Leverage existing educational opportunities

MarineMax has leveraged the resources provided by Take Me Fishing to create events for its dealerships in areas where the company deemed there was a large Hispanic demographic. These events provide boater education for everyone in the family.

MarineMax began hosting these events in the summer of 2014 in its Houston and Miami markets, which are open to the public and helped the company discover the different approaches required to reaching Hispanic buyers.

“Just like all of our other demographics, it wasn’t a blanketed [approach]. The RBFF did the research for us and helped us understand the appropriate way to talk to the appropriate market for us,” said Abbey Heimensen, marketing manager of MarineMax.

Partnering with an existing organization that has established itself within the community and created a plan for approaching the Hispanic population was a top priority for MarineMax’s event creation.

“Even though we are the largest boat dealer and retail manufacturer in the country, we are still a small but mighty team. We did not have the bandwidth to start from absolute scratch and we didn’t have the experience to start from scratch,” said Heimensen. “That’s why it was so important to get behind a campaign out there that was already creating awareness, encouraging boaters, encouraging angling and we also liked the idea that it was encouraging families to get out of the boat and the water to go fishing together. It was not just about the parents or the adults – it was encouraging the entire family.”

MarineMax’s Houston dealership is located in Seabrook, outside of the heart of Houston, and Heimensen said these educational events allowed MarineMax to reach customers they never would have met otherwise. She also said this community outreach has created new customers and will help grow future boaters.

“We’ve gotten the opportunity to reach a market we hadn’t been reaching and hadn’t been talking to, and of course that gives us awareness in the community that we are all so alike,” said Heimensen. “We want everyone to have the opportunity to get out [on the water] with their family and friends, and experience what we know is so fantastic. No matter your location or demographic, we just really want to make sure we put the education out there.”