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

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:
- Building on the momentum from the Summit and insights from the Market Expansion Advisory Group,
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.