cury Marine showcased their Avator 7.5e Electric Outboard Motor , earning them an Innovation Award in the Electric Motor / Battery Powered Propulsion / Hybrids category , while in the general Outboard Engine category , BRP ’ s Rotax S gained acknowledgement . The full list of honorees , in categories including personal watercraft , electrical systems and deck equipment , can be found on Boatingindustry . com .
At its heart , the recreational boating industry is a lifestyle industry , and communicating this lifestyle requires a strong marketing vision . The night before the industry breakfast , the Marine Marketers of America ( MMA ) hosted the Neptune Awards banquet to highlight this vision , honoring marketing concepts , campaigns and initiatives from across the industry .
Winners included Sea Ray Boats ( recognized for their integrated marketing campaign ), Sea Tow Foundation ( grass roots event ), the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation ( influencer collaboration ), ABYC ( B2B marketing ) and Boston Whaler ( online advertising ) among many others .
Overall , the importance of boat shows such as Miami cannot be overstated . “ Boat shows are everything ,” said Lee Gordon , VP of communications at Brunswick . “ We need boat shows , whether they ’ re in-person or virtual , but we really want to keep them in-person . For us , the boat shows do a lot of different things . Number one , it allows us to talk to our customers ; number two , it allows us to engage with our colleagues who we don ’ t get to see all the time ; and it allows us to engage with our brands .
“ This is where the products debut ,” added Christine McKone , Volvo
Yamaha Marine U . S . president Ben Speciale provides updates at MIBS 2023 .
Penta ’ s marketing director . “ This is where we have a chance to meet our customers , for them to see what ’ s coming out and to get feedback from them too , giving them an opportunity to really shape what that future of boating is going to look like .”
www . boatingindustry . com march 2023
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