Mercury Days in Europe provides opportunities for international exposure
TOLKAMER, Netherlands – For the fourth consecutive year, Mercury Marine Europe organized and hosted the annual “Mercury Days,” a two-day event designed to promote the Mercury brand to a European audience.
Close to 2,000 people showed up over the course of the two-day event in the Netherlands, testing upwards of 50 boats powered by engines as small as a 3.5hp outboard to twin 400hp Verado engines and even a few larger racing engines. The boats ranged from a 2.5m dinghy to a 43′ Bernico Leverage.
“Mercury Days is quickly becoming one of our signature events in Europe,” said Mike Shedivy, Mercury Marine president Europe, Middle East & Africa. “This year, we were in Tolkamer, which is on the border of The Netherlands and Germany. It allowed us to entertain boaters from different countries and engage in great conversation about the Mercury brand.”
On the second day of the event, Mercury invited a group of kids from Zorgboerderij Lemeleveld, a camp that works with children with learning difficulties and behavioral problems, to experience an afternoon on the water. Together with local dealers and support from The Fishing Dutchmen, an organization that helps get kids and adults on the water, Mercury offered boat rides, fishing instruction and lunch for the group. One young boy told event organizers, “You know that today was the best day of my life and this is a day I will never forget.”
“To see the smiles on the kids’ faces and hearing them talk about their day was amazing,” said Hans Roelants, Mercury Marine director, Benelux & Germany. “The Fishing Dutchmen do a great job of providing opportunities to kids and adults that don’t get opportunities to go fishing and we were just happy to provide them the boats and engines to make their day more enjoyable.”
At least 20 different boat brands were present at Mercury Days including Lund, Bernico, Bayliner, Hellwig and Harris. Mercury Marine is already looking at dates and locations for 2016.