Growing Boating: Part 1
The challenge? How to encourage interest in boating among the broader public? The solution? Selling the lifestyle.
'From massive vessels to PWC, growing boating needs to focus on lifestyle and leisure.'
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Over the next few weeks, marketing experts and advertising gurus have their say. Most of them agree the focus should be on talking up the healthy outdoor pursuit of getting out on the water, separating kids from negative peer influences and creating a lifetime of memories, including father-son', 'grandpa-grandson' and wholesome family boating, whether that's on a $3000 dinghy or $3.3m cat.
"Selling the lifestyle" is a technique used since time immemorial - in campaigns for everything from FMCGs (fast-moving consumer goods, like chips, colas and cleaning products), to high-end sectors such as apparel, real estate and automotive.
Why then would boating traditionally focus on technology, horsepower and price, with the usual array of bikini-clad girls on deck, as the boat slices through an exotic azure waterway?
Damien Duncan, sales & marketing boss at Telwater/Quintrex, refers to the caravan, camping and 4WD industry, which got together to create an all-out media blitz to encourage Baby Boomers, families and couples to get mobile, take to the road and explore the country. The message was, in a nutshell, "experience the freedom" and the website, www.welovethiscountry.net.auconveys this. 
And there's the rub. Advertising relies on selling sentiment, an idea, not flogging product or focusing on brands. Esoteric attributes like "freedom", "family togetherness", "reflection", "success" and above all these days, the most precious commodity of all, "time", are at the core of each and every successful brand message.
The key, says Duncan, is collaboration and creative execution - selling the lifestyle. "They formed one body with an annual conference and an industry advertising fund so they could market their message nationally. And it has worked."
Positive messages, emphasizing the great time out for family and friends on the water, health, happiness, the great outdoors, joys of nature . . . should not prove a hard sell at all.
"In the media, there are always going to messages of boat accidents, rescues and the dangers," says Duncan. "We need to counter those by promoting the positive experiences, family stories and the incredible lifestyle benefits, not just running brand advertising and ads competing on price."
Recently, Telwater conducted more than 22 focus groups with new owners. They revealed a plethora of recollections of happy childhood memories, father-son occasions and sentimental times on the water. "People were trying to revive this joy that they felt in their youth or with their families, and it didn't matter whether it was a $3,000 boat or a $20,000 boat or a yacht - the feeling was the same."
Another revelation was that these people, and presumably the potential market of non-boat owners nationally, do not read marine consumer media. "they don't read boating magazines," observes Duncan. "But they do consume other media, like TV and mainstream magazines and newspapers."
Also crucial to the industry, according to Duncan, is the need for solid figures, including on marketshare, imports, boat show attendance and boat registrations.
"That way, manufacturers particularly have some data to work with and can make projections and forecasts based on up to date information. People at all levels of the industry can make better decisions in terms of workforce, production and plans for the future."
Education, infrastructure and support from BIAs and governments are also crucial for industry growth.
For his own part, Duncan spends most weekends with colleagues, friends and family out on the waterways of his home town, the Gold Coast. "We take people out and they love the sight seeing and the feeling of being out with nature and away from the hectic pace of life. Compared to going shopping and racing around on a weekend between sport and social and work commitments, boating is like taking a holiday.
"Wavebreak Island is great for kids, fishing, swimming and all those healthy things. It's great for kids of all ages, and parents enjoy having them away from some of the more negative influences of their friends and just 'hanging out'."
Over at Riviera, brand manager and advertising specialist with more than two decades of experience, Stephen Milne believes getting in touch with young people is fundamental to developing a new demographic of boating enthusiast.
Milne cites research from the US that shows that unless people have experienced boating by the time they are 18 years of age, they are very unlikely to take it up later in life.
"So reaching young people should be a long-term priority," he says. "This could include school education programs, providing school children with the chance to experience sailing, power boating, fishing, skiing and s on. A more formal marine studies program already exists in some schools, embracing marine biology, reef studies, as well as actual boat handling skills. This could be extended to a more broad base of schools."
For adults, a more immediate process is through Boat Shows. "The BIAs and select private operators do a fantastic and usually thankless job of promoting boating through capital city and regional boat shows. This is a relatively economical way for people to get around a wide variety of boats in a short time and to gain knowledge quickly."
TV, still the most effective and costly medium for broad national coverage, is one suggestion. "TV is a great showcase for the sizzle. The industry would do well to create a boating TV show that sells the sizzle of boating rather than simply promoting individual boats or brands in an 'advertorial' format. Shows like Getaway do a great job of promoting travel by selling the sizzle. Better Homes and Gardens and others sell DIY home renovation."
What we do need to consider is a strategy to get people to "try boating". Says Milne: "The best way to get people to embrace the boating lifestyle is to demonstrate it. The industry (associations, clubs, retailers, manufacturers, accessory businesses) should be encouraged to support national 'try boating' initiatives on a regional basis. Boat owners can be encouraged to take their friends out boating."
Denby Browning, PR and Media Manager at Riviera agrees. "Selling the idea of boating without a direct means of experiencing it is a waste of energy. Boating is an experience. You need to touch and feel to understand."
He recalls the case of a friend who lives aboard her boat, much to the bewilderment of her friends. "Some of her friends simply didn't understand why she would do that. One particular friend and her son came out for an overnight stay on Sydney's Pittwater.
'We sailed for a while and went to a place called Smiths Creek which is a secluded, deep waterway right in the middle of the national park. Very few boats around, no houses. We anchored, settled and, as the sun went down, brought out a little glass of wine to sip on the deck. The woman turned to my friend and said 'now I get it'."
Cohesion and collaboration are finally, the glue that will bind any concepts our industry can come up with. "The industry, particularly in difficult economic times, should come together to promote boating rather than expend energy criticising or undermining one another. Every seed of doubt in this industry affects everyone."
Next week, highly awarded and internationally renowned advertising media strategist and planner, James Mackay, director at BWM, Greg Haines from the Haines Group, and marketing manager at one of the country's largest marine retailers share their thoughts on marketing boating to the masses.
If you have some suggestions that just might work, please email editor@marinebusinessnews.com
by Jeni Bone 
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Parkdale, VIC
