ClearLine report on exporting to Mid East

We have just completed an extensive report on export markets in the Middle East for the UK leisure marine industry. The report was commissioned by the BMF and undertaken in conjunction with UKTI.

The report looks at the seven largest markets there: Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Dubai, Egypt, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, and gives full contact details and business details of all the local importers, distributors, yards etc. All the companies listed have been approached by local British embassy staff for the compilation of the report, and are looking forward to hearing from prospective partners. So it’s a fantastic resource.

At the same time we also looked at some of the aspects of doing business out there. It’s very different, but each local embassy will provide you with a guide to local customs and practises in its country.

The report can be requested via the BMF website.

FT Yachts survey

It was released a couple of weeks ago now, but the FT only puts out its special report on the yacht sector once a year, at the start of the Monaco Yacht Show. It always makes interesting reading as it gives an outsider’s view while still using well-known writers like David Glenn and Michael Howorth.

It looks at everything from finance to eco-issues, chartering, destinations, racing and more. Well worth a read. Go to http://www.ft.com/reports/yachts-2009 to read it online or download the whole thing as a PDF.

Monaco Yacht Show review

Blisteringly hot and extremely busy, this year’s Monaco show exuded confidence with a complete sell-out as far as space went, and the crowds were out in force. Of course its timing couldn’t be better as this time last year the full impact of the downturn hadn’t really been felt, and now last week everyone was talking about the bottom having been reached and future prospects looking brighter.

It wasn’t all good news, with the word from the media guys and girls being that advertising volumes continue to be dire, but at least the decline seems to have levelled out and talk elsewhere was of new orders just around the corner as those who have managed to hold on to their money become less embarrassed about spending it.

ClearLine was representing four clients out there this year – Design Unlimited, Humphreys Yacht Design, Lantic Entertainment Systems and Rainsford Mann Design – and the general consensus was one of useful contacts made and groundwork laid for the year ahead, even if no great deals were signed on the spot. We picked up some good leads ourselves, so no complaints there. Mind you, driving around and parking in Monaco remains as much of a nightmare as ever, but after a wet summer in the UK there’s nowhere to beat the south of France in late September!

Publicity packages for autumn shows

Southampton Boat Show 11-20 September
Monaco Yacht Show 23-26 September
METS 17-19 November

We will be attending all these shows and, as in previous years, we are offering one-off publicity packages to exhibitors. These include standard services such as writing, printing and distributing press packs and press releases, sending out invitations to press prior to the shows, and organising launch events if required. We also design and print brochures, flyers and other marketing materials.

Do call us to discuss pricing and timings if we can be of assistance.

ClearLine signs three new clients

Over the past few months we have welcomed three new clients, all focused largely on the superyacht sector.

Design Unlimited is the leading yacht interior design company, whose recent projects include the refit of the 53m Feadship Elizabeth F, the new 72 ft mini-maxi RAN 2 and a 36m Dubois design due for launch this autumn, as well as work for top yards including Sunseeker and Moody.

Lantic Entertainment Systems is the highly regarded developer and supplier of top-of-the-range audio-visual systems for large production boats and superyachts. Now owned by Alewijnse Marine Systems, the Denmark-based company is embarking on a major marketing initiative as its development programme continues to keep its products at the cutting edge of water-borne entertainment.

Monte Fino is known worldwide as a popular brand of semi-custom pocket superyachts ranging in size from 76 to 122 feet. Built by Kha Shing shipyard in Taiwan, the range is undergoing a comprehensive redesign in the capable hands of Humphreys Yacht Design.

Matt joins board of Marine South East

Matt writes….I’m very pleased to have joined the board of Marine South East, the organisation funded in part by SEEDA (South East of England Development Agency) which has the task of tackling the critical issues affecting marine businesses in the region and supporting the economic development of the marine sector in the South East. As part of that role I will also chair the organisation’s PR and networking committee.

The role isn’t too onerous and it brings with it a great opportunity to get involved in the broader issues that effect the marine industry – both commercial and leisure – in the south east, and to meet many of the people involved. Key issues that MSE focuses on include training, innovation, development of clusters and raising the industry’s profile with the government. Hopefully we’ll be able to apply our communications skills to help get the organisation’s message across to the industry and its many stakeholders.

Major new client for ClearLine

We are delighted to announce that we have been appointed to handle the global public relations for Wilhelmsen Ships Services. Wilhelmsen Ships Service is part of Wilhelmsen Maritime Services, a Wilh. Wilhelmsen group company. It has the world’s leading maritime services network, with the ability to service 2 200 ports in 115 countries. The company’s main focus is to deliver improved vessel operating efficiency to the merchant fleet. In 2008 the company made 208,000 product deliveries to 21,000 vessels and handled 53 000 port calls. Wilhelmsen Ships Service has 4,400 employees operating out of 310 offices in 71 countries. For more information, see www.wilhelmsen.com/shipsservice.

ClearLine will be issuing press stories, including latest news on contracts, products, services, trends and other topical subjects, on behalf of WSS. Releases will be high frequency on a fast turnaround regular basis to both printed and web media around the world, reflecting the major position that WSS holds in the merchant shipping sector. The marketing headquarters of WSS are based in Oslo and we are very excited about working with the dynamic and friendly team that is located there. WSS is the latest in a growing number of clients in the shipping sector to be signed by ClearLine.

Viral marketing – a cynic’s view

It’s been the ‘latest’ hot thing for years now, and is invariably brought up by managers who think they have discovered that holy grail of marketing – publicity that catches the public’s imagination, yet is (almost) totally free!
Viral marketing is what used to be called word-of-mouth, boosted by an added kick of something that encourages individuals to actively pass the good news on to their mates. Amusing or quirky videos on YouTube have long been seen as the hottest ticket in town, creating your own computer game is another, as is giving product away to key parts of the target market. However our view here, having been through this with a number of clients over the years, is that it’s not as universally applicable as many believe it to be, nor is it free. Give it a try, by all means, but we would suggest the following caveats:
1. Most people don’t have the time to endlessly email their friends about their latest favourite consumer goody or experience. Viral marketing may be effective for 12-25 year olds, not so great for everyone else.
2. A good video – even a three minute short for the web – needs top-notch planning, scripting and production. These things take a lot of time and do not come for free. The more effortless and catchy a video seems to be, you can bet the more resources went into it.
3. Giving stuff away for free to spread the word – no problem if it’s small, cheap and, above all, disposable. If it’s not, then the process is cumbersome, expensive, and you’re cannibalising your own market.
4. Many kinds of viral marketing rely on good old advertising to get them going and sustain them, and that doesn’t come for free either.
The list goes on, but don’t get me wrong. We have no objection to promotions that use humour or something a little bit different in order to get a buzz going. We just ask that marketing managers think first before they promise the Finance Director that they won’t be needing any budget this year. Lifting your advertising profile above that of your competitors requires more than just a fertile imagination. Lots of resources and cash are needed too.

Two-day product launch for Navico

Mid-March saw us down in Lymington, enjoying some early spring sunshine as we worked with marine electronics powerhouse Navico on the European premiere of their revolutionary Broadband Radar.
It was a two-day event, combining on-the-water demonstrations with dry-land seminars. Day 1 was for the Navico EMEA distributors, while day 2 saw ClearLine in full action as around forty marine editors and writers from across Europe arrived with notebooks and cameras to find out what all the excitement was about.
Thanks to the hospitality of the Royal Lymington Yacht Club and Careys Manor Hotel, plus the wonderful weather, the event was judged a great success by all.
These events are major logistical exercises, withe the office sometimes feeling more like a travel agency than anything else, and there are always a dozen last minute details to be remembered and dealt with. But in terms of generating long-term media coverage they are unbeatable, and now that we are back at the office we look forward to seeing the coverage in the European leisure marine press over the coming months.

What’s going on in the superyacht sector?

So much for comments like ‘the rich will always be rich’ and ‘superyachts will never be out of fashion’. For the past few years the superyacht sector was viewed as recession-proof with the world awash with millionaires and billionaires looking for the ultimate lifestyle accessory, but no-one reckoned on the credit crunch and its impact on asset values and the supply of ready cash. The biggest casualties have been the Russians with their collapsing commodity empires and 60% fall in their domestic stockmarket – there may still be some extremely wealthy individuals in Moscow but they need all their spare cash to shore up their businesses and pay off their debts, so the volume of superyacht orders from east of the Urals will probably slow for a bit (read more here). Elsewhere wealthy owners of businesses are also being forced to dig deep into their own resources to keep their companies afloat as the banks seek to reduce credit lines and call in loans, all of which in theory reduces their appetite to spend on big ticket items – and they don’t come much bigger than a 30m + superyacht.
The trickle of news-flow from the yards doesn’t seem to be encouraging either, with the problems at Ferretti probably the most widely reported. Admittedly €1 billion in debt is quite a figure, but it does seem to be bad luck that their chief creditor is the Royal Bank of Scotland, currently frantically trying to reduce its loan book in an effort to restore its capital ratios. Elsewhere word is coming in on slow payments on work in progress, cancelled orders and new orders rarer than hen’s teeth. However, the long-term prospect may not be as gloomy as it appears at first sight.
Only last year many yards were reporting order books of up to five years of work. So with no new orders and, say, a pessimistic 30% cancellation rate, this would still give many of them several years’ of construction to be getting on with, surely more than enough to see them through the depression, sorry, recession. This alone should make the superyacht sector a good one to be involved with in these difficult times. That said, the big issue for these yards as for us all remains access to working capital – generally bank debt. Many a good company with a full order book has gone bust for lack of ready cash, and this must be the biggest hurdle facing these capital intensive enterprises. We’ll see. By some accounts bank lending is starting to get going again, and luxury spending is certainly not down and out as evidenced by recent good results from luxury brands Hermes and LVMH, and successful art auctions last week by Sotheby’s and Christie’s.
It looks like the rich probably will always be rich, thank goodness, just not quite so much as before.