Dammrich predicts “very strong years” ahead

MIAMI – Those waiting for the Grow Boating Initiative to deliver a jump in sales may not have much longer to wait, according to Thom Dammrich, president of the National Marine Manufacturers Association.

Industry sales declines are expected this year and next year, but with “the wind of Discover Boating at its back, 2008, 2009 and 2010 should be very strong years for the industry,” Dammrich predicted during a speech at the International Boatbuilders’ Exhibition and Conference (IBEX) Industry Breakfast this morning.

To support his predictions, Dammrich shared the sales success of other industry campaigns – campaigns like Beef, It’s What’s for Dinner, Cotton – The Fabric of our Lives and, of course, Go RVing – with the audience, pointing out the steep sales increases those industries experienced once their campaigns generated some momentum, often a few years after their creation.

The NMMA president also shared many Grow Boating goals for 2007, including the certification of 500 dealers and 350 boat builders, the creation of a National Access Index to measure access gains and losses (the pilot for which is almost complete) and the attraction of 5 million visitors to DiscoverBoating.com.

NMMA to share new boat show marketing campaign

One of Dammrich’s most significant unveilings during the breakfast was a plan to launch a new series of radio, TV and print boat show ads that would also promote the boating lifestyle and the Discover Boating campaign.

The new ads, designed to drive up boat show attendance and grow the industry, would not only be used for NMMA-owned shows, but be offered to non-competing shows, with industry-owned shows getting first priority.

“All we’re asking for in return is a $1,000 contribution to Grow Boating and to share attendance figures so we can evaluate the success of the commercials,” explained Carl Blackwell, NMMA VP of marketing and communications.

The ads will stray from traditional boat show advertising by incorporating humor and engaging the consumer at a higher level, he added.

Dammrich noted that boat show producers typically spend $10 million to $15 million in boat show ads per year, a large percentage of which now also will support the Discover Boating brand.

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