Direct mail program drives up boat registrations

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – The Lapsed Boat Registration Pilot Program, a direct mail effort in Oregon, resulted in 765 boats being registered during the evaluation period and more than $20,000 in net revenue, according to a release from the Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation.

In addition, the registrations generated an estimated $25,000 in revenue to the state of Oregon through state gasoline taxes and allocations from the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund.

The program was developed in partnership with Oregon State Marine Board (OSMB) and the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife (ODFW).

“These findings demonstrate the power of continuous communication with your customers,” RBFF President Frank Peterson said in the release. “These additional renewals will help support critical boating safety programs and boating infrastructure efforts in Oregon. We are encouraged by the results and moving forward, we hope to expand boat registration pilot programs to additional states.”

In April, the owners of 17,159 lapsed boat registrations, who had not renewed their registrations since 2007, were sent direct mail pieces reminding them about the importance of renewing their registrations. These Oregon boat owners received one of three different remittance forms, which targeted both angler and non-angler households. A separate group of lapsed boats was set aside as a control group for comparison, and their owners received no remittance forms.

According to the RBFF, based on a comparison of boat owners who received the mailing and those who did not, the program resulted in:

— 765 lapsed boats registered during the 42-day evaluation period.
— A higher response rate among the treatment groups (more than two times greater) than the response in the control groups, resulting in a lift of 4.5 percentage points.
— $21,292 of new net revenue from lapsed boat registrations over and above the cost of the direct mail program.
— $25,406 estimated additional revenue from state gasoline taxes ($23,278) and allocations from the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund ($2,128).

“We are thrilled with the results from our pilot program, which was built on a detailed examination of boat registration data and market research in Oregon,” OSMB Director Paul Donheffner said in the release. “RBFF and ODFW were instrumental partners in this effort and we will continue to explore new ways to reach Oregon’s boaters and increase participation in the sport.”

The Lapsed Boat Registration Pilot Program is an extension of RBFF’s ongoing direct mail efforts with state fish and wildlife agencies. Thirty-two states currently participate in the Lapsed Angler Direct Mail Marketing Program, a three-year initiative to recruit and retain lapsed anglers and generate awareness of the connection between fishing license sales and conservation efforts.

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