News News Enewsletter Top Stories Yamaha

Yamaha Watercraft honored with marketing awards in Miami

Jimmy GilliganFebruary 15, 2018

Yamaha Watercraft was recognized for Best Marketing in the Marine Industry at the 2018 Miami International Boat Show.

Yamaha was given the award at the 2018 Marine Marketers of America Award Ceremony held annually at the Miami International Boat Show. The company also won for the marine industry’s Best Mobile Application, Best Marketing Innovation, Best Regional/Local Marketing, and an honorable mention for the Best Newsletter.

“We strive to push the envelope across all our marketing efforts and our team is honored to have been recognized by the industry for the impact these efforts are having on our dealers and customers,” said Andrew Cullen, Yamaha Watercraft’s Digital Marketing and Communications Manager.

Yamaha Watercraft Group’s Bryan Seti, general manager; Andrew Cullen, digital marketing and communications manager; and Dean Burnett, president, accept awards at the Miami Boat Show.

This is the third time that Yamaha Watercraft won for the Best Mobile Application that included the group’s WaveRunner line. All new this year, designed from the ground up, the new Yamaha Mobile apps provide all the latest info, media, and specs for Yamaha’s 2018 WaveRunners. New features in the app recognized by the MMA include the apps’ geolocation functionality, integration with Yamaha’s lead nurture programs, and social content feeds that keep users engaged.

The Best Innovation award is a new category and Yamaha Watercraft won for the group’s Test Drive lead generation program. At a time when fewer consumers are signing up to become leads, Yamaha Watercraft built a secondary system called Test Drive, that serves as a softer sell to connect consumers and their nearby dealers, in an engaging and comfortable way. In the past 12 months the system served more than 2,000 leads to dealers.

Yamaha was also recognized with the Best Regional/Local Marketing, for its local and regional marketing efforts, specifically website and search engine optimization work around dealers in underperforming markets. By engaging first hand with dealers, and offering a range of best practices and marketing support, Yamaha was able to double sales and grow market share in some regions as much as 10 percent.