MasterCraft to sponsor action sports tour

VONORE, Tenn. – Boat builder MasterCraft has signed a new three-year agreement with NBC and Clear Channel Entertainment, making MasterCraft the Official Boat of the Dew Action Sports Tour (AST), the company reported in a recent statement.

The first-year Dew Tour encompasses five U.S. cities and is expected to draw over half a million spectators this summer, according to MasterCraft. The series will include over 30 hours of original programming on NBC, and be promoted throughout Clear Channel’s extensive media network.

This is not the company’s first sponsorship contract. MasterCraft already has primary branding on the MasterCraft Pro Wakeboard Tour, the MasterCraft Pro Water Ski Championships and ESPN’s X Games.

The most recent deal with the Dew AST grants MasterCraft category exclusivity at the 5-stop nationwide series, with rights to a Festival Village display, logo IDs within the Festival Village, a :30 second big screen spot every 3 hours (the famed Parks Bonifay/X-Star commercial), a :15 second PA spot every 3 hours and a full page, color ad in the Spectator Guide. In addition, MasterCraft is working with the Dew AST to use Web, radio and TV spots as well as on-site and retailer in-store displays to promote contests that will give away MasterCraft X-Series boats to two winners.

“Our involvement in the Dew Action Sports Tour is multi-faceted,” said Rob May, MasterCraft’s director of marketing. “Number one, we will be reaching out to over a half-million action sports enthusiasts and further entrenching MasterCraft in this hot psychographic niche. Second, our local retailers will have the opportunity to interact and engage directly with these key influencers via our in-festival display. And, partnering with Clear Channel, NBC and all of the affiliated high-profile Dew AST sponsors gives us a tremendous opportunity to grow our brand beyond traditional marine media and events.”

Local dealers expected to benefit

One of the keys to the agreement is MasterCraft’s local dealer involvement, according to the boat builder. Similar to the THQ AMA Supercross events, the Dew AST will give local MasterCraft dealers the opportunity to impress a whole new realm of potential customers, with a reach far greater than traditional boat shows or local advertising can provide.

“The national media exposure does incredible things for the MasterCraft brand, but the local event opportunity allows MasterCraft dealers the chance to tap into a vibe and demographic we can’t reach on our own,” said Mark Watts, owner of Liquid Sports Marine in Orlando, Fla., the final stop on the Dew Tour.

Event Dates:

Panasonic Open: June 9-12 Louisville, KY
Right Guard Open: July 7-10 Denver, CO.
Vans International: August 18-21 Portland, OR
Toyota Challenge: September 8-11 San Jose, CA
Playstation Pro: October 13-16 Orlando, FL

  • For more of the latest news, click here.

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Back to top button