Mar 2, 2021

Marine Marketers of America (MMA) announced on February 24th, the winners of the 2020 Neptune Awards for Marine Marketing Excellence. This year’s 13th annual competition was open to any organization producing and publishing marine industry marketing materials between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2020.
 
“It was clear from the variety and creativity of work submitted this year that companies were rethinking how they communicated and interacted with boaters in 2020 to accommodate the new ways of doing business in a socially-distanced world,” said Courtney Chalmers, president of MMA. “It’s inspiring to see the new standards of excellence set by marketing professionals across the boating industry.”
 
The 2020 Neptune Awards drew 129 entries in 20 categories. More than 70 marketing leaders from throughout the marine industry were involved in the judging process. The category of video production garnered the most submissions this year, followed by integrated marketing campaigns, product literature and social media.
 
In a year like no other, a new category for pandemic marketing attracted nine entries. These included an array of marketing and public relations campaigns that covered everything from virtual boat tour promotions and social distancing tips for boaters, to videos showing families enjoying close-in, socially-distant boating excursions. 
 
MMA judges gave the coveted “King Neptune” Best-in-Competition Award to Sportsman Boats for its website entry. Judges liked the site’s intuitive capabilities for customer engagement, dealer interface and brand awareness. They also said the website looked great and performed well, delivering impressive analytics. “Sportsman set the bar with this website,” said one judge. Another noted it was “really impressive work for an in-house agency.” 
 
“We congratulate all of the Neptune Award winners,” said Kristen Frohnhoefer, vice president of MMA. “You are to be commended for elevating your marketing efforts to a new level through strategic and well-planned efforts.”  
 
MMA is the exclusive organization for marketers employed in the marine industry. Membership is open to any person engaged in marketing activities on behalf of marine industry products, services or causes. To view the 2020 Neptune Award winning entries, or to become an MMA member, please visit www.marinemarketersofamerica.org.
 
2020 Neptune Award Winners:  
 
Best Advertising Series: Pursuit Boats, “Pure.Evolution. Pursuit’s All New S 378” – created by Pursuit Boats
 
Best Advertising Single or Spread: Boston Whaler Boats, “Start Living” single advertisement – created by Boston Whaler Boats and Dino Publishing 
 
Best B2B Marketing: Gemeco Marine Accessories, Actisense “Legendary” advertisement – created by Gemeco Marine Accessories and Hawley Communications, LLC
 
Best Email Marketing: Boston Whaler Boats, “Roam from Home” – created by Boston Whaler Boats and Dino Publishing  
 
Best Event Marketing/Grassroots Promotion: Marine Retailers Association of America, “Dealer Week Lunch and Learn” – created by Marine Retailers Association of America
 
Best Innovation: Yamaha Marine Group, “Helm Master EX” – created by Yamaha Marine Group
 
Best Integrated Marketing Campaign: Malibu Boats, “M220 Launch” – created by Malibu Boats
 
Best Newsletter Print and Digital: Pursuit Boats, “PURE.NEWS.” – created by Pursuit Boats
 
Best Online Advertising: Siren Marine, “Father’s Day Campaign” – created by Siren Marine
 
Best Public Relations: Yamaha Watercraft Group, “Superjet Consumer Campaign” – created by Yamaha Watercraft Group
 
Best Product Literature: Lowe Boats, “2021 Fish Boats and Pontoon Boats Catalogs” – created by Lowe Boats and Redfish Collective
 
Best Sales Promotion: MarineMax, “Your Crew” – created by Marine Max
 
Best Social Media: Siren Marine, “National Dog Day” – created by Siren Marine
 
Best Video, Single: Invincible Boats, “When You’re Serious” – created by Invincible Boats and Markham & Stein
 
Best Video, Series: Jarrett Bay Boatworks, “Insider Vlog” – created by Jarret Bay Boatworks and Stealth Marketing
 
Best Website and 2020 King Neptune Award Winner: Sportsman Boats, “Sportsman Boats Website” – created by Sportsman Boats
 
Best Pandemic Marketing: Sea Tow, “Social Distancing When Boating” – created by SeaTow
 
 
2020 Neptune Award Honorable Mentions:
 
Advertising Series: Furuno, “TZtouch 3” 
 
Advertising Single or Spread: Sea Tow, “If You Don’t Have This Card”
 
B2B Marketing: Sea Ray Boats, “Top of the Props”
 
Email Marketing: Yamaha Watercraft Group, “Yamaha Watercraft Owner CRM Program”
 
Innovation: Big Thunder Marine, “Virtual Boat Show”  
 
Integrated Marketing Campaign: Boston Whaler, “Dauntless Launch”
 
Newsletters: Nautique Boats, “Monthly eNewsletter”
 
Online Advertising: Boston Whaler, “Spring Retail Promotion” 
 
Product Literature: Maretron, “Product Catalog”
 
Sales Promotion: Grady White Boats, “MY2020 Winter Sales Promotion”
 
Social Media: Mercury Marine, “Miami International Boat Show 2020 & Center Consoles Campaign”
 
Video, Single: Boston Whaler, “Dauntless Launch”
 
Website: Yamaha Watercraft Group, “Build Your Yamaha Boat or WaveRunner Experience”