Reliant Yachts

Digital Footprint

Marketing high-end yachts has changed drastically in the past 25 years. Where print advertising and trade shows once were king, the digital revolution has made it imperative to adapt to a new e-world order. Tasked with developing a comprehensive digital footprint for the luxury brand Reliant Yachts, a design brief was created to encompass the following:

–Design all digital materials with a consistent style and presence that appropriately reflects the brand: elegant simplicity.

–Create a clean, well-organized web presence featuring high end photography. World-class yacht photographers Billy Black and Onne Van Der Wal were brought in to provide imagery as the branding centerpiece.

–Though important to convey information, copy was to be minimal yet precise, while making it easy to connect with a sales team.

–Link to a customer relation management (CRM) database to track customers and industry insiders, including the press.

–Create a digital vehicle for sending out e-blasts and press releases consistent with the overall design. Press coverage is extremely important, and marketing pieces delivered into the correct media stream can exponentially expand brand visibility.

–Integrate illustrations, 3D models, video, and motion.

–Create half page and full page print advertisements that both reflect the brand and drive readers to the website.

–All branding components should drive viewers to the website and capture potential customers in the CRM database, where analytics can assess the merits of a given marketing approach.

A responsive website was created, featuring photographs of Reliant’s custom yachts, illustrations of profiles and arrangement plans, minimal text and general specifications. The menu was designed to be intuitive, and navigating between pages simple. The site accomplished the stated goal of “something beautiful to look at” while avoiding overly complex web elements.

Custom Templates for press releases and customer email campaigns were created to reinforce the brand focus. Many email campaigns have a cookie-cutter sameness, but Reliant wanted theirs to reflect the design DNA of their yachts: clean, elegant, thoughtful.

The CRM system Agile was chosen as the database backbone, allowing for the comprehensive collection of information, which facilitates precise market targeting.

Print advertisements were created to support Reliant’s digital footprint (not the other way around). The look was in keeping with the digital branding, and provided as much information as possible, while maintaining a sparse elegance. This was especially vital in brokerage listings.