Freya Olsen

1. Freya Olsen
Senior Program Manager, Discover Boating
Discover Boating &
Industry Update

2. Recreational Boating Industry
95% of boats sold in
the U.S. are made in
the U.S.
97% of U.S boat
manufacturers are
family owned and
operated small
businesses

3. Traditional Powerboat Retail Sales
source: Info-link

4. Sailboat Retail Sales
-4.9 -3.9
0.0
-10.1 -8.2
-31.7
-35.7
-20.4
7.0
28.3
-5.1
33.9
-25.3
16.1
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
YOYChange
Source: NMMA 2016 U.S. Abstract

5. Growth Through March, 2017
source: Info-link
1.0%
7.9% 7.6%
9.4%
2.3%
9.1%
1.7%
9.6%
RetailUnits12MYOYChange
High Unit Volume Low Unit Volume

6. INDUSTRY HEADWINDS

7. 9,438
9,844
9,672
9,151
8,588
8,440
8,191
0
20,000
40,000
60,000
80,000
100,000
120,000
140,000
160,000
5,000
5,500
6,000
6,500
7,000
7,500
8,000
8,500
9,000
9,500
10,000
1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 proj 2025 proj
Households(000)
BoatOwners(000)
U.S. Recreational Boat Owners
(Excluding paddle craft)
Boat Owner Households U.S. Households

8. 0%
2%
4%
6%
8%
10%
12%
14%
16%
<25 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60-64 65-69 70-74 75+
PercentageofAllBuyers
Age Range
Boat Owner Age Distribution - 1997
AGING DEMOGRAPHICS
The primary factor influencing the future growth of boating is
that our most loyal, core market is aging
Average Age
47
Mostly Males
Source: Info-Link

9. NEED TO FILL THE PIPELINE
The average age of a boat owner is 55 and every
year is increasing in age by six months.
0%
2%
4%
6%
8%
10%
12%
14%
16%
<25 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60-64 65-69 70-74 75+
PercentageofAllBuyers
Age Range
Boat Owner Age Distribution - 2015
Average Age 55
Mostly Males

10. The reason for the decline is simple:
We have not been replacing boaters as
quickly as we lose them
Between 2005 and 2010 Between 2010 and 2015
Net loss of 520,000 boat owners Net loss of 564,000 boat owners
2.4M
First-time
boat owners
entered
2.9M exited
2.0M
First-time
boat owners
entered
2.6M exited

11. First-Time Boat Buyers
FIRST-TIME
Boat Buyers in
2005
(564,000)
54%
32%
14%
T
O
D
A
Y
Still own
same boat

12. Repeat Buyers
REPEAT
Boat Buyers in
2005
(838,000)
38%
35%
27%
T
O
D
A
Y
Still own
same boat
* And gets better with each subsequent boat purchase

13. Tomorrow’s boat owners
Findings from landmark research
on first-time boat buyers

14. We surveyed
2,000 people
interested in
buying their
first boat.
We followed
75 people
for two
weeks.
We analyzed
existing
data.
We surveyed
250 lapsed
shoppers.
We visited
4 markets,
interviewing
20 people.
We surveyed
550 people who
recently bought
their first boat.

15. How they buy.Who they are.

16. Merry Mates (16%)Gear Guys (17%) Luxurious Leisurers (18%)
Water Weekenders (23%) Seclusion Seekers (12%) Nautical Natives (14%)

18. Life
experiences
form an affinity
for boating.
DEVELOP
A spark ignites
the desire for
boat
ownership.
They start to
imagine their
life on the
water.
They navigate
the realities of
buying and
owning.
They
experience the
joy of
ownership.
DESIRE DREAM DECIDE DO
On average, this takes about year or less.

19. How did the
process of
buying a
boat make
you feel?

20. KEY FINDINGS
• The boating industry is at a crossroads
 Every year, fewer people enter boating for the first time.
 Today, first-time boat buyers represent 33% of all boats sold – down from 42% in 2000.
• Would-be first-time buyers are turned off by the dealer experience
 66% of people who stopped shopping for their first boat said they did not have a “helpful” experience at the
dealership.
• The way people shop has changed, and traditional leads will soon be harder to come by
 In our study, two thirds of first-time boat buyers said they’d give out personal information only at the point of
purchase.
• We need to rethink affordability messaging: from the cost of the boat to the unexpected
costs of purchasing one.
 First-time buyers are prepared to take on the investment., but it’s the “unexpected” costs that derail their purchase.
 Registration fees to maintenance costs - they often don’t learn about these expenses until the last minute.
 42% of people who stopped shopping for their first boat said unexpected costs were their primary barrier to
purchase.

21. 2017 Integrated
Marketing Campaign

22. Discover Boating Objectives
• Increase Participation
• Help ease consumers down the
purchase path
• Stakeholder education

23. We live in a world where everything is
available in an instant.

24. Where experiences are becoming much
more important to people.

25. Where people still hold vacations in high
regard and look forward to the day the
vacation starts.

26. A vacation should be a priority.
A time to focus on what’s important:
Family, friends and relaxation.
What if you could take a vacation when you wanted?
What if “how” and “where” were simply replaced by “when”?
Own a boat and you can go on vacation when you want.
On your own terms.
Every week, every weekend or even every single day.
It’s up to you.
It’s your vacation.
It’s your vacation on demand.

27. Owning a boat lets you take a
Vacation On Demand.
27

28. We’ll be offering media and social influencers
the chance to take their very own
Vacation on Demand.
Provided by one of these partners:

29. In exchange, we’ll be
asking for earned
coverage and shared
content that inspires
people to get out on the
water this summer.

30. 30
VACATION ON DEMAND

31. 31

32. All of these will send
people to our
Go Boating Today page.
32
Driving traffic to:
• Go Boating Today
• Boat Selector Tool

33. Boat Selector Tool

34. Boat Selector Tool

35. Discover Boating
provides
educational needs for the
first-time boat buyer that were
identified by the research.
• Total cost of ownership
• Shopping checklists
• Cost comparisons tools and boat
loan calculators
73

36. Relevant Results YTD
• Web traffic from mobile phones have finally passed desktop.
• 46% from mobile
• 43% from desktops
• 11% from tablets
• The 25-34 age group represents the largest % of traffic and fastest growing
segment on DiscoverBoating.com
• The 65+ age group is up 28% YTD and represents over 8.4% of traffic. First time boat owners
can be any age.
• One boat dealership which has embedded the Discover Boating Boat Loan
Calculator has had nearly 5000 uses in the past six months.

37. Tools for Industry Stakeholders
• Visit: GrowBoating.org/ToolsYouCanUse
- Promotional Materials: Beginner’s Guide to Boating, educational
flyers, bumper stickers, posters
- Web Content: Videos to download, embed and stream
- Interactive Tools: Boat Selector, Cost Comparison, Boat Loan Calculator
- PR University
- Image Gallery

38. Research and Education
Research
 First-Time Boat Buyer Research
• Why consumers dropped out of First-Time Boat Buying purchase process
• First-Time Boat Owner Attrition
Education
 Grow Boating Marketing Summits
• Understanding the Value of Web Referrals
• Creating Best Practices for Inbound, Nurture and Content Marketing
• Application of First-Time Boat Buyer Research to Dealer Sales Training

39. Visit GrowBoating.org in the Research & Education section
for more information in the coming weeks!

40. Thank you!