‘World Yachting Day’: help or hindrance?

BY MAX STOTT

Would the bold proposition proposed by Farouk Nefzi, chief marketing officer at Feadship, realistically improve the wider opinion of yachting?

How do we change the perception of the superyacht industry? That was the title of the workshop session at last year’s Superyacht Forum moderated by Farouk Nefzi, chief marketing officer at Feadship. His solution is to create a ‘World Yachting Day’ in a bid to stimulate positive engagement between the general public and stakeholders of yachting.

The title ‘World Yachting Day’ might sound slightly cringey, but the intention is pure: to showcase the breadth of the industry beyond the end product and general facade. Through the medium of social media, stakeholders could invite the public into their shipyards or offices in an open-house format so people could see with their own eyes what it actually takes to build and maintain a superyacht.

The proposition divided the room; while some applauded Nefzi for coming up with an actual solution that could feasibly be implemented, others suggested it was akin to putting lipstick on a pig. The superyacht industry’s perception problem cannot be solved solely through the use of PR and marketing campaigns, even if these do have a large part to play.

As a crude example, my opinion of Coca-Cola doesn’t change even it does release another iconic Christmas advert and sponsor COP27. To my mind, it’s still a giant multinational corporation that uses fossil fuels to produce three million tonnes of plastic packaging a year, equivalent to 200,000 bottles a minute.

That said, I think that the idea of a World Yachting Day deserves consideration. In the best-case scenario, it will help to break down the barriers between yachting and the ‘real world’, and the number of extra eyes on the industry, if every shoreside business in yachting did this globally, would be nothing short of monumental. It could also open new dialogues between yachting and other comparable industries to share ideas and listen to alternative perspectives.

However, we must also ask ourselves this question: Is the superyacht industry really ready to open itself up to the potential onslaught that could follow?

International days on the calendar are typically reserved to spread awareness or to acknowledge those who have been historically disenfranchised from society (World Mental Health Day, World Refugee Day, World Human Rights Day, for example), and yachting on its own will never receive the same kind of empathy and recognition that such other groups deserve.

I can’t help but feel that even if the industry does try to implement this, it will be difficult to encourage people to get enthusiastic about superyachts in the same way it would also be for private jets or the oil industry or banking. World Yachting Day could easily be snatched away from the superyacht industry and weaponised by groups such as Extinction Rebellion, and instead of it being a day to celebrate, it would become a day to condemn the industry even further.

Moreover, there are already several international days on the calendar that the superyacht industry could squeeze a bit more juice out of: World Seagrass Day (1 March), World Wildlife Day (3 March), World Water Day (22 March), World Oceans Day (8 June), Day of the Seafarer (25 June), World Maritime Day (28 September). Therefore, instead of adding yet another day into the mix, would it not be easier and more effective if businesses in our industry simply had more engagement with what the rest of the world is doing?

I’d go as far as to say that the vast majority of people I’ve met who are employed by the industry are actually quite relatable and down to earth. Every now and then you get the odd condescending ego-maniac who doesn’t have a personality outside of yachting but, relatively speaking, most of the people are actually quite … normal.

The industry can do a much better job of platforming the craftsmen, seafarers and labourers and explaining what it actually is that they do. Less flash, less sleaze, less Monaco and a bit more wholesome and honest content would go a very long way. This side of the industry can be shown through raw data, in press releases, in social media and marketing campaigns … and even through something similar to the idea of a ‘World Yachting Day’. It’s not that other people don’t understand the industry, it’s that the industry isn’t properly explaining itself.

The idea of the superyacht industry versus the mainstream media needs to be eradicated. The narrative of the media is ultimately predicated on the interest of public opinion and confirming existing biases, so it will win every time. The industry needs to work with the media by taking on board what this perception is. It must acknowledge that things need to change and then, and only then, can businesses use raw data and meaningful PR to persuade people to consider the other side of the coin. MS