MINNEAPOLIS – VISA U.S.A. and competitive bass fishing’s prestigious Wal-Mart FLW Tour are teaming up to offer FLW Tour anglers and fishing fans throughout the world an opportunity to win more than $8 million in cash and prizes in a unique, multi-Web site promotion that pairs the world’s best bass anglers with fishing enthusiasts in a fantasy fishing-type format.
The Internet-based promotion represents another marketing milestone for professional fishing, bringing together a variety of the nation’s leading marketers in an effort to increase Web site exposure and capitalize on fishing’s escalating popularity.
Each Wal-Mart FLW Tour angler is paired with a designated fan to have a chance to win $2 million in each of the four remaining FLW Tour bass fishing competitions during the 2000 season. The VISA $2 Million Challenge will pay the angler who catches a state record largemouth, smallmouth or spotted bass during one of the four tournaments $1 million, while awarding an additional $1 million to the angler’s randomly selected fan partner.
“This is the richest promotion in the history of fishing,” said Irwin Jacobs, Wal-Mart FLW Tour chairman. “That VISA is sponsoring this promotion is a testament to the widespread appeal that fishing has and an affirmation of the growing stature it has in the world of sports. With 55 million participants annually, fishing is bigger than golf and tennis combined. It is the true national pastime.”
Fans can register for the first VISA $2 Million Challenge to be held April 12-15 on Beaver Lake, Ark., by logging on April 1-11 to www.flwtour.com or one of 13 sponsor sites and clicking on the VISA $2 Million Challenge logo. Among the entrants, 350 names will be randomly selected and paired with 350 Wal-Mart FLW Tour anglers. Fans not selected for the VISA Challenge will have the chance to win valuable prizes offered in one of 13 other challenge games presented by other FLW Tour sponsors.
The remaining VISA $2 Million Challenges will take place May 17-20 during the Memphis tournament; June 21-24 during the Forrest Wood Open on Pickwick Lake in Florence, Ala.; and during the Wal-Mart FLW Tour Championship, Sept. 13-16 on the Red River at Shreveport, La.
Fans may see official rules and register for the VISA $2 Million Challenge at the Web sites of the following sponsoring companies: VISA, Land O’Lakes, Shop-Vac, Evinrude, Coleman, Energizer, EverStart, Mitchell/Spiderline, Ranger Boats, Stetson Hats, CITGO, Lowrance and Black & Decker. No product purchase is necessary for fans to participate in this promotion.
“As the world’s leading payment system, we are constantly looking for opportunities to connect our card holders to the sports they love,” said George Perry, director, Event & Sponsorship Marketing, VISA U.S.A. “The VISA $2 Million Challenge capitalizes on the rapidly growing bass fishing audience and shows them that VISA `is everywhere bass fishing fans want to be.'”
The Wal-Mart FLW Tour, in its fifth season, is the most lucrative series in professional bass fishing history. The tour, which will award $4.4 million to anglers during 2000, has transformed the sport by attracting the nation’s leading companies to fishing, many for the first time.
VISA U.S.A. is the leading payment brand and the largest payment system in the United States, with more volume than all other major payment cards combined. VISA plays a pivotal role in advancing new payment products and technologies to benefit its 14,000 U.S. member financial institutions and their cardholders. There are more than 330 million VISA credit, commercial and check cards, which generate more than $660 billion in annual transaction volume. VISA-branded cards are accepted at over 17 million locations worldwide, including some 500,000 ATMs in the VISA/PLUS Global ATM Network. VISA’s Internet address is www.VISA.com.