CASE STUDY 5: Bluewater Sport Fishing Boats

The Challenge:

Bluewater Boats is a Fort Pierce based company that manufactures high quality fishing boats with a customizable center console. Their target audience is the more affluent sport fisherman and families who enjoy off shore activities. In business since 1997, the company produced what was reportedly the best-balanced console boat on the water. The owner was an alumnus of the Westlawn School of Yacht Design and had many, many years of boat building experience; however, being a small company they sold direct to regional fishing enthusiasts, had no field representatives and little or no standing in the consumer marketplace.

The Solution:

FCEdge recognized the potential of this custom-quality boat manufacturer with a mom and pop shop image, so although Bluewater Boats came to us looking for a few 'quick-fix' ads to run in local market fishing magazines, we asked that they allow us to create the affluent brand identity their boats deserved. Of course we can do the down and dirty rush jobs when necessary, so we got the ads out on deadline and then began what was a true brand-building program. We started with the design and execution of a website-an easily navigable website that not only described the different model boats in detail, but wowed the viewers with

 

videos and action shots. FCEdge handled the project start to finish-hiring the models, supervising, styling and shooting both the video and stills, organizing the information, writing the script and executing the final production. The second phase of the plan was to give permanency to the brand with a full color brochure/kit that would be multi-functional first to the prospective consumer and secondly as a selling tool for what we anticipated would ultimately become their Marine Partner Program of field sales agents. They obtained space at the 2008 Miami Boat Show, we styled the space for the introductory launch and the new Bluewater Boats took off in full throttle. Additional support for this campaign included consumer and trade ads plus TV spots in both English and Spanish.

The Result:

With a more prestigious image, Bluewater Boats has been able to start a Marine Partner Network that in addition to the Florida locations, reaches out to California and South Carolina. Although the recreational boat industry has been impacted by the current recession, Bluewater Boats was able to successfully introduce a new 35' model, which is now the largest size boat in their line. Of course no one can say for certain what the future holds, but looking at the way the Marine Partner Program has progressed, there seems to be nothing but blue skies on the horizon for Bluewater Boats.


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