This year, we have been showcasing each winner of the National Boating Industry Safety Awards via an individualized blog that answers questions posed to each winner. This will allow our readers to get to know each of the winners and see some of their winning materials, too.

Our next Q&A blog comes to us from Rachel Piacenza, Senior Director of Marketing for the Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation (RBFF) whose media and PR Team Colle McVoy won the National Boating Industry Safety Award for their work on the “Get on Board” campaign. There were a number of excellent entries in the Award contest and, as a result, the Sea Tow Foundation’s Boating Safety Advisory Council made the decision to award a second place in the PR, Advertising and Marketing Efforts to Colle McVoy.

1. Congratulations on winning the National Boating Industry Safety Award! Can you please describe your winning entry for our audience?
   
   

On behalf of the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation (RBFF), Colle McVoy had submitted the consumer-facing campaign “Get On Board” for consideration for the National Boating Industry Safety Award. This campaign not only encouraged people to get on the water and go fishing but to do so safely through imagery that showed adults and children wearing life jackets.

2. How does winning this award help your company? What partnerships, media coverage or opportunities have you gotten because of it?
   
   

Winning this award has helped Colle McVoy, RBFF and other industry members keep the momentum alive to bring more active social families, females and underrepresented groups that haven’t been historical shown as anglers or boaters onto the water, even more than a year after our campaign has first launched. It’s been especially beneficial in keeping our campaign relevance alive with industry and state members as we work with our partners to get even more people out on the water safely. This award brings great momentum as we embark into our new campaign that is expected to launch this spring.

3. What inspired you to promote boating safety?
   
   

Promoting boating safety came as a natural element to our campaign since we are reaching new audiences who may be less familiar with all the ins and outs of boating and fishing. If we are asking more people to get on the water and participate in these great sports, we wanted them to do so safely. Additionally, many states have their own requirements, regulations and online sources, which can feel daunting to new boaters and fishers. We wanted to give people as many tools and resources as possible all in one organized spot. On the website at takemefishing.org there are some great new resources that RBFF has implemented.

            https://www.takemefishing.org/boating/boating-and-water-safety/boat-safety-checklist/

             https://www.takemefishing.org/boating/boating-and-water-safety/online-boat-safety-courses/

We also partnered with various partners and influencers to create social media content to promote boating safety in a fun, educational and bite sized way.

https://www.tiktok.com/@takemefishing_/video/7100218000183217450

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USd4Msk725Q&t=62s

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cd6ChyLqjW3/

4. Did you set goals and objectives when you started your project or campaign? If so, what were they and did you meet those goals and objectives?
   
   

We set our measure of success on the number of views to safety-related content on the takemefishing.org website and social media platforms. From July 2021 through June 2022, we saw a total of 388,979 page views, which was a number we were very excited about! Our “Get On Board” campaign has propelled forward other metrics as well. For the first year of the campaign, we had 3.4 billion impressions, 107% average increase in digital traffic on Discover Boating’s website, 44,000 new boat buyers entering the market during the busiest selling period (statistic from NMMA), and 2 million likes, comments, shares, views and clicks generated by social influencers. 

5. What did you learn from working on this project or campaign?
   
   

We learned that to really have a successful campaign and meet our goals, we also had to get other industry members excited and involved in our campaign. In partnership with RBFF, we created assets that were distributed to state and industry partners and organizations, including digital and print PSA materials.