In Spring 2021, with fly fishing experiencing its biggest boom since its 1990s rise in popularity surrounding the release of A River Runs Through It, Orvis set out to introduce a series of three highly specialized rods built in its Vermont-based rod shop. These were no ordinary rods. The Helios 3 Blackout series signaled an evolution in the highly rated Helios 3 construction with rods designed to serve three hot spots in the angling category: euro nymphing, drift boat fishing, and salt fly angling.

Given their specialized nature, the H3 Blackout rods were geared toward experienced anglers looking to add an additional tool to their kits. Thus, validation by the core opinion leaders in fly fishing was vital to the launch’s success. rygr's account team designed a campaign that would prioritize the opinion leaders in the angling media before expanding the message to the broader outdoor and active lifestyle landscape.

Beginning with an initial teaser to gauge travel and fishing plans among our target writers, we established a workflow allowing us to circulate 12 rods among our media partners at titles including Gray's Sporting Journal, Hatch, and Midcurrent. If a writer was headed to the Bahamas for bonefish, we were sure they had the new 8.5-foot, 8-weight rod. Float fishing Western big water? The 9.5-foot, 5-weight arrived neatly packed in Orvis' Carry It All Case with extra materials like a Mirage LT reel, leader and tippet.

Using this product-cycling technique allowed us to provide each tester with at least two rods during the pre-launch test period in June and July. This gave them hands-on field experience with the product ahead of a July 28 launch date. Great product is the fuel that powers media relations campaigns in enthusiast categories like fly fishing and, according to the early feedback we received from testers and our own experience, we were working with jet fuel in the H3 Blackout series.

Following the initial testing by our core angling targets, we expanded our network of testers to include contacts at outlets such as Gear Junkie, Men's Journal and Outside. In addition, despite Covid-related travel limitations, we were able to spend time on the water with great writers (and anglers) from Flylords and Outdoor Life.

This campaign led to six placements among the endemic media on launch day with an average contextual score of 44 on rygr's 50-point qualitative scale. This means that within 24 hours we reached as many as 500,000 readers in our key target audience with coverage that was on-message, featuring the brand's multimedia assets and most important messages.

Within eight weeks, we earned a total of 19 placements and 1.5 million impressions while maintaining a high contextual value across each one of our top-tier endemic angling targets. Fly Fisherman named the Blackout 5wt as its “Best New Freshwater Rod” and Gray’s Sporting Journal featured the 8wt rod among “Gray’s Best” for 2021. The success we enjoyed with the H3 Blackout launch mirrored the design energy that Orvis put into the product and established an effective roadmap ahead of the brand’s next hardgoods launch cycle.

"I left the Bahamas flats sold on the Orvis Helios 3 Blackout 8-weight. It does a stellar job at what it is designed to do: Enable a caster to pick up line and change directions quickly while chasing fast-moving fish. But the rod turned into our go-to choice for just about every casting situation."

- T. Edward Nickens, Field and Stream

“After a few months spent fishing this latest addition to the Helios 3 family, I’m quite impressed. Orvis has yet another home-run-hitter in their lineup.”

- Spencer Durrant, Hatch

“Needless to say, these rods will remain in our starting lineup for quite some time.”

- Wills Donaldson, Flylords

“I have yet to meet a Helios 3 I didn't like. I was actually expecting this rod to be a little less fun to fish than my standard Helios 3D 5-weight due to the added length, but instead my expectations are exceeded. Orvis really nailed this one.”

- Paul Wolter, Demistifly