The Get on Board campaign, the first-of-its-kind industry-wide collaboration between RBFF's Take Me Fishing and NMMA and MRAA's Discover Boating continued to make waves this summer. Supported by an integrated marketing mix featuring public service announcements, digital advertising, social media and public relations, the 2021 campaign made an impact in reaching new boaters and anglers by generating 3.4 billion impressions – a 42 percent year-over-year (YOY) increase – and 20 million YouTube views – double the number of views since last year’s campaign.
Americans from all walks of life gained a better appreciation of spending time outdoors as a result of the pandemic-related social distancing, and many chose fishing and boating as their lifeline to wellness. The Get On Board campaign tapped into this lifestyle trend and continued building momentum from 2020, which deeply resonated with a broader, more engaged consumer audience.“Over the last few years, RBFF, NMMA and MRAA have been priming the pump, reaching out to diverse new audiences to increase awareness of fishing and boating and inspire participation,” said Stephanie Vatalaro, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications for RBFF. “This year’s Get On Board campaign featured some of our most successful multicultural outreach to-date.”
“With record sales and participation in boating and fishing, we’re seeing younger, more diverse audiences enter the market, which has given us the unique opportunity to engage the next generation of boaters and anglers to continue increasing participation for the long-term,” said Ellen Bradley, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications for NMMA. “In collaboration with RBFF and MRAA, we not only focused on recruiting future participants but also retaining the recent surge of newcomers.”
Highlights of the campaign’s success include:
- Earned Media: 2.6 billion impressions (121 percent YOY increase)
- Paid Media: 36 million impressions
- Through a partnership with Complex and actor/influencer King Keraun, promotions on Buzzfeed, and a “Stories of Anglers” series in collaboration with Hearst, unexpected stories were showcased about people from all walks of life enjoying the benefits of fishing and boating, setting the tone of the campaign.
- Influencer Program: 12.9 million impressions and 4.7 million interactions
- Social Media: 22 million impressions
- Generated 22 million organic post impressions across Take Me Fishing, Discover Boating, RBFF and NMMA’s social media channels, with calls to action to get a fishing license, register a boat, find ways and places to fish and go boating and learn to fish and boat.
- Digital Properties: 48 million sessions
- Compared to the previous year, visits to Take Me Fishing’s and Discover Boating’s digital assets increased by 47 percent.
- Get On Board Toolkit: 11,000 page views
- Offered free, customizable fishing and boating marketing materials through its online toolkit to support the industry in reaching out to a younger, multicultural audience, to help grow fishing and boating.
