Marketing Is Ice Fishing

The case for patience in a world addicted to constant tinkering.

Last week, I spent a few days ice fishing in Minnesota with industry friends. We laughed and bonded while trying to catch pike, bass, and the elusive walleye.

On the plane ride home, my mind drifted to thoughts about marketing and branding, as it often does, and I realized the parallels between marketing and ice fishing. It may seem like a stretch, but stick with me for a moment. Ice fishing looks calm, quiet, and likely boring to anyone watching it from afar. You drill a hole, scoop out the slush, drop a line, and sit there. There’s no splashing, no dramatic casting of reels, and no immediate feedback.

Marketing is the same way. From the outside, it often looks like nothing is happening while, inside the process, everything is coming together with purpose. But here's why this quiet, seemingly inactive strategy often wins: a slow and steady approach can lead to more substantial and lasting success. Let me go a bit deeper as to how this works:

You don’t fish where the water looks nice. You fish where you believe the fish actually are. Successful ice fishermen study depth, structure, temperature, and movement before the hole is ever drilled. Marketing works exactly the same way. If you’re shouting into channels where your audience doesn’t exist or doesn’t care, you’re freezing for no reason.

The hole matters more than the bait. You can have the best bait in the world, but if you drill in the wrong spot, it doesn’t matter. In marketing terms, this is positioning. Fitting your message to fit your target audience beats clever copy every single time. If the hole is drilled in the wrong place, your amazing bait will never get seen.

Stillness isn’t inactivity. Ice fishing requires patience, not passivity. You watch the line, listening for the reel and paying attention to subtle movement. Similarly, the best marketers are not passive; they engage in a "listen-test-tweak" cycle to refine their approach. First, they listen by gathering data and paying attention to feedback signals from various channels. Next, they test small variations in strategies to see what resonates. Finally, they tweak their tactics based on these insights, making small, intentional adjustments. This three-step cadence helps ensure a calm but effective method that drives marketing success.

You’re not trying to catch ALL the fish. You’re trying to catch the right ones. People who really know how to ice fish aren’t disappointed when nothing bites for a while due to the fact that they understand that selectivity is part of the process. In marketing, not everyone is supposed to respond because indifference from the wrong audience is a blessing, not a curse.

When it works, it looks effortless. People only see the fish coming out of the hole - they don’t see the prep, the knowledge, or the patience required for hours of waiting. That’s how good marketing always looks, and we hear terms like “sudden,” “lucky,” and “overnight success” when in reality it was methodical and earned.

If your marketing feels quiet right now, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s broken. Take a deep look, as it may just mean you’re doing it the right way: patiently, intentionally, and exactly in the right place.

Just keep an eye on the line.