SANCTUARY COVE BOAT SHOW BONANZA

This year, the Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show celebrates a quarter of a century of being the place where the marine business, does business. Located right in the beating heart of the Australian boatbuilding industry, this idyllic retreat, literally not much farther than a good golf drive from one of its many rolling fairways to any one of this country’s four biggest players, has served as an important canvas to showcase the beauty that is Down Under boating at its very best.

Similarly, Trade-a-Boat magazine boasts an enviable reputation having long established itself as the market’s boat-buying bible. Like Sanctuary Cove much of our mission is driven by a desire to make boats look better than they have ever been seen before.

Industry-leading content is a cornerstone objective of our new parent company Bauer Media and achieving this lofty goal requires a dedicated team of enthusiasts happy to meet every crisp dawn with a smile and a ready camera, and every sunset with equal eagerness. Personally, I think the results speak for themselves.

Of course, neither the boating nor the media industries can afford to rest on their laurels. Our audience demands an ever evolving and dynamic product and we are equally determined to lead the industry, publishing on every platform the public desires.

It’s a challenge we have been delighted to embrace, investing boldly across the full spectrum of publishing channels. Last year’s Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show Yearbook, which we published, broke ground with its associated iPad app and this year’s version, which we also published, is more comprehensive and immersive than ever before. With more industry-leading video, cross-platform hyperlinks and extended photo galleries this is a product that allows us to tell a story not even conceivable before the invention of this now ubiquitous device.

In keeping with its need to stay on the crest of the industry’s wave, Trade-a-Boat magazine has been available for iPad for almost a year. As important as this product is, it is however only a relatively small percentage of our business’s rapidly growing footprint. As of today, Trade-a-Boat and sister publication TrailerBoat boast a print and digital audience in excess of 66,000 pairs of eyes with audited digital growth for the 2011 and 2012 period at 32 and 41 per cent respectively.

This growth was before the launch of what will no doubt be our most effective channel to date – TradeBoats.com.au. This online channel now spearheads the trading arm of Bauer Trader’s marine division. Its startling growth over the three months since its birth speaks volumes of its immediate acceptance by an industry keen to embrace the future. In 2013, Trade-a-Boat and TrailerBoat can honestly say we are the one-stop-shop of Australian boating media.

On that note I will leave you to immerse yourself in this beautiful product of which we are so proud. My personal favourite from a visual point of view is the Pre-Loved story on the star of the new The Great Gatsby movie, Hurrica V. It was shot by up-and-comer Jack Murphy – pat yourself on the back Jack. If you have your iPad handy consider checking out the Alaska 49 video, or better still, head to Apple’s App store and take a look at our iPad version.

My promise to you is this: we will continue to push the boundaries of boating content production and wherever possible we will utilise local people to do so. In fact if you want to contribute, get in touch with me today. I am keen to discover new talent and look forward to hearing from you soon.

Jeff Strang

Editor, Trade-A-Boat