Boats Group recently signed a three-year commitment and became the latest Strategic Partner of the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas and its newly reimagined Annual Conference and Expo, Dealer Week. The event is scheduled for Dec. 8-11 at the Tampa Bay Convention Center in Tampa, Fla.
Celebrating its 43rd annual conference in 2019, MRAA has created an all-new approach to partner memberships and conference support by developing a year-round program that embeds these highest-level partners in MRAA’s strategic dialog and planning.
“Boats Group has proudly partnered with the MRAA for more than a decade, and we have witnessed first-hand the impact that their initiatives have on the marine industry through the education and support they provide to the dealer community,” says Courtney Chalmers, Vice President of Marketing at Boats Group. “From my experience in partnering with the MRAA team, Dealer Week will be a best-in-class event, bringing the nation’s best dealers and OEMs, the best ideas, the best education and the best networking opportunities under one roof for three days.”
Boats Group is a Miami-based advertising and software company focused specifically on the marine industry.
“We’re fortunate to be part of the boating industry and to deliver happiness to people each and every day,” says Chalmers. “Dealer Week gives us the opportunity to push ourselves beyond the boundaries and to collaborate with one another. It’s this opportunity that often inspires us to think of the best idea – the one that takes our business to the next level.”
Under the re-branded name of Dealer Week, MRAA will launch a profoundly new event experience designed to engage, energize and empower boat and engine dealers and their teams so they can continue to lead the marine industry to greater growth and success. In addition to the world-class educational programming that the marine industry has come to expect from the MRAA, Dealer Week will deliver deeper collaborative opportunities and richer experiences that will showcase business solutions in all-new ways.
As part of this effort, MRAA has created a collaborative Strategic Alliance, through which Partners can support not only the MRAA and Dealer Week, but also provide input on MRAA’s strategic initiatives and priorities. The highest tier in the Strategic Alliance, known as Strategic Partners, represents an invitation-only opportunity to participate in and help shape strategic dialog with the MRAA board and staff. It also provides for maximum exposure to the marine industry in a year-round promotional campaign that seeks to identify these Partners as the backbone of the MRAA, both from a financial and strategic perspective.
“Over the last decade, MRAA and Boats Group have continued to create impactful tools and resources for the marine dealer body,” says Matt Gruhn, MRAA President. “We look forward to continuing our partnership and aligning the efforts and vision of Boats Group with those of the association and our other Strategic Partners in order to create relevant educational content throughout the year.”
Boats Group
Formed in May 2010, Boats Group has one purpose: making it easy for people to buy and sell boats. Through its five industry-leading brands – YachtWorld, Boat Trader, boats.com, CosasDeBarcos and YachtCloser – Boats Group connects millions of people with the world’s largest selection of boats and sellers, and converts more shoppers into boat buyers than any other source.
Boats Group has deep roots in the recreational boating industry, providing marine businesses with a comprehensive suite of technology-based marketing solutions, including advertising, lead generation, CRM, data management services, website design and hosting. The company is committed to leveraging technology to deliver more value to it industry partners and investing in new innovations that bring the boating industry to the forefront of modern business.
Boats Group has offices in North America (Miami, Florida) and in Europe (United Kingdom, Spain & Italy). The company employs 200 people, has customers in 106 countries and advertises boats for sale in 143 countries. In 2018, over 140 million visitors spent time researching products on Boats Group web and mobile sites, apps and social media outlets. Boats Group’s global reach includes 28 localized web portals which are translated into 13 languages.
About Dealer Week
For more than 40 years, the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas has delivered world class educational programming to dealers, retailers and service operations that power the boating industry and serve today’s boaters. Dealer Week evolves as MRAA’s rebranded and reimagined annual conference and expo, a profoundly new event experience designed to engage, energize and empower the dealer community. The MRAA envisions a brighter future for marine retail, and Dealer Week is the preeminent means for bringing that vision to life. Learn more at www.DealerWeek.com.
About the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas
At the MRAA, our team believes that for the marine industry to thrive, the dealers on the front lines of the industry must first find success. With that in mind, we work to create a strong and healthy boating industry by providing dealers with tools, resources and educational programs — such as MRAATraining.com, the Marine Industry Certified Dealership Program, and Dealer Week, The MRAA Conference & Expo — and by representing those businesses with a powerful voice. For more information, visit MRAA.com.
