18EYEBROW


NATCHEZ ON THE WATERFRONT How to stimulate interest By Dan Natchez*


R


ecreational boating is ‘alive’ and as for the ‘and well’ part, just how well depends on what aspect of boating


one is talking about and the location, but one thing is for sure – things can just about always be better and there are ways to achieve this. Boating industry associations, like


those for many other disposable income industries, are working hard with various promotional advertising messages and to some extent they have been helpful. However, there is no question that things could be a lot better in stimulating interest in both non- boaters and boaters alike. The age


old question is … how? A strategy that typically tops the


list is events. Events stimulate traffic and interest, but I often wonder who the event planners are targeting. I have talked to many such planners, who tend to be the owners or managers of marinas or associations. What strikes me most are two issues


– one is have they really thought about who their target is and the other is the lack of meaningful publicity that reaches the target market. More often than not, the answer to the question of who are you trying to reach ranges from a broad generality, such as ‘boaters’, to a blank stare.


River for kayaking at Boot Düsseldorf – 360° Watersports Experience. MARINA INDUSTRY • DECEMBER 2018


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