Dealer Week, the reimagined Marine Retailers Association of the Americas Conference and Expo, was awarded Honorable Mention in the Event Marketing / Grassroots category of the 2019 Neptune Awards. Honorees were recognized at a combined Marine Marketers of America and Boating Writers International meeting during the Miami International Boat Show on February 13.
Dealer Week’s submission detailed the work that went into rebranding and launching an entirely new annual conference in 2019. After starting with defining the “why” behind the event, MRAA strategically rolled out an eight-stage strategy to introduce Dealer Week to the industry. The campaign asked dealers to “Envision” a brighter future for marine retailing. MRAA’s marketing tactics included strong partner relationships, targeted promotion, social media, video marketing, print advertising, email marketing and non-traditional marketing methods.
“Thank you to the Marine Marketers of America for recognizing the hard work that went into making the inaugural Dealer Week a success,” said Mike Davin, Brand Manager at MRAA. “The goal of Dealer Week was to build something that would have a positive impact on the industry, but of course that doesn’t mean anything if no one knows about your event. The credit for that goes to our partners and our team for executing on the strategy that was laid out back when Dealer Week was just a concept.”
More than 600 dealers and 1,100 attendees registered for the event, which included 115 exhibiting companies.
In 2020, Dealer Week moves to Austin, Texas, on Dec. 8-11. More information, as well as photos from the first Dealer Week, can be found at DealerWeek.com.
About the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas
At the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas, we believe that for the marine industry to thrive, the retail organizations that interact with the boaters in their community must thrive. With that in mind, MRAA works to create a strong and healthy boating industry by uniting those retailers, providing them with opportunities for improvement and growth, and representing them with a powerful voice. For more information, contact us at 763-315-8043.
