Discover Boating Health Score Index: May Results and Early Media Test Findings

As the Advisory Group, NMMA and MRAA continue advancing Discover Boating's market expansion strategy, the Health Score Index (HSI) serves as an important tool for understanding how effectively the campaign is reaching, inspiring and engaging new audiences.

To learn more about the HSI and how it's being used to track market momentum, NMMA and MRAA will host a brief webinar tomorrow, June 18, from 11:00-11:30 a.m. ET. Members can REGISTER HERE.

As part of the ongoing work informing the HSI, Discover Boating continues to test and optimize its marketing efforts to better understand what's driving reach and participation.

The first Discover Boating media test wrapped up in May and was designed to answer two questions: (1) what impact Discover Boating media is having on driving consumer interest, and (2) whether focusing that media on zip codes with high boating penetration and on people who match the Ipsos boating-prospect profile drives a stronger return.

Both answers are encouraging. Discover Boating media drove 28% more visitors to DiscoverBoating.com and 107% more Hand Raisers (consumers clicking through to member websites) than our test regions with no media. Focusing that media on high-potential zip codes and prospect profiles then delivered an additional 18% more visitors and 8% more Hand Raisers for the same spend, validating the targeted approach.

What this month's score means

The Health Score Index (HSI) for May 2026 registered at 85%, approximately 15 points below the May 2024 baseline (fixed at 100%). The score improved by a point month-over-month and is 18 points below year-over-year.

The overall index was supported by the following solid top-of-funnel demand signals:

• Market Visibility is strong - boating is getting good exposure.
• Search Trends are positive - more people are searching for boating-related topics
• Participation is healthy - people are engaging in boating activities.

The Discover Boating test and learn media test showed positive signs in May, with engagement indicating that marketing efforts are beginning to capture attention. Together, these top-of-funnel signals point to encouraging awareness and interest among potential future customers.

A note on year-over-year comparisons: Because the HSI is using a new measurement framework this year, 2025 baseline data had to be estimated. As a result, comparisons to last year may not always provide a perfect apples-to-apples view of performance. Starting next year, comparisons will be much more accurate and meaningful once we have a full year of data measured under the same system. For this reason, we are placing greater emphasis on 2026 performance trends and momentum.

What elements impacted this month's score

May results indicate strong momentum heading into the peak boating season across all HSI components. While we continue to refine and validate the most effective representation of several metrics, May marks an important milestone as the first month with live data available across every established HSI measure, providing our most complete view of overall industry health and performance to date.

Market Visibility, Search Trends, and Participation are all green this month, signaling positive top-of-funnel interest in boating across the industry.

Target Segment Reach is low as expected at current media spend levels and is covering only a small share of the ~25M person prospect audience identified in the Ipsos study. This metric will scale as additional dollars allow us to reach more of that audience.

Discover Boating Engagement is positive, driven by the media test delivering 28% more visitors to DiscoverBoating.com than non-media regions, with an additional 18% lift in the focused-targeting cells.

Social Engagement on a per post basis is doing better than YoY and equal to 2024 benchmark, but total volume is lower this year due to less opportunities in events to co-post and repost influencer/event attendee stories and reels.

Hand Raisers are running at roughly 52% of 2024 volume. This reflects a strategic choice to shift spend away from paid search (~40% less YoY) and into upper-funnel media aimed at finding new boating prospects, rather than existing high-intent audiences.

Boat Shows is a trailing 12-month metric and is unchanged in May, reflective of lower boat show attendance across the industry.

Improving measurement and testing what works

With SYOH Wave 1 testing complete, the team is moving into Wave 2 testing, which consists of dynamic creative for four weeks then budget scaling for four weeks. This wave is aimed at taking the newly formed audiences from Wave 1 and answering two questions: (1) what creative best matches our qualified audience, and (2) what budget window is required to maximize results before diminishing returns?

Why this matters

Enhancing Discover Boating performance measurement will further separate real impact from normal seasonal changes. If the score goes up, it means more people are discovering boating, engaging with it, and becoming "hand raisers", and when that happens, we will grow boating. At the same time, testing the campaign approach provides an understanding of what works best and where to invest more. This work is focused on:

• Driving qualified interest in boating
• Reaching the right audiences effectively
• Using marketing dollars efficiently
• Supporting long term industry growth

The HSI is a monthly update for NMMA and MRAA members, as well as industry stakeholders. Access the full HSI dashboard and frequently asked questions by clicking HERE.

Please reach out to NMMA's Maggie Maskery at [email protected] for more information.