Geico to Title Sponsor 2014 Bassmaster Classic

Geico has been announced as the new title sponsor of the 2014 Bassmaster Classic, the world championship of bass fishing.

The Geico Bassmaster Classic will be held Feb. 21-23 in Alabama with competition on Lake Guntersville. The daily weigh-ins and other activities will be in Birmingham, home base of B.A.S.S. LLC, owner of the Classic.

“It’s a pleasure for us to play a larger role in the Bassmaster Classic,” said Ted Ward, vice president of Geico marketing. “Bass fishing, and the Classic in particular, is a wonderful way to enjoy what’s become an enormously popular sport. Entire industries have developed around bass fishing and we’re delighted to be part of it.”

“This is our premier annual event, eagerly anticipated by hundreds of thousands of fans,” said Bruce Akin, B.A.S.S. CEO. “As title sponsor, Geico will enjoy the market inroads available only with the wide and deep reach the Classic achieves, not only over the three competition days, but in the weeks leading up to the event and in the months afterward.”

As the title sponsor of the Classic, Geico will receive prime positioning in Classic-related marketing efforts and activities.

Geico will receive branding of the Livewell seating area in the arena, and the lucky fans selected for that front-of-stage view will be given “Geico For Your Boat” T-shirts. Marshals, the official observers who ride with competitors in their boats, will wear Geico-branded shirts.

The company will have an exhibit at the Bassmaster Classic Outdoors Expo, the popular consumer show produced by B.A.S.S., at the BJCC. At Lake Guntersville, the Geico “Moneyman” from the company’s popular television commercials will lead the daily takeoffs.

Geico also will be featured in Classic-related advertising, promotion and editorial coverage in Bassmaster Magazine, received by the more than 500,000 B.A.S.S. members, and on Bassmaster.com. The digital exposure alone is expected to meet or exceed that of the 2013 “Classic week,” which had 25 million page views. The three competition days of the 2013 Classic garnered 17.5 million page views.