Discover Boating Marketing Leadership Summit Brings NMMA, MRAA Members Together to Fuel Growth

Picture of Discover Boating

Discover Boating

The 2025 Discover Boating Marketing Leadership Summit, held Monday, Oct. 6 at The Tampa EDITION, just ahead of IBEX’s opening, in Florida, gathered more than 80 senior-level marketers and decision-makers from NMMA manufacturer members and MRAA dealer members. With a robust speaker line-up, it was a high-impact, full-day event focused on learning and collaboration on marketing strategies to help expand the boating market.


Discover Boating Marketing Leadership Summit Highlights:

  • Market Expansion Advisory Group members discussed addressing Discover Boating’s role in helping to drive industry-wide growth
  • Dan Chuparkoff gave a keynote on the power and potential of AI in marketing
  • Ipsos shared a first-look preview of new consumer research findings
  • A panel discussion focused on attracting mass affluent, experience-driven consumers
  • Former McDonald’s Chief Marketing Officer Tariq Hassan shared insights on building cultural relevance
Marine Retailers Association of the Americas with members
(From left) The MRAA sent a team to Florida to attend the summit and connect with its members. Jerrod Kelley, Matt Gruhn, Abbey Heimensen (CMO, Marine Max), Bob Stanke, Mike Davin, Bryce Brown (Owner, MasterCraft Colorado), Freya Olsen and Joe Lewis (MRAA Board Chair and Owner, Mount Dora Boating Center & Marina) all participated in the event. Heimensen and Brown, who both serve on the Market Expansion Advisory Group, were part of a panel discussion about Discover Boating’s role to drive marine industry growth.

Why It Matters


As consumer expectations evolve and market dynamics shift, the marine industry is uniting to advance its marketing strategies and stay ahead of the curve. Through data-driven insights, peer collaboration and expert perspectives, attendees explored the central question: How do we reach the next generation of boaters — and expand the market before it’s too late? The Summit brought together the industry’s marketing leaders to challenge old assumptions and explore bold new strategies for growth.

What’s Next


NMMA and MRAA will continue sharing key learnings and go-forward strategies to help position the industry for growth by:

In the months ahead, expect to see a collection of resources designed to keep the conversation going and put insights into action, including:

  • Key takeaways in the NMMA Currents newsletter
  • On-demand video sessions
  • Interactive webinars and tools to apply the findings
  • Social media recaps
  • Highlights capturing the most impactful moments

For questions or continued conversations, the NMMA and MRAA teams are here to support you at dbsummit@nmma.org.

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