Attendance was strong, despite harsh weather conditions. Photo: Seattle Boat Show
The Northwest Marine Trade Association (NMTA) reported a positive experience for its 78th Seattle Boat Show. Attendees from 48 states and Canadian provinces purchased tickets to the show and 295 member businesses participated.
Despite snow and winter weather threats during five of the nine show days, NMTA said that exhibitor feedback was overwhelmingly positive. Many reported strong sales, high-quality attendees, and valuable leads.
“We did not feel the impact of the weather at all,” said S3 Maritime’s Paul Zimmer. “We got a ton of high-quality leads and will be busy for weeks to come following up.”
“On many days we had buyers in our booth beyond closing time—people were serious and they were buying,” added Elizabeth Bohling of Seattle Boat Company.
One aspect of the show that drew attention was Mama Duck, the world’s largest rubber duck, perched atop the Lumen Field parking garage. Her arrival generated widespread buzz across radio, TV, online and social media.
Strategic planning drove success
This year, in addition to a comprehensive paid digital advertising campaign, NMTA made a strategic push to expand the show’s organic social media presence. Bullseye Creative is the creative agency that works with the show.
Strategy focused on showcasing the full range of the show experience—highlighting sponsors, exhibitors, featured products, promotions and other fun aspects of the event. As a result, the show increased its social media presence exponentially, boosting frequency, reach and engagement. This includes:
Increased social media posts by 500 percent compared to last year
Saw a 15 percent increase in total followers combined across all channels
Recruitment efforts
More than 100 job seekers and students attended the Seattle Boat Show Career Fair to explore career opportunities with the participating member businesses. Attendees connected with employers, learned about job openings and took the next steps toward careers in the marine industry.
“This was our first Seattle Boat Show Career Fair, and we were impressed,” said Nordlund Yachts of Tacoma, Wash. “We have four candidates to follow up with and were especially impressed with the Core Plus Maritime students, who will be ready to hire in 6-12 months.”
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