By Jamie Stafford
The recreational marine industry often centers around building relationships with people and earning trust through generations of good business practice . Yet , at the end of the day , it ’ s still that : business . Building those relationships is nearly impossible if no one knows about your business . Marketing is often seen as something ubiquitous , but that doesn ’ t mean it should be overlooked or taken for granted . Moreover , today ’ s consumer is savvier than ever and they ’ re looking to connect with companies through meaningful stories and shared values .
Historically , the boating industry ’ s audience has been fairly uniform ; however , it has been growing in number and diversity . This has been accelerated by the pandemic , an event that pushed many people with no experience on the water to venture out on the waves . With growing diversity in everything from gender to experience level , the industry has in turn been pushed to adapt .
Women on the waves
Yamaha recently launched a campaign aimed at women but welcoming of all . The “ Women Run the Water ” campaign came about as a response to a consumer survey that indicated women did not find themselves well represented within boating media .
“ We really had a goal to change the way that Yamaha ’ s presence in the boating industry spoke to our audience ,” says Leslie Zlotnick , Division Manager of marketing for the company ’ s Watercraft division . “ The boating industry felt male dominated – we ' ll often see on the cover of magazines or in some marketing material , the men are at the helm , and the women are sitting in the bow of the boat enjoying the lifestyle of boating but not ownership of the boat .”
“ That ’ s where Yamaha decided we are going to create this archetypal owner ,” Zlotnick continues . “ Her name is Carrie – Comfortable Carrie . She may or may not be a parent and is financially able to become an owner . She also may or may not have grown
Leslie Zlotnik up boating . A lot of people see we ' ll often see on the cover of magazines or in some marketing material , the men are at the helm , and the women are sitting in the bow of the boat enjoying the lifestyle of boating but not ownership of the boat .
Leslie Zlotnik , Division Manager of Marketing Watercraft Division , Yamaha
44 June 2023 www . boatingindustry . com