one that dramatically changed how the brand marketed its product line.
The Flyfish Journal is internationally recognized as an industry treasure for their deep coverage of the deepest aspects of angling. Few emotions are as creatively visceral as opening up a fresh issue of the Journal—the smell of ink wafting in the air—and seeing a campaign your team conceived, created and executed on the inside front cover of the publication. Earning this spot with our Sage work became a career moment just as the ads became a defining visual for the brand in the clouded industry.
