Media Tracking Report 
11/29/2007

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National Marine Manufacturers Association Coverage

Ten Years
[Boating Life, 12/01/2007]
By Randy Vance

…What you expect when technology grows is more interaction with it (like a computerized answering maze) and less with real people. Not so for the marine industry. Just as consumer satisfaction monitoring has messaged boat and motor builders where they have to step up, the National Marine Manufacturers Association, is helping dealers police themselves to improve the sales experience and after-sales support services. If you buy a boat this year, you may be stepping into a dealership that has put itself under a microscope to bring you better boating experience. Boating Life has always told you, "A great boat purchased from a poor dealer is a poor boat." The NMMA Dealer Certification program will help you get into a great boat…


Area boatbuilding industry hit by housing downturn
[Sarasota Herald Tribune (Online), 11/26/2007]
By Tom Bayles

…Once again, the housing downturn's ripple effect has shaken an industry to its core. Those building smaller powerboats are seeing layoffs, poor earnings and out-and-out closures…"The housing market has affected the industry in two ways," said Thom Dammrich, president of the National Marine Manufacturers Association. The biggest factor is low-interest-rate, variable mortgages switching over to higher rates. "That soaks up a lot of discretionary income," Dammrich said. "We're selling less boats. With the decline in home prices and real estate values, particularly in huge boating states like Florida and California, people just feel less wealthy."…


Deadline Extended for Marine Web Award Nominations
[Boats.com, 11/21/2007]

Boats.com and the National Marine Manufacturers Association today announced the deadline for entries in the 2008 North American Marine Industry Web Awards competition has been extended to December 15, 2007. Boats.com and NMMA have presented the Web Awards annually since 2004 to recognize companies whose Websites demonstrate the highest levels of creativity in design, ease of navigation and presentation of up-to-date, relevant content for the boating industry…


CMMA and NMMA announce plan to combine resources
[ThomasNet (Online), 11/20/2007]

The CMMA Board of Directors recently approved a reorganization plan being presented to members during the annual CMMA General Meeting on January 14, 2008, in conjunction with the Toronto International Boat Show. Subject to final approval at the meeting, the plan would consolidate CMMA and its work in the areas of government relations, statistics, membership, and communications with NMMA Canada. Consolidation efforts would take place over the next 12 months.


Recreational boaters face environmental fees
[San Diego Union Tribune (Online), 11/19/2007]
By Dana Wilkie

…A federal court has ruled that a fee on large commercial vessels implemented to help deal with pollution and foreign species that are dumped with ballast and bilge water also applies to private recreational craft. The fee is charged when boats travel from state to state…For manufacturers of recreational boats, marine engines and boat accessories, the new requirement potentially means far less business for the $33 billion-a-year industry. "This presents a huge barrier to people continuing to boat or new people getting into boating, because it adds significant expense and complexity," said Thom Dammrich, president of the 1,700-member National Marine Manufacturers Association. Dammrich's organization, which runs the annual San Diego Boat Show, represents as many as 30 boating groups -- from the Recreational Boaters of California to the American Sportfishing Association -- that have banded together to fight the EPA permits. Dammrich's group said California ranks No. 2 in the nation after Florida in the number of registered recreational boats, with nearly 1 million mechanically propelled boats -- which includes sailboats with motors -- and an additional 71,036 sailboats, canoes and kayaks…


Strong euro lifts U.S. yacht sales
[Gazette (IA), 11/18/2007]
By Martha Brannigan

...Much of the U.S. boating industry is in a slump, with the number of boats sold expected to sink about 10 percent this year on top of a 5 percent decline last year, according to the National Marine Manufacturers Association, a Chicago-based trade group…"We're selling a lot more product in Europe, Australia and the Pacific," says Thom Dammrich, president of NMMA. "The export market is what's keeping a lot of manufacturers in good shape."…

This story was also covered by the Arkansas Democrat Gazette (Online), the Providence (RI) Sunday Journal, the Providence (RI) Journal Bulletin (Online), and the St. Cloud (MN) Times.


Industry's top web sites to be honored at Miami
[Soundings (Trade Only), 11/01/2007]

Discover Boating Coverage

…Now, leading indicators suggest the boating Discover Boating campaign may turn the tide for boat and accessory sales, which have been in slump since sales peaked 10 years ago. The national advertising and public relations campaign was unleashed with much fanfare in spring 2006 as part of the Grow Boating Initiative. It was financed largely through engine and boat assessments as well as contributions from stakeholders in an integrated effort to promote the boating lifestyle and improve the boating experience. In addition to the Discover Boating consumer marketing campaign, the initiative includes dealer and product certification programs and efforts to improve water access. The National Marine Manufacturers Association estimates the Discover Boating campaign is on track. "[By] every benchmark or every measure that we have, we are seeing increases with the same dollars that were spent last year," said Carl Blackwell, vice president of the NMMA. "So we're seeing some great successes." Discover Boating has increased awareness of the brand to 36 percent, up from 25 percent the previous year, according to research by New York-based Russell Research…"This is not a 30-second commercial," said the NMMA's president Thorn Dammrich. "In almost every case, whether it's milk or beef or cotton or RV, the results [of the marketing campaign] were not immediate. It took any where from two or three years, or up to eight years, before they were able to turn the tide."…


Publisher's Letter
[Sport Fishing, 12/01/2007]
By Glenn Hughes

…The National Marine Manufacturers Association estimates that boat dealers and manufacturers host more than 1,000 similar (albeit smaller) events annually. It's good for everyone because research indicates owners who don't get out at least 12 times a year are more apt to sell their boats. "It's really the essence of the boating lifestyle they're creating," says NMMA vice president of communications Carl Blackwell, who plans to feature a central calendar of boating events on discoverboating.com by 2008. "Boat shows inform potential boaters, but it's the boating experience that sells boats."…


APSP Pitches Bold Hot Tub Plan
[Pool & Spa News, 10/22/2007]
By Jim Lately

The APSP Hot Tub Council last month made its biggest pitch yet for the industry to join forces and spend millions of dollars - to promote spas on national scale…Organizers envision marketing push that mirrors that of the boating industry, which several years ago pooled money for an ad campaign encouraging people to "Discover Boating." Boat sales had been falling for years, and projections showed a long-term decline. But the Grow Boating Initiative, which boasts an annual budget of $13 million, increased boating participation by 7 percent according to speakers at the meeting. A report by the National Marine Manufacturers Association states that boat sales rose 3 percent in 2006. Yet sales of "traditional power boats" declined by 5 percent the same year. The report credits growth in the canoe market, which is not promoted by the "Discover Boating" campaign, for buoying the industry's overall sales figures…
 

Chicago Boat, RV & Outdoors Show Coverage

Boat Show Calendar
[Lakeland Boating (IL), 12/01/2007]

…1/16 to 1/20 Chicago Boat, RV Outdoors Show • chicagoboatshow.com…

Field Notes
[Sunday Sun-Times, 10/07/2007]

..."Bling My Boat" is a promotion for "local boats in need of an update" by the National Marine Manufacturers Association for the 78th Chicago Boat, RV & Outdoors Show. Bottom's Up Boat Repair in McHenry will work with the show team to gussy up the winning boat. To enter, go to www.ChicagoBoatShow.com. Deadline is Oct. 15...

Boat Show Coverage

Boating Log
[Southern Boating, 12/01/2007]

...January...9-13 - ATLANTA BOAT SHOW, Atlanta, GA. Georgia World Congress Center; 954-441 -3226; atlantaboatshow.com. 9-13 - NEW ORLEANS BOAT SHOW. New Orleans, LA, Ernest N. Morial Convention Center; 504-780-1818: neworleansboatshow.com...


WorkBoat show to dock in city
[Times-Picayune, 11/24/2007]
By Jen DeGregorio

The International WorkBoat Show sets sail this week in New Orleans, luring an estimated 14,000 attendees to the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. The annual trade show has become a must for shipbuilders and nautical buffs from across the globe, offering a glimpse of the new technologies and trends that promise to shape the marine industry in the year ahead...


November
[Soundings (Trade Only), 11/01/2007]

…Jan. 9-13 New Orleans Boat Show, Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, New Orleans. NMMA, (504) 780-1818. www.nmma.org...Jan. 12 - 20 Toronto International Boat Show, Direct Energy Centre, Toronto. National Marine Manufacturers Association-Canada. (905) 951- 0009. www.torontoboatshow.com...Jan. 16 - 20 Chicago Boat, RV & Outdoors Show, McCormick Place, Chicago. NMMA, (312) 946-6200. www.chicagoboatshow.com...Jan. 23 - 27 Minneapolis Boat Show, Minneapolis Convention Center, Minneapolis. NMMA, (312) 946-6200. www.minneapolisboatshow.com. Jan. 23 - 27 Baltimore Boat Show, Baltimore Convention Center, Baltimore. NMMA, (312) 946-6200. www.baltimoreboatshow.com
 

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