Orvis / Lines, Leaders & Tippets

Navigating the world of terminal tackle to find the right fly line for your next fishing trip has always been, challenging, frustrating and more often than not demoralizing, even the most experienced guides are left scratching their heads.

Orvis turned to United to change the paradigm and establish a new standard in fly line, leaders and tippet packaging, and product communication.

United focused on clearly and effectively communicating the unique product attributes and benefits, elevating the packaging to visually communicate ORVIS’ leading-edge fly line innovation and bring the portfolio of products in line with the established overarching ORVIS brand positioning.

Audit & Evaluation

The Orvis brand was started in 1856 by Charles F. Orvis in Manchester Vermont. Charles’s focus was providing his customers with superior fly-fishing equipment supported by exceptional service. Over the last 160 plus years, the brand has expanded into other outdoor categories, significantly establishing itself across the world. But at its core, Orvis remains a fly-fishing brand.

The constant advances in technology, product innovation, and product development found in the construction of today's fly lines is nothing short of amazing. It has become a highly competitive category, with multiples of brands seeking to win the loyalty of a rapidly expanding consumer base.

Within the last 5-8 years, fly-fishing has seen a significant influx of new consumers lining the banks of the rivers and lakes of the World in the pursuit of mastering this elegant artform. 

Despite the constant advancements in line, tippet and leader technology, there is one overarching aspect that continues to confuse and frustrate everyone from the most seasoned Alaskan guides to the outright novice, understanding and selecting the right fly fishing line for your next trip at retail is near as damn it impossible. The reality is that the fly fishing industry has spent a lot of time talking to itself, in its own language and neglecting to take into consideration the complexities faced by the end-user when selecting the right line, leader and tippet for the right situation. 

To enable United to truly understand the challenges faced by today’s fly fishing customer, we deeply immersed ourselves in the category and the industry. It was essential for us to hear first hand what was working and what was not working in regards to brand, packaging, product, and marketing communication. United conducted a series of four audit and evaluation steps.

1. Orvis Immersion Interviews with:

- Senior management

- Product development team

- Marketing team

2. Retailer Immersion Interviews with:

- Local fly fishing shop owners

- Larger regional and nationwide stores

- Fly fishing outfitters

3. Consumer immersion Interviews

- Guides

- Professionals

- Ambassadors

- Novices

4. Category audit

To accompany these immersion sessions United conducted an extensive audit of the line, leader and tippet category, analyzing all of the key competitor brands to gain insights and learnings that would influence the approach to the Orvis go-forward strategy.

Brand Articulation

The immersion sessions, category audit, and research enabled us to develop a series of strategically defined packaging concepts that effectively address the challenges faced continuously by today’s fly fishermen and women when undertaking their product purchasing decisions. Each of the packaging concepts addressed the following:

Elevating the Orvis portfolio of fly lines, Pro, Hydra, and Clearwater and bringing them in line with the established brand positioning and status of the overarching Orvis brand.

Communicating that Orvis is an authority in technically advanced fly lines, tippets, and leaders.

Articulating the unique product innovations and technology by product offering.

Clearly differentiating the Orvis brand, packaging, and product from the category competition.

Defining a universal language across all products that effectively communicated the individual product attributes, assisting and educating the customers with their purchasing decisions.

The creation of a clear and concise information hierarchy system focused on removing the confusion of selecting the right product for the right situation.

Audience Engagement

The direction selected by the Orvis team, engage customers both experienced and in-experienced in a significantly more effective manner. The new packaging design has not only elevated the Orvis series of fly fishing lines into the role of an industry authority but, in essence, has become an education tool that has removed the mystique and confusion around purchasing fly fishing terminal tackle. The ultimate goal has been met, we have given Orvis and the fly fishing industry a more user-friendly, approachable and intelligent packaging solution, in doing so finally putting an end to an to the trepidation in buying terminal tackle.