Nautique's @ the Boat Show

[AbunDiga909]

I think the Meloon family would faint if they partnered with Whitechocolate & Co.

[efox]

Unfortunatley you cannot "see" performance while the boat is sitting in a craddle at the show. The Mastercraft X above has a neat logo, but the overall scheme is a little busy. Check one of the Wake specific forums and you'll find that it seems as though people are trading up often. Slick advertising and graphics bring buyers in. The wakeboard phenomina is based laregly on image. The Super Air used to be the "it" boat, which is why you see such effort to unseat them. I like the 211 concept. It's a slick boat, just too big for my lake restrictions.

[jefe]

The question boils down to is, what do you consider bling?

I remember that alot of people felt towers were really just for show when they first came out, as well as the Yakima board racks on the side :razz: . Nautique was really the first to come out with that. Due to that mentality, they had the "Bling" in production before anyone else.

But it turned out that the tower was a functional option as well as bling looking, which I think that is what Nautique is going for.

I have noticed that they are slowly adding more "bling" such as polished towers, tower mirrors, Polished Deafcon speakers, Silver windshield frames, Chrome rub rails, etc. I think we will see more functional bling out of Nautique than most of the others.

Regarding the dull boatshow displays, remember when Nautique won best display at expo? That was a functional and included the same boats you guys are talking about.

I just think some of the dealers need a class in creativity.

[AirNautique211]

How many people really buy boats after only looking at a Boat show? How many people buy after reading WaterSki Mag reviews? How many people buy boats based on what was seen at a ski competition?

--CC did come out strong advertising in WaterSki Mag this year!---

There are so many places boat companies can invest their marketing $$$. Personally, I am glad CC spends their $$$ on building me a better boat.

I would like to see CC - or affiliates - come up with more Authentic Jewels for our boats and sporting lives. For instance, how about putting the logo on the new tower mirrors? How about some classy appearal? How about some cool dock add ons - like flags, banners, weather vanes, bumpers,..

Just a thought!

Truthfully, though, I really don't care how flashy MC's and Bu's are - and I really don't care if they sell 50 times more units as CC. I just want the best boat my money can buy and it's clearly a Nautique.

[FatBoy]

I have seen the new tower mirror arms and they have the word NAUTIQUE on them.

[efox]

How many people buy only at a boat show?? I'd say plenty more than you think. I think they do the research ahead, but they show up at the show and shop the best deal. More bling at the booth may bring more people by. Probably less people than you think would actually test drive the boat before buying it.

[82tique]

My Opinion:
Don't care about cheesy graphics,lights,stereo,aluminum dash, or if the color matches what is on MTV. "bling bling" on a boat is basically an irrelevant money pit. I just want it to perform.

It makes me wonder what happened to the days when your riding/skiing was the statement, not how much money you can pour into your boat (so it looks good on the trailer while your standing next to it in the parking lot.)

[Onthewater]

My Opinion:
Don't care about cheesy graphics,lights,stereo,aluminum dash, or if the color matches what is on MTV. "bling bling" on a boat is basically an irrelevant money pit. I just want it to perform.

It makes me wonder what happened to the days when your riding/skiing was the statement, not how much money you can pour into your boat (so it looks good on the trailer while your standing next to it in the parking lot.)

Right On

[AirNautique211]

Sorry, my question concerning "who buys at a boatshow?" was not really the question. The question was, where is Marketing money best spent? CC obviously spent money advertising in WS mag. this year and haven't spent as much there in the past few years. They must have a plan and market they are seeking - that's all.

Concerning your point, though, there probably are alot of boats sold at boatshows. Maybe Nautiques don't sell as well at shows as they do through other avenues.

I have sometimes wondered why CC has so few dealers as compared to other companies. I spoke with Greg and he said it's not worth steeling sales from the current dealers to support new dealerships. In other words, there are only so many Nautique sales out there, splitting up sales would only deteriorate the sales sales of the current dealships, making them less affective and profitable. He asked me if it was worth 1 or 2 actual more new sales in a given area to bring on a new dealer. It made some since to me when looked at from that standpoint, but I would still like to see a dealer on our lake. I think Greg's answer speaks strongly of CC's loyalty to the dealers that helped build the company though.

Back to the beginning - I am sure CC has a plan and it makes since to them. I like waht I see from the company, I just think we would all like to see more.

[Hollywood]

AirNautique211, you already have 7 dealers in your state! I think CO deserves 1 dealer before IN gets another, putting it in the sole lead for most dealers per state. I'd like to know the breakdown of boats sold per dealer to comprehend why IN has as many as CA.

[SGY]

I'm with Hollywood. We need one dealer in Colorado.

[AirNautique211]

In general it would be good from our standpoint to have more dealers - not just my home lake! Don't get so fussy and argumentative folks!

I imagine the reason that Indiana has more dealers is due to the origin of MWCC many years ago. Most of the dealers are in the north and have been on board for many years. In fact one of the dealers is very small and is located just a few miles down the road from MWCC. CC is very loyal and has maintained their roots with some of these folks. And this does not mean that the dealer are not quality dealers - so don't go there.

Greg's point was that it may not increase overall sales as much as divide the current sales. It is best to have solid dealers, not dealers that are about to go under.

Yes I would like to see more solid dealers where the market can sustain quality customer service. I also think it would be nice to a dealership around Cumberland or Dale Hollow and around Monroe or Patoka, but I guess the buying market does not justify it.

Bottom line, I would like to see more Nautique stuff period - with the same high standard of quality!

[Hollywood]

Bottom line, I would like to see more Nautique stuff period - with the same high standard of quality!

I'll drink to that. I was kind of laughing to myself while I typed my dealer speech, not trying to fight with you.