Pictured l to r: Grant Burgham, Head of Commercial at British Marine (organiser of the show), Simon White, CTO and Co-Founder of TheYachtMarket.com and Richard W. Roberts, CEO and Co-Founder of TheYachtMarket.com
The Title Sponsor of TheYachtMarket.com Southampton Boat Show is reaping the rewards of its first year supporting the event.
TheYachtMarket.com has reported web traffic rose by nearly a quarter during the 10-day event, which came to a close yesterday (September 24). Unique visitors to its site were up 24 percent on the same period last year, suggesting the sponsorship is already reaping rewards in its early days.
CEO Richard W. Roberts said: “The show has exceeded our expectations and has given TheYachtMarket.com a superb platform to both secure our position in the UK and look to new markets overseas like Europe and the USA. We are currently following up on the significant leads we secured at the show but suffice to say our brand awareness in our target markets together with actual sales and visits to the website have risen considerably.”
The company, which describes itself as ‘the Auto Trader for boats’, has also revealed that it has more than 35 manufacturers or dealers lining up to use its New Boats Portal, which was launched at the show.
The portal allows users to browse a dedicated area of the site which exclusively sells brand new boats from manufacturers and dealers.
Richard added: “It’s time to embrace the manufacturers and dealers to give them a showcase for their new boats to complement the second-hand market. Having the boat builders and dealers on board really squares the circle for us enabling our buyers and sellers to search for the full spectrum of new and used boats.”
TheYachtMarket.com announced its sponsorship of the Southampton Boat Show in July. The two-year deal saw the company heavily involved in this year’s event, with Richard even donning a dry suit and jumping on a paddleboard on Southampton Water to support British Marine’s “On The Water” initiative which encourages families and especially young people to get on the water.
TheYachtMarket.com’s stand played host to a plethora of events during the show, including welcoming around 100 women to celebrate Ladies Day and hosting daily sundowners for fellow exhibitors. The Title Sponsor even had its share of celebrity visitors during the show, including sailing legend Mike Golding OBE, Coronation Street star Kym Marsh and Love Island winner Amber Davies.
Richard concluded: “While we’re fiercely ambitious we’re also level-headed when it comes to business. We went into our sponsorship fully aware that it would take time to see the full return on our investment but we’ve been thrilled with the results we’ve seen already in our first year. TheYachtMarket.com name has reached far and wide and we’re looking forward to extending that even further next year.”