James Nolan Associates Inc.

Leisure marine industry specific cell phone applications (apps) have become very popular over here and, as you might imagine, their focus is on making boats, accessories and events easier to find. Examples include the Boat Trader app which provides a GPS enabled boat search and puts more than 100,000 new and used boats, yachts, sailboats [...]

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It used to be said that the recreational marine industry provided a forecast that the economy was going into recession. The rationale was that the “smart” money saw a recession coming and decreased their discretionary spending some six months or so before the rest of the country. The reverse was also a guide because they [...]

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For those companies exporting to the US a weaker dollar obviously has negative consequences. Just how much so could be seen in a recent Wall Street Journal article. It stated that “Since hitting a peak in February 2002, the dollar is down about 28%, according to an inflation-adjusted index from the Federal Reserve based on [...]

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There’s been a flurry of announcements from MarineMax, a publically quoted company on the New York Stock Exchange (HZO) and the largest recreational boat and yacht retailer in the US with 57 retail locations. Since the beginning of May the company has announced the introduction of the MarineMax Community – community.marinemax.com – a website that [...]

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TrawlerFest, organized by PassageMaker magazine, is a series of combined specialty boat shows and education events dealing specifically with trawlers and related subjects. It provides an exclusive focus on this segment of the market to the benefit of visitors and exhibitors alike. There are four TrawlerFests around the country in Ft. Lauderdale, Baltimore, San Diego, [...]

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Two of the biggest companies in our industry, Brunswick and West Marine Products, have just filed their 1st quarter 2011 results. Reading them gives the big company perspective on what’s currently happening and what will happen in 2011. The Brunswick Boat Group is a key component of the company and includes 16 brands. This segment [...]

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The marine industry over here has been trying to figure out the best way going forward to advertise and promote their products.  They have been watching to see how the traditional choice of print advertising is reacting to and competing with the Internet, mobile technology and the like. There were two interesting discussions that took [...]

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Despite hope and positive forecasts the North American sailing industry continued to slump in 2010.  The following numbers are taken from the annual report on the State of the Sailing Industry in North America produced by the Sailing Company, a division of Bonnier Corporation, which publishes Cruising World and Sailing World magazines. Imports declined by [...]

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One of the more anticipated events in Internet marketing is the Reykjavik Internet Marketing Conference & Expo (RIMC).  The next conference will be held in Reykjavik, Iceland on March 11, 2011 and is split into two tracks – one focusing on Social Media and the other on Search and Display.  The conference features a knowledgeable [...]

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The Miami boat show which takes place in mid-February is an important show for a number of reasons not least of which is the State of the US Recreational Boating Industry presentation given by Thom Dammrich, President, National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA).  As you might imagine, his presentation was a mix of facts and stats [...]

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Boating Writers International is presenting a roundtable discussion entitled “The Future of Marine Journalism” at the forthcoming Miami International Boat Show. A panel of senior marine publishing executives will discuss the future of the boating media and journalists working both on and offline. Among the topics to be discussed are how journalists can best respond to the changing needs of the boating industry in this era of social networking, together with the panel’s expectations on hiring freelance and full-time writers in the near future. Among the featured speakers is John Burnham, editorial director, Dominion Marine Media.

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YachtWorld Foundation, a sponsor of “A Scientific Journey” to benefit SeaKeeper’s environmental mission – Gala fundraiser will take place at Miami’s Epic Marina and aboard the 219-foot Golden Shadow on February 18th.

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Yacht Brokerage University Draws Accolades – A record 220 brokers see variety of presentations including “The New Luxury Buyer” and “Negotiating the Close in a Tough Economy”

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With all the talk going on over here about the stimulus and tax cuts you would think there has to be something in it for the boating industry. Unfortunately this is not the case.

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Boats.com and BoatTrader.com announce winners of “Tap Into Summer” Video Contest – Carson and Carter McBride win a Triton 16 Storm complete with Mercury 20 EL motor and trailer, donated by Brunswick Aluminum Group

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Adams presentation showed that in the late 1980’s the consumer confidence index was around 110 and new boat sales peaked at just over 500,000 new boats a year while today’s index of 50.2 suggests sales of around 130,000. Watching 3 key indicators- home purchases, automobile sales and consumer confidence levels – will provide a good sense of where this market is heading.

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Norfolk, VA – Dec.13, 2010 – BoatTrader.com and Boating Industry’s “Social Media/Reputation Management” Webinar is set for 1 p.m. CST on December 14. “The way boat buyers gather information is changing, which has a significant impact on the sales funnel,” said Kim Rocco, brand manager, Boat Trader.com. “Research, learning and comparison shopping are all done [...]

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YachtWorld has created a Foundation to Further Knowledge and Protection of Oceans. The International SeaKeepers Society is the 2011 beneficiary

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FAREHAM, Hampshire UK – Nov. 29, 2010 – YachtWorld.com, the world’s leading Internet yacht brokerage portal and a division of Dominion Enterprises, today announced their participation at the forthcoming Salon Nautique de Paris with their YachtWorld Brokers Village. The Village will feature 23 brokerage houses and a database of more than 3,000 yachts for sale. [...]

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NORFOLK, Va.- (Nov. 11, 2010) –Dominion Marine Media, a division of Dominion Enterprises, today announced it will host a continuing education seminar at the Marine Dealer Conference & Expo in Orlando, FL on November 15. The seminar, entitled “Getting Online Leads Faster,” will be presented by Courtney Chalmers, director of marketing, Dominion Marine Media.  Chalmers [...]

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SEATTLE – Nov. 10, 2010 – YachtWorldCharters.com, a single global marketplace for both the yacht charter industry and the individual charterer, announced today the winners of the “Win a Charter” promotion at the recent United States Sailboat Show and United States Powerboat Show, both held in Annapolis, MD. YachtWorldCharters.com is a division of Dominion Marine [...]

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SEATTLE – Nov, 3, 2010 – YachtWorld.com, the world’s largest Internet yacht brokerage portal and a division of Dominion Enterprises, is partnering with the Florida Yacht Brokers Association to co-present a Yacht Brokerage University in Ft. Lauderdale on December 9. “The YachtWorld University program is now in its 16th year and has delivered education and [...]

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Norfolk, VA – Oct.28, 2010 – BoatTrader.com, a division of Dominion Enterprises, has partnered with Boating Industry magazine to host a series of three Webinars targeted to marine dealers nationwide.  The first of the series, “Drive Traffic to Your Dealership with a Minimal Budget,” will be held on November 4 at 1 p.m. CST. “We [...]

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There has been increasing speculation lately about what, if any, actions will be taken to get the Discover Boating campaign up and running again. Given the nervousness about sales at the moment it is not hard to understand why. During a special meeting at IBEX in late September, the Grow Boating Board voted to support [...]

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NORFOLK, Va.- (Oct. 27, 2010) –Dominion Marine Media, a division of Dominion Enterprises, today  announced the appointment of  Wade Luce to the position of director, Business Consulting Group, effective immediately. Luce is responsible for global business product development and marketing strategies for a new unit of Dominion Marine Media – the Business Consulting Group.  The [...]

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Lately there has been a greater concentration on viral and social media marketing because of their ability to reach a wide audience quickly. Now there’s a new element in those efforts – the prizes are getting bigger!  Two examples stand out. Discover Boating, the recreational boating industry’s national awareness campaign, developed a ‘Making Waves’ game [...]

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Norfolk, VA – Sept.23, 2010 – BoatTrader.com, a division of Dominion Enterprises, has announced the release of Locator Leads 2.0, a targeted boat lead generator for boat dealers. “Many of today’s boat buyers know exactly what boat they want right down to the make and model, but they may not be able to find it [...]

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Timed to support the Seattle Boats Afloat Show, winner receives an IPod Touch SEATTLE – Sept.3, 2010 – YachtWorld.com, the world’s largest Internet yacht brokerage portal and a division of Dominion Enterprises, today announced their “Believe It Or Knot” nautical mobile game is now underway.  The game has a true or false format in which [...]

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The positive press reports at the beginning of August stated that Brunswick beat their 2nd quarter forecasts and made a profit for the first time since the 1st quarter 2008.  But listening to the Webcast of the conference call with financial analysts shows that Brunswick remains very cautious about the US market.  Here’s why. In [...]

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The most popular video wins a brand new Triton 16 Storm, complete with Mercury 20 EL motor and trailer Norfolk, VA – Aug.9, 2010 – BoatTrader.com and Boats.com, both divisions of Dominion Enterprises, along with Brunswick’s Aluminum Division, announced their “Tap into Summer – Show us what you do in your aluminum boat!” Video Contest [...]

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