Media Tracking
Report
03/20/2008
Article Index
Archive
National Marine
Manufacturers Association Coverage
Dealer Outlook
[Soundings (Trade Only) (Online), 03/07/2008]
By Norm Schultz
Last week's MRAA Convention fell short. I don't mean in content, subject
matter and quality speakers. I'm talking about attendance that fell
short...As NMMA President Thom Dammrich recently observed, unlike
the RV industry, we don't have a central gathering place for our
industry. Instead, dealers go to many small meetings with boat and
engine builders and distributors. Moreover, we undoubtedly expend more
time and money on all that and we don't even benefit from the kind of
industry unity that would result if we could all be together in one
place, at least, annually. So is it time right for MRAA and NMMA,
the industry's two leading national associations, to seriously explore
any concepts that could become a future central gathering place for the
whole marine industry?
Boating Industry Faces Unprecedented Threats
[Boating Industry (Online), 03/11/2008]
The number of threats faced by the boating industry in the legislative
and regulatory arenas - and the seriousness of those threats - is now
greater than at any other time in its history, according to the
National Marine Manufacturers Association. For that reason, the
association is stressing the importance of participation in its annual
American Boating Congress (ABC). "ABC is about getting members of the
boating industry to come here and be forceful advocates along with us
here in the Washington, D.C. NMMA office, to get people to
recognize the boating industry is an important American industry
employing American workers," said Scott Gudes, NMMA's vice
president of government relations, in an interview yesterday...
Clean Boating Act Of 2008 Introduced To Congress
[Boating Industry (Online), 03/14/2008]
The Clean Boating Act of 2008 made its Congressional debut yesterday
when Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), chairwoman of the Senate environment
and public works committee, and Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) introduced the
legislation to the Senate, the National Marine Manufacturers
Association said in a notice yesterday...
California Quagmire Closes Casitas
[ESPN.com, 03/12/2008]
Anglers that frequent one of California's big bass factories, Lake
Casitas, got some bad news Tuesday evening. The board of the Casitas
Municipal Water District voted to close the lake to visiting boaters due
to the threat of quagga mussel infestation...BASS and the California
BASS Federation Nation, the American Sportfishing Association, the
National Marine Manufacturers Association and various groups within
California are working to find solutions to re-open Casitas and stop the
domino effect with other popular California lakes. Based on the past
history of dealing with California's bureaucracies, it won't be easy.
Soft Market, Solid Bargains
[Boat/U.S. Magazine, 03/01/2008]
By Caroline Ajootian
...Many economists predict that the nation as a whole is headed for
recession in 2008, but the marine industry has been slogging through its
own private recession for the past year...According to statistics
published by the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA),
the industry typically operates in five-year cycle of three "up" years
and two "down" years. However, the most recent cycle was three down
years and two up years...Lessons learned the hard way during the early 1990s
recession include the importance of diversity in product lines,
consolidation of physical plants and cost-cutting measures like group
purchasing power and even overseas production...NMMA has
responded by creating a dealer certification program and many
forward-thinking dealers are using successful customer service models
based on how auto dealers do business...
RBFF Appoints New Board Members
[Boating Industry (Online), 03/07/2008]
The Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation has added new appointed
members to its board of directors, the organization said in a statement
Tuesday. Their terms began March 1. Additionally, three of the board's
members retired. RBFF's nominating committee re-elected the current
slate of officers for another yearlong term. The board also recognized
appointments from a number of organizations. The appointees will serve a
three-year term. The organization appointees are...National Marine
Manufacturers Association: Doug Beachem, DJB Ltd., Jason
Scruggs, Lowe Boats, Mike Hebert, Texas Marine...
Discover
Boating Coverage
Discover Boating Ad Campaign
Ramps Up
[Boating Industry (Online), 03/07/2008]]
The 2008 Discover Boating advertising campaign kicked into high
gear this week with new components specifically designed to help
interested consumers order the Discover Boating DVD and,
ultimately, drive these potential buyers to manufacturers and dealers,
Grow Boating organizers reported in a release yesterday...Discover
Boating will test the toll-free number on its TV commercials during
the month of April and brings back its TiVo advertising following the
success experienced with this program during the 2006 ad campaign.
"Eight thousand spots that run nationally translates to 8,000 spots
running in every city, big and small, across the country, with no skew
to any particular region," said Carl Blackwell, vice president of
Marketing & Communications for both Grow Boating Inc. and the
National Marine Manufacturers Association...
News Briefs
[Soundings (Trade Only) (Online), 03/07/2008]
...BoatRenting.com,
a Web site featuring worldwide online boat rental reservations, is
accessible through a link on the Rent A Boat information page at www.discoverboating.com.
Boat rental locations list their available boats free on BoatRenting.com
and customers pay a refundable fee to reserve boats through the site's
live interactive calendar...
Boat Show Coverage
Life On The Water Runs In Their Blood
[Rough Notes (Online), 03/08/2008]
By Edward O'Hare
...The health (and wealth) of the marine business was on full display at
the New York National Boat Show in early January. The show that
featured more than 1,000 boats—everything from personal watercraft and
pontoons to mega-yachts, with more open space, closets and bedrooms than
a multimillion-dollar Manhattan condominium. As one boater remarked,
“With the mega-yacht, there’s also no worry about ‘there goes the
neighborhood.’ If you don’t like the area, you just push off and take
your luxury living elsewhere.” Today recreational boating is a major
consumer goods industry generating $39.5 billion in sales and services,
an increase of 6% from 2005, according to the National Marine
Manufacturer’s Association (NMMA)...
Sail America
[Spin Sheet, 03/01/2008]
Sail America’s
50,000-square-foot SailFest at the Baltimore Boat Show
January 23-27 was a record-breaking hit! People packed the place,
drooling overall types of sailboats while having fun sailing
remote-controlled boats, learning from the pros during several sailing
seminars, visiting the Discover Sailing Center, and checking out
cool new sailing gear. Don't miss the fun in Baltimore on January
21-25, 2009...
Get Out! Whirling Diversions
[St. Petersburg Times (Online), 03/09/2008]
...14 Friday...Tampa Bay Boat Show: Three-day event showcasing
area boat dealers and manufacturers, the latest in boating and fishing
supplies and accessories, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. today and Saturday; 10 a.m.-5
p.m. Sunday, Tropicana Field, One Tropicana Drive, St. Petersburg. Plus
Florida fishing school seminar series with St. Petersburg Times outdoors
writer Terry Tomalin and friends. $2, under 16 free...
Interlux Offering $60,000 In Grants To Groups To Enhance
Their Waterfronts
[Fly Fishing in Saltwaters (Online), 03/11/2008]
Interlux has announced that it would be awarding $60,000 in grants at
the Miami International Boat Show in February 2009. Eight grants
from $5,000 to $25,000 will be awarded to organizations to create
sustainable waterfront environmental improvements in their communities.
At a press reception in Miami today, Bob Donat, Vice President of
Marketing for Interlux said "We are excited about launching a program
that empowers the boating community to preserve the one thing we have in
common - water. The health of our bays, streams, lakes and oceans is
vital to the future of boating. The Waterfront Challenge is a real
opportunity for everyone to make a difference."...