Plumbing and HVAC market wholesaler Ferguson is spending some of its marketing money on sport fishing sponsorships this year.

The company is a sponsor of Major League Fishing, a bass fishing tournament held around the country.

“At Ferguson, we’ve already realized the tangible benefits of the sponsorship, such as our 30-second commercials running during Major League Fishing programming and our brand exposure in the boats and on the MLF set,” said Shawn McLaughlin, Ferguson marketing director. “Moving forward, we hope to leverage the sponsorship through angler appearances at Ferguson trade counters, sweepstakes, once-in-a-lifetime customer experiences and content sponsorships.”

Henry Wood, Ferguson’s counter division vice president, said the partnership is a natural.

“Our trade customers have an affinity for the outdoors,” he said. “Fishing is certainly one of the activities our customers enjoy when they’re not at work. The reinforcement of the Ferguson brand in the show, and the correlation with fishing make the partnership with MLF a great fit.”

Tournament general manager Jim Wilburn said they were excited to be working with the HVAC sales company.

 “We are ecstatic at Major League Fishing to be in partnership with Ferguson, the largest plumbing wholesaler in North America and a great company,” Wilburn said. “Our audiences have strongly indicated that Major League Fishing is the best competitive fishing show they’ve ever seen, and our viewer numbers are going up and up. We believe we offer a great outlet for Ferguson to deliver its brand messages.”